Pedro Gomes

It’s a tale as old as time — from the Wright brothers’ invention of the first airplane to Steve Jobs’ 2007 iPhone reveal: Groundbreaking innovation changes the world.&nbsp;



But what we often tend to omit from the stories around these victorious wins for humanity are the smaller, considerably less glamorous improvements that often contribute just as much — if not more — as a catalyst for evolutionary change.&nbsp;



EIP-6963 was one of those smaller, yet incredibly important, wins.&nbsp;



Not just because of the direct impact on user experience that EIP-6963 will have for years to come, but because the development and adoption process taught us a valuable lesson too. Small victories can (and do) lead to significant progress, and we should never stop striving for better — no matter how big or small.&nbsp;



Throughout industries old and new, incremental innovations have been the backbone of product evolution time and time again. But when it comes to Web3, we’re often so focused on the “bigger tasks” at hand that we become victims to our own builders’ blindspot, missing opportunities to help our industry grow.&nbsp;



One can wander in the depths of Web3 today and likely experience — in one sitting — the typical highs and lows of its offerings. While improvements may be enough to convince the next one billion to begin their crypto journey, notable oversights across others can bring on enough of a headache to ensure they won’t try again.



One such area? Browser extension wallets.&nbsp;



In the somewhat earlier days of Web3, where wallet optionality was few and far between, Web3 users would typically have — at most — one browser extension wallet, and could generally enjoy a relatively seamless experience using it to connect to their favorite Web3 apps.&nbsp;&nbsp;



But as browser wallets gained popularity, fresh cracks in user experience quickly came into view. What lay beneath the seemingly coherent experience was an outworn, single-funnel process that simply wasn’t built to scale with a rapidly growing industry. The process at hand only allowed a single browser wallet to present itself at any given time, creating a fractured, winner-takes-all race condition when a user had more than one browser wallet installed.



As a result, what once felt like a sleek, intuitive process for consumers began to present a bizarrely competitive and extremely limited approach to Web3 connection. Any user with two or more browser extension wallets installed could no longer connect a wallet of their choice with an app, but instead, faced a brash and unwarranted connection request from the wallet that simply reached the finish line of this race condition first.



Suddenly, what should have been an obvious and pretty simple process to begin with resulted in a years-long UX faux pas.&nbsp;



With a focus on scalability and practicality, this month’s approval of <a href="https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-6963">EIP-6963</a> — a new standard that enables the discovery of multiple injected wallet providers — unlocked a simple solution to finally offer an alternative to these dysfunctional, frustrating and unsolicited browser wallet wars.



With major wallets and developer tools like MetaMask, WalletConnect, OKX and Coinbase sprinting to implement the new standard, a simple, sleek, intuitive connection process for browser extension wallets was finally back at play.



Read more from our opinion section: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/criminals-crypto-developers">Yes, criminals use crypto. No, don’t blame the developers.</a>



Like many Ethereum Improvement Proposals before it, EIP-6963 was created as a means to an end. All these years of wallet battles and user fraught, resolved with something that, in years to come, will likely seem so trivial, so expected by our global audience. Nothing radical, not “the next big thing,” but a modest, diplomatic solution that could profoundly impact Web3 forever.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Web3 still has a long way to go to become the go-to technology for users. We’ve got plenty of hurdles on the road ahead, with many that will require new, somewhat disruptive, and at times, radical ideas. But while that may be the case, there’s much to be said of the need for smaller, humbler, yet equally as powerful incremental improvements.



It’s time to take a page from the history books and remind ourselves: Absolutely do sweat the small stuff.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>


<div class="wp-block-post-author-biography">Pedro Gomes is the CEO and founder of WalletConnect, a communications protocol and developer tooling provider that connects 3,000+ leading apps to 500+ wallets, enabling millions of users to better access the world of web3. Pedro has spent many years contributing to developments across the web3 landscape, including contributions to a number of widely adopted EIPs and CAIPs, like EIP-1193, EIP-1271, EIP-3085, CAIP-2, and CAIP-10. Along with his team at WalletConnect, Pedro hosted the world’s first wallet-dedicated conference this year – WalletCon 2023 – where the long-awaited ERC-4337 was unveiled.</div>


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Crypto builders, please sweat the small stuff

Ornella Hernandez

Jon Rice

Many might question the wisdom of launching a public fundraising event in the crypto space at the same time as trust in the sector is bottoming out.



But Tokensoft, a token sale platform in the process of creating The Soft DAO and airdropping governance tokens to users, seems to have given the crypto community an extra reason to think twice about sharing personal information.



