LOBSTR Wallet Guide: Using Stellar DeFi from LOBSTR

LOBSTR by the numbers (October 2026)

LOBSTR's swap fee runs from 0.5% for featured assets such as XLM to 1% for unknown ones, with 15% on flagged scam assets. Every trustline reserves 0.5 XLM on top of a 1 XLM account minimum. Default swap slippage tolerance is 1%.

• Swap fees (built into the rate): featured list including XLM 0.5%; curated list 0.6%; known assets 0.8%; unknown assets 1%; scam assets 15%.
• Smart Swap: applies to Stellar Classic swaps over $20 when a regular swap's price impact is −0.2% or worse; LOBSTR takes 35% of the savings it finds.
• Network fee: at least 100 stroops (0.00001 XLM) per operation; LOBSTR bids at most 0.01 XLM per operation for standard transactions.
• Anchor deposits and withdrawals: LOBSTR lists 0.5% (minimum 0.5 USDC) on deposits and 1% (minimum 1 USDC) on withdrawals, though its loyalty table says LOBSTR fees do not apply to these.
• Loyalty tiers: Silver needs at least 100,000 AQUA and ICE making up 5–20% of eligible holdings, for 50% off swap fees; Gold needs at least 500,000 and over 20%, for 100% off.

How to choose

• You hold and send on your phone: the LOBSTR app alone is enough.
• You use dApps on a desktop browser: install the signer extension, or scan a WalletConnect QR code with the app. Both keep the key on your phone.
• You use dApps on the same phone: WalletConnect with deep linking, if the dApp supports it.
• You hold a large balance: add LOBSTR Vault multisig, or keep that balance behind a hardware wallet. See the best Stellar wallets.

The app vs the signer extension — where the keys are

The LOBSTR mobile app (iOS and Android) holds your keys and signs. The web app uses email-based accounts. The LOBSTR signer extension is a browser bridge: it connects a website to your phone, which shows each transaction for approval. The extension itself never holds a key.

The extension works in Chrome, Brave, Opera, Edge and other Chromium browsers, according to LOBSTR. You pair it by scanning its QR code with the app, approve the connection on your phone, and from then on a dApp's signature requests arrive as push notifications. LOBSTR says the extension supports Soroban transactions and multiple wallets, even from different phones. The design is the reason to prefer it over pasting a secret key into a website: the site gets a transaction signed, never the key.

Account types matter too. LOBSTR's help centre describes passkey accounts in the mobile apps and email-based accounts on the web. Your Stellar secret key and recovery phrase are encrypted on your device before being uploaded, using xsalsa20-poly1305 per LOBSTR, and decrypting them needs your credentials. LOBSTR's passkey account is a way to log in to LOBSTR; it is not the same thing as an on-chain passkey smart wallet, which we explain in passkey smart wallets on Stellar.

Trustlines and reserves

Before your account can hold any asset other than XLM, it needs a trustline to that asset's issuer. Each trustline reserves 0.5 XLM of your balance on top of the 1 XLM every account must keep. LOBSTR adds trustlines for you in most flows, but not all.

The reserve is locked, not spent, which is why LOBSTR can show an XLM balance you cannot fully send. Offers on the DEX and extra signers also reserve 0.5 XLM each. When you finish with an asset, swap or send out the remaining balance and remove the trustline to release its reserve. LOBSTR's swap guide also notes you need at least 0.5 XLM available to swap into a new asset, because the swap creates its trustline.

The exception is Aquarius. For Stellar Classic swaps LOBSTR adds the trustline in the same transaction; for Aquarius AMM swaps you must add it first, and the app prompts you if it is missing. Always check the issuer when adding an asset by hand: two tokens can share a code. Our guide to Stellar fees covers reserves in more detail.

Swaps — routing and what you pay

LOBSTR's Swap screen compares two routes: a Stellar Classic path payment across the Stellar DEX and its built-in AMM pools, and Aquarius's AMM pools. It uses whichever gives the better rate, and falls back to Aquarius if no Classic path has enough liquidity.

Classic swaps use path payments, which can hop through up to five assets to reach a better price; the mechanics are explained in the Stellar DEX explained. Aquarius routing is on by default. For Classic swaps over $20, Smart Swap may split the amount across several routes when a single route would move the price by 0.2% or more, and shows the estimated saving with a "Savings" tag before you confirm.

The cost has three layers. The network fee is tiny. LOBSTR's own fee, 0.5% to 1% for most assets, is built into the quoted rate rather than shown as a line item; LOBSTR shows the applicable fee in an alert before you buy and reserves the right to change it. Smart Swap takes 35% of whatever it saves you. A 1% slippage tolerance means the swap fails rather than fills if the price moves more than that after you submit.

