Opera is not wasting any time polishing its built-in cryptocurrency browser wallet. The company is expanding its crypto-wallet beta program with two new functionalities: transaction notifications and the ability to send crypto-collectibles like CryptoKitties directly from your wallet.
It is a fairly minor update, but what is significant is that Opera claims it is the first app to offer the ability to send crypto-collectibles directly from your wallet (as opposed to via non-fungible token marketplaces coupled with wallet extensions like MetaMask).
“We have changed this and made sending crypto-collectibles as easy as sending money via Venmo,” a statement from Opera read. “We feel this makes them more tangible from a user’s perspective.”
Coinbase’s now-defunct Toshi wallet announced support for Ethereum’s non-fungible token protocol (more commonly known as ERC721) earlier this year, but it didn’t provide the ability to send crypto-collectibles directly from the browser. Not that this little convenience does much to make crypto-collectibles slightly more useful.
In addition to ERC721 support, Opera’s crypto-wallet will also ping you anytime your balance changes. “We are […] tracking the user’s transactions and notifying them about their progress and completion,” the company explained to Hard Fork. “The same applies if you are receiving a payment, a token or a collectible: you will get notified that there is something new in your wallet.”
Opera has gradually been adding more crypto-specific features to its browser over the past few months. Following the rollout of its native crypto-jacking feature, the company revealed it will be adding a built-in cryptocurrency wallet that would support Ethereum tokens and dApps.
Taking into account the dwindling market share of non-Chrome browsers and the booming blockchain market, it is not all that surprising that Opera is taking aim at cryptocurrency users. It will be interesting to see what Opera has to offer over competitors like Brave, which many have recently critcized for its seemingly flawed business model.
In any case, next time you need an easy way of selling your $170,000 digital kitties, now you know how to do it.
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