Recent events with FTX’s solvency crisis and eventual <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/news/ftx-is-bankrupt-but-you-can-still-trade-crypto-there/">bankruptcy filing</a> led many crypto users to panic over their frozen funds this week. 



Now around 4,500 participants in their airdrop have a new reason for concern, after a community manager in the Tokensoft Discord channel going by the name Nick G. <a href="https://twitter.com/cryptogle/status/1591542182346997767?s=20&amp;t=WK1z3d9dUs0S8LwLuMbOaA">appeared</a> to upload a document to the IPFS containing the names, addresses, IP addresses, email addresses and Ethereum wallet addresses of thousands of users. 



Doxing users is about the worst thing a crypto company can do, short of using their funds to fuel risky trades on a Bahamian exchange.



It may be a simple mistake: The Discord user may have thought he was uploading a list of ETH addresses only, and with the intent to illustrate addresses that were allegedly “gaming the airdrop”.



Blockworks reached out to Tokensoft and had not received a response at the time of publishing.



A leading crypto security expert told Blockworks that “Doing your own research is important, but knowing what data you’re giving to a new entity is also important. Before YOLOing into angel deals or token sales, it’s important to ask people where they’re keeping your data and what their policies are for deleting it and sharing it. As an easy 101 tip, never upload images of IDs or docs, and don’t send via Telegram or email without encryption or password protection.”&nbsp;



It’s not the first time this week that crypto users were reminded that trust can be misplaced.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FTX makes the case for self-custody</h2>



Most FTX customers, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/news/ftx-re-enables-withdrawals-but-only-in-bahamas/">if not in the Bahamas</a>, were unable to withdraw funds stored on the exchange. And some crypto owners are now learning a lesson about self-custody the hard way.



Many of those customers turned to hardware-based cryptocurrency wallet providers like Ledger and Trezor as a result. According to Ian Rogers, chief experience officer at Ledger, Thursday was their customer support teams’ most active day this year.&nbsp;



“Over 40% of requests came from users who wanted to safely move their crypto from exchanges to the safety of their Ledger Nanos,” Rogers said.



Due to the sudden surge in traffic on Wednesday, Ledger Live — the app integrated with the hardware device — experienced a server outage, which left users unable to send or withdraw funds. The issues were resolved after about one hour.&nbsp;



“We had an unusual load on the device manager service, which is likely to have been users updating their device for the first time in a while or using a brand new device for the first time,” Rogers told Blockworks.



Rogers added that Ledger is “seeing its highest rate of sales ever, with 7x growth week-over-week,” especially since the first signs of the crypto bear market in spring of this year.



A representative of SatoshiLabs, which markets the Trezor crypto hardware wallet, told Blockworks that it has seen comparable spikes in sales and traffic this week that correlate with <a href="https://cryptoslate.com/248m-stablecoins-flow-out-of-coinbase-as-community-refutes-exchange-liquidity-issues/">reports</a> of a Coinbase liquidity crisis in July and the Celsius crash in June.



Trezor saw its revenue from sales triple over Wednesday and Thursday, and traffic to its e-commerce site grow by 350% over the same period, according to the company.



Josef Tetek, brand ambassador for Trezor stated that while exchanges may provide a middleman service between sellers and buyers, “their incentive is to maximize earnings even when it’s not in their customers’ best interests.”



He added that exchanges “should never need to hold your keys for you.”&nbsp;



His words reference one of the most popular refrains of the crypto world and one that holds particularly true after this week’s events: Not your keys, not your coins.



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4,500 Doxed Tokensoft Users, a Rush on Cold Storage Wallets: Where’s the Silver Lining?

Macauley Peterson

<div id="highlights-block_6283c7e2cc6e1" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Coinbase is the most downloaded wallet over the past year, said Surojit Chatterjee, chief product officer</li>
 <li>Multichain expansion for Coinbase wallet is on the roadmap</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is rolling out a suite of new features for its popular wallet app, according to Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee.



The product will focus on three priorities — API first, DeFi first, and self-custody first, aimed at accelerating the mainstream adoption of Web3, Chatterjee said at Blockworks’ Permissionless conference.&nbsp;



Coinbase, along with other exchanges, provides a crucial fiat-to-crypto on-ramp, but Chatterjee said it remains too complicated for the average user to participate in self-custody and DeFi (decentralized finance). Coinbase aims to streamline that process with the integration in Coinbase Wallet of its <a href="https://www.coinbase.com/pay-sdk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pay software development kit</a> (SDK). The leading browser-based Web3 wallet, Consensys’ Metamask, will also adopt Pay, he said.