Two consequences are worth knowing. A swap of a few hundred dollars at 0.5% costs more in LOBSTR fees than in network fees by several orders of magnitude, so for larger or frequent trades it can be worth comparing with trading on a DEX interface directly; see Aquarius vs Soroswap. And LOBSTR's loyalty programme discounts swap fees for AQUA and ICE holders: 50% at Silver, 100% at Gold. If you already hold AQUA, read what AQUA is and how ICE is created before buying more just to qualify.

Connecting to a Soroban dApp with WalletConnect

Choose WalletConnect on the dApp, scan its QR code with LOBSTR's Universal QR Code Scanner (or menu, WalletConnect, New connection), and tap Connect. From then on, every transaction the dApp builds appears in LOBSTR for review, and nothing is signed without your approval.

1. Open the dApp in your desktop browser and choose WalletConnect, or LOBSTR if it is listed separately.
2. Scan the QR code with the scanner in the top-right of LOBSTR's home screen, or go to menu, WalletConnect, New connection.
3. Approve the Connect prompt in the app. The dApp now sees your public address.
4. Sign each transaction as it arrives. For a Soroban contract call, check the contract and function and every operation listed, not just the headline amount.
5. Disconnect when you are done, from menu, WalletConnect.

LOBSTR names StellarX, StellarTerm, Litemint, NiceTrade, StellarNFT and Aquarius among services you can use this way, and you can keep several connections open at once. The same flow works for other Soroban dApps that support WalletConnect; WhaleHub's app, for example, accepts both WalletConnect and the LOBSTR extension. If you plan to stake AQUA from LOBSTR, our staking walkthrough covers the steps after connecting.

Session tips. LOBSTR's help centre says to keep the WalletConnect screen open to receive signature requests; the app keeps connections running in the background, but a request can be missed if the screen is closed. If a dApp says it is waiting and nothing appears, disconnect the session in LOBSTR, disconnect on the dApp, and connect again, or try a private browser window. If a session has expired or dropped, simply reconnect. Keep the app updated, because Soroban signing support has changed over time, and an old version may fail on newer contract calls.

Security

LOBSTR encrypts keys on your device and offers 2FA, a PIN or biometric lock, and IP-address confirmation, which is on by default. For larger balances, LOBSTR Vault adds a multisig co-signer whose key stays on a separate device.

• Turn on 2FA and an app PIN or biometrics. They protect against someone using a stolen password or an unlocked phone.
• Back up your recovery phrase offline. LOBSTR says no one, including LOBSTR, can access your recovery phrase, secret key or password, so no one can restore them for you.
• Consider LOBSTR Vault for meaningful balances. Vault keys stay on the device and are not backed up anywhere, so plan for losing that device too.
• Read every operation. A transaction can contain several operations, including account-setting changes. Before signing anything from a dApp, scroll through all of them; if you sign from an issuer or multisig account, check the account on an explorer afterwards.
• Verify URLs and avoid unknown services. LOBSTR's own WalletConnect guidance: use services you trust and never share a recovery phrase with one.

LOBSTR says WalletConnect makes it impossible for funds to be spent without your approval, which is true of the connection, not of what you approve. Most losses come from signing a malicious transaction willingly; see DeFi risks.

Fees, summarised

Network fees on Stellar are fractions of a cent and LOBSTR covers them for many in-app transactions, but not for transactions signed through WalletConnect, the signer extension or multisig. The fees that add up are LOBSTR's swap fees and anchor deposit and withdrawal fees.

LOBSTR's fee page says it bids up to 0.01 XLM per operation and normally pays the 100-stroop minimum. When you use a dApp through WalletConnect, you pay the Soroban transaction fee yourself, which includes resource fees on top of the base fee but is still typically a small fraction of one XLM. Swap fees are percentage-based, so they dominate any meaningful trade.

How these fit together

LOBSTR is a key manager first and a DeFi interface second. The app holds keys and handles the classic layer well: trustlines, payments, swaps through the DEX and Aquarius. For Soroban dApps it acts as a signer, reached through WalletConnect or the extension, while the dApp builds the transactions. That split is sound, and it puts the burden of checking what you sign on you.

The takeaway

LOBSTR is a sensible home base for Stellar DeFi: keys on your phone, a signer bridge for the browser, and swaps that find decent routes. Know what the convenience costs, roughly 0.5–1% per swap for most assets, keep XLM spare for reserves, and treat every WalletConnect prompt as a contract you are about to sign.

Sources: LOBSTR help centre: "How do I quickly swap one Stellar asset to another", "What is Smart Swap?", "What are the fees for a transaction?", "LOBSTR Loyalty Program", "Security of your wallet on LOBSTR", "WalletConnect: How to log in and use your Stellar wallet", "WalletConnect: What wallets and services can I use", "Is it secure to use WalletConnect on LOBSTR?", "LOBSTR signer extension: How to connect", minimum-balance article; lobstr.co/signer-extension (all checked 8 Oct 2026).