Leather browser wallet (formerly Hiro): what it does and how it works

Leather is a wallet for Bitcoin and Stacks, a network that adds smart contracts to Bitcoin. It was first released in December 2018 as Hiro Wallet and renamed Leather in August 2023, after Trust Machines bought its maker.

Who makes it

Trust Machines, which acquired Hiro Systems, the original developer. Leather is open source.

What you can do with it

Hold and send bitcoin. Leather is a full Bitcoin wallet. Lesson 22 explains Bitcoin addresses.

Use Bitcoin collectibles and tokens. It supports Ordinals, BRC-20 tokens, Stamps and Runes. Lesson 51 explains what NFTs are.

Use Stacks. Stacks is a separate network whose transactions settle on Bitcoin. Leather holds STX and Stacks tokens and connects to Stacks apps.

Use a Ledger. Leather works with Ledger devices so the keys stay on the hardware. Stacks needs the Stacks app installed through Ledger Live, and Ordinals need a Taproot-enabled Bitcoin account on the Ledger.

Run on desktop too. As well as the browser extension, there is a desktop version.

What it is less good at

It is focused on Bitcoin and Stacks; it is not a wallet for Ethereum or Solana. The sources we checked did not list a mobile app. Fee details for its swap features were not published in the sources.

Is it safe?

Leather is self-custody and open source. As with any Bitcoin collectibles wallet, check every signing request, because a malicious site can ask you to move your valuable coins (Lesson 37). Install it only through leather.io.

Who it suits

Bitcoin holders who use Stacks or collect Ordinals and want an open-source wallet with Ledger support.

Setting it up safely

1. Install from the source. Go to leather.io yourself, by typing the address, and follow its link to your browser's extension store. Do not use search ads or links from messages. On the store page, check the publisher name and the number of users.
2. Write the seed phrase on paper. Leather shows it once when you create a wallet. Write every word in order and keep it offline. Lesson 30 shows how, and our free backup card helps.
3. Never type the phrase anywhere else. No genuine site, support agent or app update will ask for it.
4. Start small. Send a small amount first and check it arrives before moving more.
5. Review connections. From time to time, remove app connections and token approvals you no longer use.

How it compares

Compared with Xverse, Leather covers a narrower set of Bitcoin layers and the sources we checked list no mobile app, but it runs in more browsers, including Firefox, and has a desktop version. Multichain wallets such as Phantom hold bitcoin too, but with less support for Stacks and collectibles.