Via Pay, users will be able to buy cryptoassets with fiat and transfer them to the self-custody wallet of their choice in one step. The feature will serve users even if they are not a Coinbase customer via a guest checkout process in the near future.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Tackling Web3 identity</h3>



Chatterjee said that the cumbersome use of long wallet addresses — the public key which, on Ethereum, begins with 0x — remains a barrier to adoption. To reduce complexity, the Coinbase Wallet will allow a user to claim an <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=ethereum+name+service" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ethereum Name Service</a> (ENS) address for free. ENS is just one of several services Coinbase plans to integrate, a spokesperson told Blockworks, to address problems around Web3 identity.



To alleviate privacy concerns, Coinbase proposes to become a secure provider of know your customer (KYC) verification, which can be passed on to third-party dApps while maintaining user privacy, using zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP). To do that, the wallet will let developers access an open ZKP SDK, which should provide verification for required data — such as meeting a minimum age requirement — without revealing a user’s specific details.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">A new focus on self-custody and multichain</h3>



The company is also rolling out a self-custodial dApp wallet based on multi-party computation (MPC), a cryptographic technique for secure private key management used in institutional grade custodial solutions from the likes of Fireblocks and Qredo.



By using a dApp wallet, users will be able to interact with DeFi apps such as Compound and Uniswap directly, without first needing to withdraw cryptoassets from their Coinbase account to a self-custody wallet. Similar features are offered by mobile wallets from Argent and browser-based wallets DeFi Saver and InstaDapp.



The Coinbase wallet is also gearing up to support all blockchains compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), as well as select others, such as Solana.



The wallet is expected to connect to Coinbase’s new NFT marketplace, but be able to interact with any NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace, allowing users to aggregate their NFTs.



The new features began rolling out to a small set of US Android users Monday, with wider distribution expected soon.



This story was updated on May 17, 2022, at 13:41 pm ET.



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Coinbase To Take DeFi-first Approach With its App and Wallet

Casey Wagner

<div id="highlights-block_624f3b3799303" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Bitcoin is the top recurring buy on the trading platform so far in 2022</li>
 <li>The wallet will not allow for the integration of Ethereum-based services or support NFTs</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Stock trading platform Robinhood has opened its crypto wallet up for two million more “eligible” users, Chief Product Officer Aparna Chennapragada said during an announcement at the Bitcoin 2022 event in Miami.&nbsp;



The wallet, first revealed in September and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/robinhood-deploys-beta-crypto-wallets-allowing-select-customers-to-transfer-off-platform/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">beta tested</a> for 1,000 users in January, will allow users to move cryptocurrencies in and out of Robinhood’s ecosystem. Previously, traders could only buy and sell cryptoassets within the app, and transfers off the platform were restricted.



The wallet allows Robinhood traders to gain access to the broader blockchain ecosystem but will not allow for the integration of Ethereum-based services or support NFTs (non-fungible tokens).&nbsp;



“A​​ny NFTs sent to a Robinhood Ethereum address may be lost and unrecoverable,” the trading platform’s <a href="https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/cryptocurrency-wallets/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">website</a> said.&nbsp;



The expanded wallet services come as Robinhood customers continue to show interest in cryptocurrencies. Nearly 10 million Robinhood users traded cryptocurrencies in 2021, and bitcoin is the top recurring buy asset on the trading platform so far in 2022, Chennapragada said during the announcement.



More recent figures however show a drop off from Robhinhood’s early success with cryptocurrency trading. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the app brought in about $48 million in transaction-based revenue associated with digital assets, a decrease from the $51 million and $233 million brought in during the third and second quarters, respectively.



Robinhood executives said in January that the beta testing phase would be used to perfect the wallet, specifically in terms of finalizing the send and receive flows, adding QR functionality, improving the transaction history interface and adding block explorer support.



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Robinhood Opens Crypto Wallet Service to 2 Million More Users

<div id="highlights-block_61faae21d00c4" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>El Salvador has recruited US-based crypto wallet provider to address Chivo concerns</li>
 <li>The partnership comes after months of reports of fraud and difficulties with the application</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Nearly five months into the uneven rollout of El Salvador’s experiment to make bitcoin the country’s currency, the Central American nation has tapped an institutional crypto wallet provider to improve its in-house Chivo Wallet.



Chivo launched with a host of glitches, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/fraud-funding-woes-and-a-president-who-wont-quit-el-salvadors-bitcoin-experiment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">citizens said</a>. The administration has since tapped AlphaPoint to integrate with Chivo in an effort to make the wallet more stable and support instantaneous bitcoin transactions.



Igor Telyatnikov, co-founder and CEO of AlphaPoint, told Blockworks the company was chosen to “deliver the scale and stability required to enable an application at the size of the Chivo wallet.”



