MetaMask Launches Token Swaps, Reaches Landmark 1 Million Monthly Active Users

Popular Ethereum wallet and Web 3.0 browser MetaMask has launched a new feature, allowing its users to swap their tokens directly from the browser extension, media outlet Decrypt reported on 6 October.

According to the publication, the new MetaMask Swaps feature will allow its users to swap their digital assets for just about any token without leaving the wallet itself. The new feature will function like any other exchange aggregator, though it is designed to improve user experience by automatically routing users to a service, and “always get the best prices across DeFi”.

MetaMask’s Head of Product, Jacob Cantele, told Decrypt:

“We get the best prices because we simultaneously aggregate the most liquidity sources (DEXs) and many different methods for splitting the order across the DEXs.”

The new feature, announced soon after MetaMask reached 1 million monthly active users, will initially be released for the wallet’s Firefox browser extension, but will soon be made available for other browsers. Developed by ConsenSys, MetaMask works just like any Ethereum wallet, though it also enables its users to use decentralized applications (dapps) through their browsers.

So far, in order to swap their tokens, users had to visit a specific decentralized exchange, or exchange aggregator, and then run the swap. With the new built-in function, users can just let MetaMask look for the best exchange rate for a given trade, which is done by getting a quote from every DEX and aggregator in MetaMask’s system, including Uniswap, Kyber, and ParaSwap.

This, according to MetaMask, will create a “better network for all – one with fewer fees and reduced network congestion”. Cantele explained:

“When we started building this functionality, we planned to bring a single DEX aggregator to MetaMask. We tested every DEX aggregator available, and found that results varied wildly based on the token and size of the swap the user was making.”

MetaMask Swaps will work much like any other existing decentralized exchange aggregator, though its advantage is that users of said aggregators are likely to have already used MetaMask. With that said, if users are presented with the option of doing the same thing, but directly from their wallet, many will likely do so.