MWEB (Mimblewimble Extension Block) is an opt-in privacy layer on Litecoin, activated at block 2,257,920 in May 2022. It provides confidential amounts and unlinkable transactions while preserving full compatibility with the base Litecoin chain through a peg-in/peg-out mechanism. Lite Wallet v3.16.0, released 2026-04-20, supports MWEB on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Platform coverage for MWEB has historically been uneven across the Litecoin wallet ecosystem — some wallets ship it on desktop but not mobile, or on Android but not iOS. This release closes the gap.

Why platform coverage matters

A privacy feature is only useful if it is available when and where you transact. If your wallet supports MWEB on desktop but not on the phone in your pocket, the feature effectively does not exist for point-of-sale or on-the-go payments — the moments where confidentiality matters most. Fragmented coverage also creates the worst-case scenario for key management: users either carry two wallets, or they hold all their funds on the one platform that happens to support the feature they need, which concentrates risk. Unified platform coverage means one wallet, one paper key, same feature set, every device.

What MWEB actually does

MWEB adds a parallel transaction model alongside the main Litecoin chain. When you peg in, standard LTC is converted to an MWEB output where the amount is cryptographically blinded — visible to you and the recipient, not visible to third-party blockchain explorers. MWEB transactions inside the extension block use Mimblewimble's cut-through properties so historical transaction graphs are compressed and intermediate hops are harder to reconstruct. When you peg out, an MWEB output becomes standard LTC again on the base chain. MWEB is opt-in: you choose when to move funds into MWEB, how long to hold them there, and when to peg out. It does not obfuscate the base chain — your standard LTC transactions remain transparent unless you peg in first.