“An improved lightning (a bitcoin scaling solution) integration, application responsiveness and enhanced administrative tools for increasing customer service response time are elements delivered in the implementation,” Telyatnikov told Blockworks.&nbsp;



Over 4 million Salvadorans currently use the Chivo app, <meta charset="utf-8">Vadim Telyatnikov, co-founder and chairman of AlphaPoint said. 



The implementation comes after months of complaints. When it launched in September, the app did not require photo identification, only a citizen’s date of birth and national identity card number (similar to a social security number), resulting in fraud. Citizens and business owners also expressed concern with the amount of time it took to access funds, according to <a href="https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/chivo-wallet-fraudes/889706/2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">local reports</a>.



As a result, relatively few businesses now accept bitcoin, citizens say.&nbsp;



“The only businesses that are accepting bitcoin readily, aside from a few, are big corporations like Starbucks and McDonald’s that have tech teams to implement it,” said Alexandra Dumitru, a cryptocurrency consultant and advocate living in El Salvador. “It’s a pretty small percentage of businesses in the country, especially considering how many small tiendas [convenience stores] and whatnot there are.”



Problems aside, El Salvador is still the only country in the world to accept bitcoin as legal tender. Even if only large corporations are playing along, that’s still a significant development, the AlphaPoint team said.&nbsp;



“Notably, for the first time anywhere in the world, major chains such as Super Selectos, McDonalds, Starbucks, Wendy’s, Subway, Walmart and government offices are already accepting Bitcoin with Chivo,” Vadim Telyatnikov, said. “Adoption on such a broad scale has not been achieved yet anywhere else in the world.” 



Meanwhile, El Salvador officials are working to roll out an additional 1,500 bitcoin ATMs across the country with the aim of easing adoption.&nbsp;



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El Salvador Turns to US Bitcoin Wallet to Revamp Chivo

Sam Reynolds

<div id="highlights-block_618adda37b535" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Phantom recently hit a million users on its desktop wallet</li>
 <li>Phantom Wallet is joining SolFlare in expanding into the mobile wallet space</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Breakpoint 2021, Lisbon, Portugal — Phantom, which recently hit a million users on its desktop wallet, announced a mobile version of its Solana wallet at the Breakpoint conference in Lisbon.



Of course, it’s been possible to trade tokens on mobile for quite some time. Nearly every exchange has a mobile app, but trading doesn’t mean custody and the burgeoning market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) requires custodial wallets like MetaMask.&nbsp;



Phantom has worked hard to expand its custodial wallet on desktop, as more users want the custodial browser experience which MetaMask has pioneered.&nbsp;



Indeed, for the most part, DeFi is a PC-only affair. The wallets and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/solana-ignition-hackathon-to-focus-on-defi-web3-gaming-and-nfts/">Web3</a> protocols used for DeFi activities might in theory work on mobile but it’s a messy affair. Swapping SOL and SPL tokens can be tough on a website designed for desktop but being rendered on mobile.



However, with the round-the-clock nature of crypto, seems a natural choice, especially considering MetaMask’s biggest jump in users came as it launched its mobile app.&nbsp;



“We’re expanding as quickly as we can to meet the new inflow of demand for applications built on Solana. With this launch, we’re giving existing and new users the opportunity to use a solid crypto wallet on-the-go,” said Brandon Millman co-founder and CEO of Phantom in a statement.&nbsp;



“This means they can mint NFTs, stake tokens, and more while not being tied to their computers, which carries considerable weight considering how fast the Solana ecosystem currently moves.”



Phantom joins SolFlare, one of the first Solana-native wallets, in a push for bringing Solana to mobile wallets. SolFare is no stranger to the ecosystem, currently staking 22% of the entire supply of SOL.&nbsp;



For its part Phantom said it&#8217;s blockchain agnostic and it believes in the “multi-chain future”, creating wallet apps aligned with market demand.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



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<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>

Phantom Wallet Launches Mobile Version to Bring Solana to Smartphones

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_618ad477bafdd" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Users voiced concerns around the potential integration, citing the impact of cryptocurrency on the environment</li>
 <li>One former volunteer moderator for Discord described the prospective move from the app as another “[attempt] to capitalize on a Silicon Valley trend.”</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Discord, one of the world&#8217;s largest messaging apps, could soon have cryptocurrency wallet integration, the company’s chief executive officer <a href="https://twitter.com/jasoncitron/status/1457841222995693570?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> early Tuesday morning. 



