Bitcoin Wallet Gap Limit: Complete Compatibility Guide

Quick Reference: Gap Limits by Wallet

Wallet	Type	Gap Limit	Configurable?	xpub Location
Electrum	Software	5 / 20	Yes — console	Wallet → Information
Ledger Live	Hardware	20	No	Account → Edit → Advanced
Trezor Suite	Hardware	20	No	Account → Details → Show XPUB
Sparrow	Software	20	Yes — Preferences	Settings → Keystore
Coldcard	Hardware	20 (via companion)	Depends on companion	Advanced → View Identity
BlueWallet	Mobile	20	No	Wallet Details → Show XPUB
Wasabi	Software	21	No	Settings (advanced)
Bitcoin Core	Full Node	N/A (keypool)	Via descriptors	RPC: getdescriptorinfo

Electrum

Electrum is the most commonly used software wallet and has the lowest default gap limit of any major wallet — just 5. This means Electrum users are disproportionately affected by gap limit issues when migrating from other wallets or after generating many addresses.

Fixing the gap limit in Electrum

Option 1: Increase the gap limit (recommended)

1. Open Electrum and your wallet
2. Go to View → Show Console
3. Run: wallet.change_gap_limit(100)
4. Close and reopen Electrum to trigger a rescan

You can set it to any value. For wallets with many addresses, 100 or even 200 is reasonable.

Option 2: Use GapFix + dust fix

1. Find your xpub: Wallet → Information → Master Public Key
2. Paste it into GapFix
3. Send dust to the identified gap addresses
4. Restart Electrum — it will rescan and find the hidden funds

Electrum-specific notes

• Electrum uses zpub for native segwit wallets and xpub for legacy
• The gap limit applies separately to external and internal chains
• If recovering a very old pre-2016 wallet, ensure you're using the correct script type (legacy P2PKH)
• For 2FA wallets, you'll need the x2/ cosigner xpub as well — standard GapFix scanning covers the main key only

Ledger (Ledger Live)

Ledger devices use a gap limit of 20 and Ledger Live does not allow changing this value. If your Ledger shows missing funds after a recovery, the dust fix via GapFix is the primary solution.

Finding your Ledger xpub

1. Open Ledger Live
2. Go to your Bitcoin account
3. Click the Edit (pencil) icon
4. Expand Advanced
5. Copy the Extended public key

Common Ledger gap limit scenarios

Migrating from another wallet to Ledger: If your previous wallet used higher address indices (e.g., from generating many invoices), Ledger Live may not scan far enough. Use GapFix with the Ledger xpub to find the gap.

Restoring a Ledger to a new device: The gap limit applies fresh on the new device. If your old Ledger had addresses at high indices, use GapFix first to confirm all funds are visible before the restore.

Multiple Ledger accounts: Ledger Live creates accounts per coin type. If you have funds in account 0 and account 1 (different BIP-44 account indices), make sure you've added both accounts in Ledger Live.

Sending dust from Ledger Live

Ledger Live doesn't natively support "send to many." To send dust to multiple gap addresses from your Ledger, use Ledger Live in conjunction with a desktop wallet (Electrum or Sparrow) connected to your Ledger device.

Trezor (Trezor Suite)

Trezor Suite uses a standard 20-address gap limit with no user-configurable option. Trezor is compatible with all major companion wallets (Sparrow, Electrum, Wasabi) which can be used to recover funds with higher gap limit settings.

Finding your Trezor xpub

1. Open Trezor Suite
2. Select your Bitcoin account
3. Click the three-dot menu (•••) next to the account
4. Select Show public key (XPUB)
5. Confirm on the device when prompted

Recovering missing funds on Trezor

If Trezor Suite shows a lower balance than expected:

1. Get the xpub from Trezor Suite (steps above)
2. Scan with GapFix to identify the gap
3. Use Sparrow Wallet connected to your Trezor to send the batch dust transaction (Sparrow supports "send to many")
4. Resync Trezor Suite

Trezor + Electrum workaround

Import your Trezor xpub into Electrum as a watch-only wallet, increase the gap limit there, and use it for scanning/recovery. Connect your Trezor to Electrum for signing transactions when sending the dust.

