Overview
VESPR is a self-custody wallet that lets you hold, send, stake and swap ADA and other Cardano tokens from your phone or your web browser. Self-custody means the private keys that control your funds are created and kept on your own device, so VESPR never has a copy of them1. It suits everyday holders who want one wallet for staking, trading tokens and using Cardano apps, with no account signup, email or phone number required1.
VESPR works on Cardano and comes in three forms: an app for iPhone and iPad, an app for Android phones and tablets, and one browser extension from the Chrome Web Store that runs in Chrome, Brave, Edge and other Chromium-based browsers2. There is no Windows or Mac app, so on a computer the extension is the way in2. The wallet is built by DigitalBlock Labs LTD, a self-funded team with no outside investors and no token, which has worked on it since 20223.
Key Features
- Earn ADA rewards without locking your funds. VESPR lets you delegate ADA to a stake pool, one of the independent servers that run Cardano, and collect rewards every five-day epoch while the ADA stays spendable, with the date of the first reward shown before you confirm4.
- Pick a stake pool with the numbers in view. Each pool profile in VESPR shows its fees, how full it is and its block history, and a Rewards dashboard tracks past and upcoming payouts4.
- Token swaps without leaving the wallet. The Swap tab sends your order through DexHunter, a service that finds a route across several Cardano decentralized exchanges, and a review screen lists the fees before you sign5.
- Extra protection from a hardware wallet. VESPR pairs with a Ledger or Keystone device on iOS, Android and the extension in Chrome or Brave, so the private keys stay on the device and you approve each transaction there6.
- Use Cardano apps from inside the wallet. VESPR includes a built-in browser for DApps, the apps that run on Cardano1, and websites can connect to it through CIP-30, the shared standard that lets a Cardano website ask a wallet to approve a transaction7.
What to Expect
Everyday users install VESPR from its official App Store, Google Play or Chrome Web Store listing, tap to create a wallet, then back up the recovery phrase that can restore it later1. The app supports fingerprint or face unlock, and it can show balances in more than 160 local currencies8.
Downloading VESPR costs nothing. Cardano network fees apply to transactions, and swaps made in the Swap tab add a VESPR service fee that appears before you confirm9. The first time a wallet stakes, Cardano requires a 2 ADA deposit, which is a network rule rather than a VESPR charge and comes back when you stop staking4.
Hardware wallet owners can connect a device on a fresh install or add it later. On iPhone a Ledger connects over Bluetooth, so the Ledger Nano S Plus, which has no Bluetooth, works only on Android and in the extension over USB6. A Keystone pairs by scanning QR codes with the phone camera or computer webcam, and Trezor devices are not supported6.
Developers can read the Cardano and Ledger code libraries VESPR publishes on GitHub under the MIT open-source license, including a Cardano SDK for Dart, a toolkit for adding Cardano features to apps built with Flutter, Google's app framework10. VESPR's Ledger library for Flutter apps was built with funding from a completed Project Catalyst proposal, Cardano's community grant program11.