CEO and founder Jason Cintron posted a screengrab that shows Discord&#8217;s platform connecting to Ethereum via wallets such as MetaMask. If integrated, the feature could allow users to send each other crypto. The executive <a href="https://twitter.com/textfiles/status/1458102225373470726?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">doubled down</a> and later retweeted his initial post that hinted at future blockchain capabilities. 



However, the platform does not currently have this feature, as of press time.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">probably nothing <a href="https://t.co/p4P6MoNGgd">pic.twitter.com/p4P6MoNGgd</a>&mdash; Jason Citron (@jasoncitron) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasoncitron/status/1457841222995693570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Following Citron’s tweets, certain Discord users responded with concerns, citing the impact of crypto on the environment, security issues that could ensue on the app and more. 



Some have boycotted by canceling (or have <a href="https://twitter.com/ohgoditsranor/status/1457877564144459776?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">threatened to cancel</a>) the app&#8217;s subscription service, known as “Nitro”, according to Discord’s official <a href="https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/360000789931-Nitro">website</a>. Outside posts under the gaming company&#8217;s “feedback” section consist of titles such as “<a href="https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/4412694573463-I-ll-straight-up-leave-and-use-Slack-if-you-integrate-NFTs-" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">I&#8217;ll straight up leave and use Slack if you integrate NFTs</a>” and “<a href="https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/4412689797527-Shout-from-the-roof-tops-how-much-you-don-t-want-crypto-integration" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shout from the rooftops [about] how much you don’t want crypto integration</a>.” 



Elsewhere, a <a href="https://twitter.com/textfiles/status/1457751651465449475?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">screenshot</a> of a previous Discord <a href="https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6469752/Discord-Web3-Survey" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">survey</a> surfaced on Tuesday. The questionnaire (apparently from <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/123752/discord-ceo-hints-at-integrating-ethereum-via-wallets-such-as-metamask" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">August</a>) asked users about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and “Discord-native wallets” which could (in theory) allow users to have a digital wallet attached to their account. Blockworks did not have access to the results of this survey, as of press time. 



“We’re always exploring and hacking away at things we think will improve Discord for all the communities we serve,” a company spokesperson told <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/9/22772164/discord-nft-viral-tweet-social-media-backlash" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Verge</a>. “This includes research that helps us learn about what people want.”



One former volunteer Discord moderator, who agreed to be interviewed under the condition of anonymity, described the potential integration as another “[attempt] to capitalize on a Silicon Valley trend.”



“I&#8217;m personally against blockchain tech in its current state due to the energy consumption problem,” the ex-moderator of two years said, who was recently removed from the program after voicing concerns over leadership changes. “This is another example of Citron putting monetary gain and personal interest before user (or even employee) interest.”



Discord did not immediately respond to Blockworks&#8217; request for comment. 



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Discord CEO Hints at Crypto Wallet Integration, Some Users Boycott

<div id="highlights-block_616ee08254e0b" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Coinbase managed roughly $180 billion worth of crypto assets on its platform as of June</li>
 <li>Coinbase (COIN) shares jumped 4% following the announcement; Facebook is up 1.25% on the day</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Facebook will soon store funds from its digital wallet, Novi, with the cryptocurrency custody arm of Coinbase, the company <a href="https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-to-power-crypto-custody-for-facebooks-novi-90dc8d3f5830" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> on Tuesday. 



Novi, a Facebook subsidiary developing the wallet, will allow users to execute fast and free transfers of digital currency. The wallet was initially set to pair with Libra, the Facebook-initiated stablecoin project now dubbed Diem, but Novi scaled back its ambitions following withering criticism from financial regulators, Blockworks previously <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/facebook-we-can-rebuild-the-broken-payments-system/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.  



Novi <a href="https://twitter.com/novi/status/1450447507385950220?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1450447507385950220%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2021%2F10%2F19%2Ffacebook-taps-coinbase-for-digital-wallet-novi.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">will go live</a> in the US and Guatemala in a smaller pilot program that will initially allow users to purchase the Paxos Dollar (USDP) instead of Diem. Wallet holders can then deposit their funds with Coinbase. Coinbase will provide custody services via its custody trust company, which currently manages roughly $180 billion in digital assets, according to data from June. 



“This does not mean our support for Diem has changed,” Facebook said in a press release.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“We intend to launch Novi with Diem once it receives regulatory approval and goes live.”</blockquote>



The custodian partnership comes as both multibillion-dollar tech companies have reportedly been venturing into the non-fungible token (NFT) space.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Coinbase <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-plans-to-launch-nft-marketplace/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced </a>the upcoming launch of an NFT marketplace on Wednesday. The soon-to-be product allows users to purchase, mint, and trade the crypto assets on a peer-to-peer platform. More than <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/the-nft-market-is-already-centralized-2021-10-18" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two million</a> people have joined the waitlist for Coinbase NFT marketplace.



