Cryptocurrencies

Opera Mobile Browser Introduces Crypto Wallet Feature

These days it seems that one of the quickest ways to get attention for your company is to utter the words “blockchain” or “cryptocurrency.” While some have used this reality to fuel various gimmicks and promotions (see: Oscar Meyer), others have managed to integrate crypto into their existing products in a meaningful way. The latest to enter the latter category is Opera.

As TechCrunch reports, Opera has begun rolling out a built-in crypto wallet for their mobile browser. This not only lets users send and receive cryptocurrencies but also enables them to pay in crypto on sites that accept such payment using Coinbase Commerce. Currently the feature is in beta (you can join the waitlist here) and is only offered for Android.

In a press release announcing the new wallet, Opera offered their outlook for the world wide web, writing, “We believe the web of today will be the interface to the decentralized web of tomorrow. This is why we have chosen to use our browser to bridge the gap. ” They continued, explaining, “We think that with a built-in crypto wallet, the browser has the potential to renew and extend its important role as a tool to access information, make transactions online and manage users’ online identity in a way that gives them more control.”

This actually isn’t the first time Opera has stepped into the world of cryptocurrency. Earlier this year Opera began offering cryptojacking protection on their mobile and web browsers. Additionally they’ve included a built-in cryptocurrency converter that allows users to highlight a price and how much something costs in crypto.

Although Opera may not be the biggest browser out there, they do have a substantial user base on mobile. As a result integrating cryptocurrencies into their browser — thus making tokens easier to store and use — could help to further adoption. Notably, while crypto has mostly been seen as an investment gold rush in recent months, the Opera Crypto Wallet offering also promotes actually spending crypto and furthering the dream of decentralization. Of course the wallet’s inclusion could also boost Opera by attracting crypto newbies who are looking for a simple solution for getting started.

Whether this move of bringing cryptocurrency support into web browsers will grow into a full-on trend remains to be seen. That said, depending on demand, such a feature could be possibly be added to “open-source” browsers like Chrome (as TechCrunch notes). Until then hopefully Opera’s Crypto Wallet proves popular and convinces some nonbelievers that cryptocurrency is for real.

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