Brave Software, makers of the crypto-friendly Brave browser, has announced the launch of Brave Wallet, its new, built-in crypto wallet for its desktop browser.The new crypto wallet will enable Brave users to store, manage, accumulate, and swap assets from their crypto portfolio through a single, multi-asset wallet. The crypto wallet will not be featured as an extension to the Brave browser, rather, it will be browser-native. Brave claims that because of this, the wallet’s design would reduce “security risks and reliance on extra CPU and memory.” The self-custody wallet is compatible with most crypto assets, and is also compatible with other wallets and Web3 dApps.
“While countless crypto wallet options exist (hot ones and cold ones, hardware ones and software ones), most are browser extensions. These extensions have inherent security risks, are more susceptible to phishing and asset theft, and require extra background processes to run, creating performance issues on users’ devices.” Brave explained in a blog post.
Brave says that the wallet is compatible with hardware wallets such as Trezor and Ledger (without requiring users to run Ledger Live), and adds that the feature is only currently available through its desktop version, with the mobile browser version’s crypto wallet feature still under development. Brave’s legacy wallet, Crypto Wallets, is also still available, but the software firm hasn’t disclosed whether this will be deprecated soon in favor of the new Web3 wallet.
“The crypto boom has vaulted blockchain applications into the mainstream, but like any rapidly-growing innovation, this swift rise is not without challenges. One of the hurdles is the crypto wallet industry’s reliance on extensions, which introduces friction for DApp adoption and often leads to users losing funds via fake extension phishing scams,” shares Brave CTO and co-founder Brian Bondy, who has worked with Mozilla, an open-source software community, and Khan Academy, a non-profit educational organization.
Live and historical price data on the wallet are served through CoinGecko. For swapping, the wallet uses 0x as its DEX aggregator, while fiat-to-crypto payments are processed through an API integration with Wyre, a fiat/crypto gateway provider. The wallet can swap any asset that’s EVM-compatible (Ethereum Virtual MAchine), such as Polygon, xDai, and Avalanche, as well as Layer-2 protocols. Brave’s new native crypto wallet is also built with an open-source license from Mozilla (Mozilla Public License), allowing developers to file contributions and improvements to the software.
Plans for the wallet’s launch were initially disclosed by the software firm earlier in February. To date, Brave has over 42 million active users. Recently, CryptoDaily covered how Brave is integrating with the Solana blockchain. Earlier in June, the software firm also launched its own private search engine.Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