Facebook’s Novi may be able to <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/facebooks-novi-digital-wallet-could-support-nfts-in-future-exec-says/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">support NFTs</a> in the future as well, allowing users to store them on the digital wallet, according to the company’s Financial Head, David Marcus. 



“We’re definitely looking at the number of ways to get involved in the [NFT} space because we think we’re in a really good position to do so,” Marcus said to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-24/facebook-fb-explores-nfts-as-part-of-novi-digital-wallet" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg</a> in August. Marcus hasn’t spoken publicly about the matter since. 



Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) and Facebook Inc. (FB) shares are both up on Tuesday’s news, trading at $301.24 and $338.98, as of press time. COIN jumped 4% in less than an hour following the Tuesday morning announcement.&nbsp;



Facebook did not respond to Blockworks’ request for comment. Coinbase declined to comment further, and referred to their blog post.



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Facebook Likes Coinbase Custody for Digital Wallet Pilot Program

<div id="highlights-block_614129973e5c5" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Abra launched a full suite of financial products including lending earlier this year </li>
 <li>The company says it will use the proceeds of the round to expand its product team</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Digital Asset Summit 2021, New York City — Abra announced today that it has closed a $55 million Series C round, bringing the company’s total funds raised to $85 million. 



Abra began as a custodial wallet, but now bills itself as a wealth management platform having launched&nbsp; borrowing, trading, and remittance services earlier this year.&nbsp; In a release, the company said that its assets under management has grown to $1 billion and its 155,000 customers have processed nearly $4 billion in transactions since its inception.



“Cryptocurrencies, NFTs and DeFi are now top of mind for almost all investors. The crypto asset class is growing exponentially, even outpacing the early commercial Internet itself. Our vision of crypto-centric banking is coming to life in front of our eyes, and Abra is excited to serve as a leader in the space,” said Abra CEO Bill Barhydt in a statement. “I’m proud of what the Abra team has accomplished, and we look forward to continuing to scale our platform and serve our customers as their trusted and compliant crypto banking platform.”



Abra says it plans to use the funds to expand its global product team.



On stage at the Digital Asset Summit, Barhydt said more funding rounds are likely as the company is &#8220;growing like weeds&#8221; and has &#8220;hundreds of thousands of consumers on the retail side.&#8221;



In addition, he said that Abra &#8220;Earn&#8221; accounts will be launched soon in New York.



In 2019, <a href="https://siliconangle.com/2020/07/13/crpyto-firm-abra-settles-regulators-offering-unregistered-swap-transactions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Abra was fined</a> $300,000 by both the SEC and CFTC for offering unregistered swap transactions on securities. As part of the agreement with regulators, Abra has agreed to stop offering tokenized stocks and similar futures services. The company claimed that it was largely run out of the Philippines, and thus not under the jurisdiction of US law, and also that it blocked US users.



A record amount of money continues to <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-venture-funding-is-at-an-all-time-high-this-is-where-the-money-is-going/">pour</a> in the digital asset space. In fact, As of mid-June, an all-time high of $17 billion has been invested into crypto projects in 2021 as Blockworks previously reported.



Already this week, Amberdata announced it had <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/citi-leads-15m-investment-into-digital-asset-company-amberdata/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">raised</a> $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Citi. Separately, layer-2 solution Immutable <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/layer-2-solution-immutable-closes-60m-series-b-round/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">closed</a> a $60 million Series B co-led by BITKRAFT Ventures and King River Capital.



This story was updated on September 15, 2021, at 10:12 am ET.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



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Crypto Wallet and Wealth Manager Abra Closes $55M Series C Round

<div id="highlights-block_61267ab5ef5a0" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Novi could be used to store non-fungible tokens once the digital wallet goes live</li>
 <li>The wallet is intended to allow users to execute often-times free and quick money transfers</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Facebook Inc. is heavily considering adding non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into their soon-to-be launched digital wallet Novi, according to the company’s Financial Head David Marcus.



“We’re definitely looking at the number of ways to get involved in the [NFT} space because we think we’re in a really good position to do so,” Marcus said in an interview with <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-24/facebook-fb-explores-nfts-as-part-of-novi-digital-wallet">Bloomberg</a> on Tuesday. However, Marcus added that it was still “too early to talk” publicly about plans to get involved in the space.