Sparrow Wallet

Sparrow is the most powerful Bitcoin software wallet for gap limit recovery. It supports configurable gap limits, batch send, full UTXO control, and all BIP derivation paths.

Changing the gap limit in Sparrow

1. Go to Preferences → Gap Limit
2. Increase to 100+ for recovery scenarios
3. Click Reload Wallets

Finding your xpub in Sparrow

1. Go to Settings → Keystore
2. The Master Public Key field shows your xpub
3. For hardware wallets, it shows the device's xpub exported at setup

Sending dust in Sparrow

Sparrow supports batch transactions natively:

1. Go to Send
2. Click Add output for each gap address
3. Enter the address and dust amount (294 or 546 sats)
4. Set fee, sign, and broadcast

Sparrow also supports PSBT (Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions) for hardware wallet signing, making it the ideal tool for Ledger and Trezor users doing the dust fix.

Coldcard

Coldcard is an air-gapped hardware wallet that doesn't use a companion app for balance display — it works with external software wallets (Sparrow, Electrum, Specter) for that functionality. Gap limit settings depend on the companion software used.

Finding your Coldcard xpub

1. On the device, go to Advanced → View Identity
2. Select Master XPUB
3. The xpub is displayed (and can be exported via SD card as a text file)

Recommended companion software for Coldcard recovery

Use Sparrow Wallet with your Coldcard xpub. Import the xpub as a watch-only wallet, increase the gap limit in Sparrow preferences, rescan, identify the gap, and then use the PSBT workflow to sign the dust transaction on the Coldcard device.

BlueWallet

BlueWallet is a mobile-first Bitcoin wallet. It has a gap limit of 20 with no configurable option. For gap limit recovery, export the xpub and use a desktop wallet (Sparrow or Electrum) for the recovery process.

Finding your BlueWallet xpub

1. Long-press the wallet you want to export
2. Tap Wallet Details
3. Tap Show XPUB — the key is shown as a QR code and text

BlueWallet recovery tip

Since BlueWallet is mobile-only, the most practical recovery path is to import the seed phrase (not just the xpub) into Sparrow on desktop, increase the gap limit there, and rescan. Or use GapFix with the xpub and send dust from another wallet.

Wasabi Wallet

Wasabi Wallet is a privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet with CoinJoin functionality. It uses a gap limit of 21 and doesn't expose a user-facing way to change it.

Finding your Wasabi xpub

Wasabi exposes the extended public key in Settings → Advanced under the wallet section. The exact path varies by Wasabi version (1.x vs 2.x).

Wasabi recovery note

Wasabi uses BIP-84 (native segwit) derivation by default. If you're migrating funds from a Wasabi wallet to another wallet, use the zpub exposed by Wasabi in GapFix to scan for any hidden UTXOs before migrating.

Migration Scenarios: Wallet A → Wallet B

The gap limit problem most commonly surfaces during wallet migrations. Here are the most frequent combinations:

From	To	Risk	Recommended Action
Any wallet	Electrum (fresh)	High — Electrum gap limit is only 5	Run wallet.change_gap_limit(100) immediately after import
Electrum	Ledger Live	Medium — if Electrum address indices >20	Scan xpub with GapFix before migrating
Any wallet	Sparrow	Low — Sparrow has configurable gap limit	Increase gap limit in Preferences as a precaution
Old wallet	Any modern wallet	High — legacy P2PKH may not be scanned	Use GapFix to scan all 4 address types

Universal Recovery Checklist

Regardless of which wallet you're using, follow this checklist when your balance looks wrong:

1. Verify the seed phrase is correct — restore into any wallet and check the first few addresses match what you expect
2. Check for a BIP-39 passphrase — if you used a passphrase, you need the same one
3. Scan all derivation paths — GapFix handles this automatically; alternatively, use Sparrow with all script types enabled
4. Scan beyond the gap — use GapFix to scan 1,000+ addresses per chain
5. Check multiple accounts — BIP-44 supports multiple accounts (account 0, 1, 2…); some funds may be in account 1
6. Check change addresses — the internal chain (m/1/*) can also have gap issues