This article was published on July 11, 2018

Opera is expanding its suite of cryptocurrency tools with a built-in wallet

Let's hope it makes the decentralized web more usable


Opera is expanding its suite of cryptocurrency tools with a built-in wallet

Opera is preparing to give Android users a built-in Crypto Wallet, the latest in its suite of tools for cryptocurrencies.

The next version will include a brand new storage solution for Ethereum, its tokens and various collectibles. Currently, those who hold more exotic digital assets often have to fumble through annoying extensions or use multiple wallets to conduct transactions.

The newest version of the Opera browser for Android also has built-in integration with Ethereum’s Web3 API. It marks the first time a major browser has taken Web 3.0 mainstream. What’s promised is an environment where Ethereum’s decentralized apps (dApps) will be fully accessible alongside the more standard, boring, and completely centralized Web 2.0.

It even uses Android’s secure system lock to sign cryptocurrency transactions directly from the browser, meaning users will have one less PIN or password to write down on paper, commit to memory far away from any potentially compromised electronics, and later destroy in an industrial shredder.

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Although there has been widespread enthusiasm, Web 3.0 is still full of intimidating interfaces and endless security concerns with poor usability. What often results is at odds with the marketing hype spun by our supposedly next-generation decentralized platforms. Time will tell if Opera’s new Crypto Wallet can inspire more user-friendly and reliable dApps.

As of this morning, Opera has begun rolling out the Crypto Wallet-equipped version of its browser to select testers in a private beta test. Hopefully the new tool will be available to everyone in the near future. We’ve requested access to the private beta and will let you know what we think about it once we’ve had a chance to put it to the test.

Opera have been gearing up to help make the new internet mainstream for a while, too. Earlier this year, they beefed up their desktop browser to protect against over 50 cryptojackers and updated their in-built currency converter to support several major cryptocurrencies.

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