According to Marcus, Novi could be used as a way to store NFTs once the digital wallet goes live. &#8220;If you&#8217;re a creator and you&#8217;re creating your NFT, you may want to rent your NFT, you may want to sell your NFT. You&#8217;ll have to store your NFT,” he said.



Novi is intended to allow users to execute often-times free and quick money transfers. Originally, the crypto wallet was created to pair with Libra (now referred to as Diem) the Facebook-initiated stablecoin project, but ran into resistance from financial regulators. Facebook said the financial product is “ready now” but the social media network has been waiting to launch alongside Diem, their stablecoin project which would offer a coin backed by the US dollar.



Marcus has said in the past that Facebook’s financial service projects have undergone unfair resistance from financial regulators, according to a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/facebook-we-can-rebuild-the-broken-payments-system/">memo </a>released on August 18.



“I’ve repeatedly heard variations of the argument that the payments and financial services industry shouldn’t let Facebook be part of these innovations,” Marcus wrote in the memo. “I’ve heard multiple conversations about how this proposal would be so great if only Facebook wasn’t involved.” Marcus added that these financial products should be taken seriously.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Facebook’s venture into the metaverse</h3>



Talk of NFT adoption should come as no surprise after CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent comments about the company’s venture into the “metaverse.”



During Facebook’s <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/29/facebook-metaverse-plans-to-make-money.html">earnings call</a> in July, Zuckerberg referred to the tech giant as a “metaverse company”, using the term approximately 20 times during the hour-long call. However, it was unclear how the CEO planned to profit from the digital world.



Overall, NFTs are quickly gaining popularity despite many holders not understanding the asset that they own, FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried said in a recent <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/08/24/non-fungible-tokens-are-going-completely-mainstream-says-ftx-ceo.html">interview with CNBC.</a>



&#8220;It&#8217;s almost going mainstream faster than the mainstream understands what it is they&#8217;re adopting, which is a weird phenomenon,&#8221; Bankman-Fried said. &#8220;It could lead to just incredibly fast and giant adoption. It could also lead, frankly, to sort of a sour taste in people&#8217;s mouth if there&#8217;s a crash, and no one ever quite figured out what it was.&#8221;



Want more investor-focused content on digital assets? <a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/digital-asset-summit-2021-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Join us</a> September 13th and 14th for the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in NYC. Use code ARTICLE for $75 off your ticket. <a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/digital-asset-summit-2021-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Buy it now</a>.

Facebook’s Novi Digital Wallet Could Support NFTs in Future, Exec Says

<div id="highlights-block_611d2cd9fe2e8" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Facebook payments and stablecoin projects have been unfairly scrutinized, the head of Facebook Financial writes </li>
 <li>The tech giant says it will be at the forefront of revolutionizing the payments system </li>
 </ul>
 
</div>


<div id="highlights-block_611d2bd7fe2e5" class="highlights">
 
</div>



Facebook wants a ‘fair shot’ at rebuilding today’s broken payments system, according to David Marcus, head of the financial services branch of the technology company.&nbsp;



Facebook Payments, launched in 2009, has enabled more than $100 billion in payments volume, Marcus wrote in a <a href="https://medium.com/@davidmarcus/good-stablecoins-a-protocol-for-money-and-digital-wallets-the-formula-to-fix-our-broken-payment-f11f59fc92d7">memo Wednesday</a> about Facebook’s role in improving financial systems. The platform and Facebook’s other financial services projects, Marcus said, have faced unfair resistance from traditional financial players and regulators, but the company is ready to be taken seriously.&nbsp;



“I’ve repeatedly heard variations of the argument that the payments and financial services industry shouldn’t let Facebook be part of these innovations,” Marcus wrote. “I’ve heard multiple conversations about how this proposal would be so great if only Facebook wasn’t involved.”&nbsp;



The pushback Marcus refers to was largely centered around Novi, Facebook’s planned digital wallet that would allow for quick, and oftentimes free, money transfers. The tech giant intended to pair Novi with Facebook-initiated stablecoin project Libra, but ran into regulatory constraints. 



