Coinbase Releases Standalone Browser Extension of Its Wallet
- By releasing a standalone version of its browser extension wallet, Coinbase is finally able to compete with existing wallets such as MetaMask.
- While the Coinbase Wallet browser extension has been available since May, it required transaction confirmation from the wallet’s mobile app.
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Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has expanded the functionality of its Coinbase Wallet by releasing a new standalone browser extension version, the company said in a blog post on 8 November.
While Coinbase’s wallet has been available as a downloadable browser extension since May, it only allowed users to connect their wallet to the extension, which could initiate a transaction but still required a confirmation from the mobile app. The new version, however, is a standalone wallet that enables users to directly access services such as trading, dApps, and NFTs without the need of smartphones. The company said in its blog post:
“Today’s release gives the Coinbase Wallet extension full standalone functionality, unlocking the world of crypto on desktop. Now, you can browse dapps, access thousands of cryptocurrencies, trade on decentralized exchanges (DEXes), earn interest, and collect NFTs from your browser without needing to confirm transactions on your smartphone.”
With this new release, Coinbase can finally start competing with wallets such as MetaMask and other popular Ethereum-based browser extension wallets. Coinbase has also made it easy for existing wallet users to “get started with the standalone extension” by giving them the opportunity to import existing wallets through their recovery phrase’s.
The sheer number of exchange hacks and DeFi exploits over the last few years has made self-custody a hot topic within the crypto community, and has placed a new emphasis on security. With that in mind, payments firm Square revealed earlier this year it is working on a new BTC hardware wallet that will provide users with “assisted-self-custody”, which is meant to simplify the experience of managing a wallet without sacrificing its security.
- A little over $13 million in altcoins were sent to crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase in the past 24 hours, which is in accordance with a September court order.
- The court ordered a phased liquidation process, which allows the bankruptcy estate to sell $3.4 billion worth of digital assets over a certain period of time.
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- Coinbase’s Base blockchain was made available to the public on Wednesday, featuring over 100 dApps and services as part of its ecosystem.
- In order to show its capabilities and promote its mainnet partners, Base has also launched an event called “Onchain Summer” that will allow users to mint exclusive NFTs on the network.
- During an interview with FT, CEO Brian Armstrong said that before the lawsuit a SEC staff member had said that all crypto except BTC was security, and should be delisted.
- When asked how he came to that conclusion, the SEC staff member reportedly said “we’re not going to explain it to you, you need to delist every asset other that Bitcoin”.