Subwallet-the web3 multiverse gateway for dotsama

4 min readNov 12, 2022

Overview

Subwallet is a non-custodial multichain wallet that offers support for both substrate-based and EVM compatible parachains.

The official polkadot.js wallet is built for developers and has a complicated user interface that makes it overwhelming for new users. Subwallet aims to simplify the UI and make the user experience smooth when interacting with Polkadot and its ecosystem dApps.

Subwallet is built on top of the polkadot.js wallet, but with a user oriented interface. This means Subwallet guarantees the security of the polkadot.js wallet while providing a fast and simple interface.

Key features

Non-custodial; you control your keys and the coins.
Supports all the Polkadot and Kusama parachains
The staking tab makes $dot $ksm staking very easy.
XCM transfer: a single place to transfer any asset across the chains.
Support light clients.

User Interface 101

1. Select chain

Subwallet is a #dotsama multi-chain wallet. So you can select any parachain on both Polkadot and Kusama and connect to the dApps. Subwallet supports the substrate as well as the EVM chains.

Click on the icon -> Select the network from the drop-down list.

2. Receive funds

Select the chain where you want to deposit assets.
Click on the “receive” button.
Click “Get wallet address”
You will get the text and QR code. QR makes the deposit via mobile phones easier.

3. Send funds

Allows you to send assets from your address to any other address. The steps are easy:

Click on the “send” button
Select the asset, destination chain, and address.
Click on “confirm sending”.

4. XCM transfer

You can seamlessly transfer your assets across chains using this feature. You don’t need to visit the transfer website, like apps.moonbeam.network.

Click on the “XCM” transfer button.
Select the origin chain and the destination chain.
Select the origin and destination accounts.
Choose the asset and the amount.
Click transfer and finally enter password.

5. Monitor crowdloans and NFTs

The polkadot.js wallet didn’t have a dedicated dashboard for viewing the NFTs and crowdloans. However, with Subwallet, you can keep track of your NFTs on any #dotsama parachain from a single place. The crowdloan feature allows you to monitor all your crowdloan contributions.

6. DOT KSM staking

Subwallet has integrated staking into the wallet itself.

Click on the “stake” button.
Choose Polkadot or Kusama
Select any validator. You get to sort by minimum commission or highest rewards.
Enter the amount you want to stake and confirm.
Finally, enter your account password.

7. Transfer history

This tab shows all sorts of on-chain transfer activities including wallet transfers, XCM transfers, etc.

Roadmap

Upcoming notable developments include:

Extending integration with more parachains and dApps. Check out all the supported networks.
Support multi-sig and proxy accounts
CMS and e-commerce integration
Asset management and DaoFi features like payroll
Swap cross chain assets directly from the wallet

Closing thoughts

One of the major criticisms of Polkadot is its bad user interface. Hopefully we have projects like Subwallet that are dedicatedly working towards the goal of simplifying and providing secure access to the Dotsama ecosystem.

From my personal experience, I found Subwallet to be one of the cleanest and most user-friendly wallets in Dotsama that is comparable to the top-tier wallets like the Phantom wallet in terms of UI. There are other Dotsama wallets like Talisman with a similar vision to provide a simple and better UI, which we will cover in another post.