In 2019, former President Donald Trump said that Libra would lack “standing and dependability” and that stablecoins will never be recognized as ‘real’ currencies. European Central Bank board member Benoit Coeure also raised concerns in 2019 about Libra posing a threat to the US dollar supremacy.&nbsp;



The opposition has positioned the tech giant, with roughly 2.89 billion users as of the second quarter of 2021, as a dark horse, Marcus said.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“One of the core tenets of our value system is the promise of a level playing field,” Marcus wrote. “This idea that any person or company bringing a solid solution to a problem will have a fair shot.”</blockquote>



Facebook rebranded the Libra project as Diem following the opposition. Diem is now overseen by the Diem Association, a nonprofit group looking to address government and regulatory concerns.&nbsp;



“I understand and accept the need for extra scrutiny due to our scale,” Marcus wrote.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">The regulatory approach</h3>



In May 2021, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/facebook-led-digital-currency-pivots-to-us-dollar-stablecoin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook announced a partnership</a> with Silvergate Capital where the bank holding company will be the exclusive issuer of Diem USD stablecoin. The move is largely seen as a way to appeal to regulators, some say.&nbsp;



“Libra had a fair amount of pushback, and subsequent to that, Facebook decided to say, ‘okay, we&#8217;re going to go to the regulatory approach, we&#8217;re going to we&#8217;re going to do everything by the book, we&#8217;re going to go get whatever state money transfer licenses we need with Novi,’” said&nbsp; Michael Del Grosso, research analyst at Compass Point Research and Trading. “And with Diem, as opposed to going to a less regulated stablecoin issuer, we&#8217;re going to go through a member of the Federal Reserve of California, a state-chartered bank, which is Silvergate.”&nbsp;



Facebook is a “challenger” in the financial payments industry, Marcus said. The Novi wallet will allow users to send and receive US dollars, Euros and other fiat currencies free of charge.&nbsp;



“So why not just do that and call it a day?” he wrote. “Well, we might.”



But Facebook isn’t quite ready to give up on the incorporation of stablecoins, Marcus said. A closed payments system using only fiat currencies is &#8220;not going to cut it,” he wrote. 



A secure, well-designed stablecoin truly backed one-to-one by fiat currency, a feature many <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/more-capital-flowed-into-stablecoins-than-muni-bonds-in-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">projects today lack</a>, would offer consumers stronger protection and options in payments, Marcus said.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Facebook is committed to reaching this goal while adhering to regulations. The Novi wallet has licenses or approvals in most US states, Marcus said. Additionally, he said, the Diem stablecoin project “has addressed every legitimate concern.”



“Change is long overdue. It’ll happen one way or another. Novi is ready to come to market,” Marcus wrote. “It’s regulated, and we’re confident in our operational ability to exceed the high standards of compliance that will be demanded of us.”&nbsp;



Marcus’ statement, Del Grosso said, reflects the work Facebook has done and wants to show regulators.&nbsp;



“Facebook is trying to appease the regulators by playing their game,” Del Grosso said. “And I think that that&#8217;s what David is saying in this post today. He&#8217;s saying that they have gone out, done their homework, and they deserve their place in the marketplace today.”&nbsp;



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Facebook: We Can Rebuild the Broken Payments System

<div id="highlights-block_60c25141b35a4" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Ledger secures approximately 15% of all cryptocurrency assets</li>
 <li>Ledger raised $75 million in a Series B round in January 2018 </li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Ledger, a hardware wallet-maker for crypto holders, <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210609005985/en/Ledger-completes-a-380-million-Series-C-fundraising-valuing-the-company-at-more-than-1.5-billion-to-strengthen-its-position-as-the-leading-secure-gateway-to-digital-assets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> a whopping investment of $380 million in Series C funding. This brings the company at an implied valuation of $1.5 billion.



<a href="https://www.ledger.com/we-are-ledger" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ledger</a>, founded in 2014, secures approximately 15% of all cryptocurrency assets, the company’s<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210609005985/en/Ledger-completes-a-380-million-Series-C-fundraising-valuing-the-company-at-more-than-1.5-billion-to-strengthen-its-position-as-the-leading-secure-gateway-to-digital-assets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> press release</a> disclosed on Thursday morning.&nbsp;



The Paris-based company said it has “ambitious plans” to use its funding for its proprietary operating system, potential <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/the-investors-guide-to-defi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DeFi</a> solutions for new transaction systems and innovation in their hardware products.&nbsp;



CEO Pascal Gauthier said that the Series C announcement “marks the transition of Ledger from the leading digital asset security company to becoming the secure gateway to the entire digital asset ecosystem.”



Ledger previously raised $75 million in a Series B round in January 2018 and $8.3 million in a Series A round in March 2017.&nbsp;



Ledger’s Series C funding round was led by digital asset fund 10T Holdings. Other noteworthy investors include: Cathay Innovation, Draper Esprit, Draper Associates, Draper Dragon, DCG, Korelya Capital and Wicklow Capital.&nbsp;



“We believe Ledger is the premier security company and premier brand name in the cryptocurrency/blockchain space,&#8221; 10T Holdings CEO Dan Tapiero said in Ledger’s press release. “We see a tremendous future for its new lines of business and expect it to become one the very few dominant firms in the ecosystem.”