Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wins Patent! Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wins patent for sending bitcoin as easy as email – in the literal sense. The patent was first filed in March of 2015, and it details a system for users to make cryptocurrency payments with email addresses that are linked to a corresponding wallet address.
The Sender would make a request to send crypto to an email address and the system would automatically transmit the agreed upon amount – as long as they had the requested funds in their wallet. The system would then send from the sender’s wallet to the receiver’s wallet.
The system would take around 48 hours to clear the transaction. Cryptocurrencies not in use would be stored in a secure vault that can only be accessed by the email address linked to the corresponding wallet.
Coinbase has won huge through crypto – they’ve collected more than $2 billion dollars in transaction fees since 2012. This system would not charge users fees. The mining fees would be paid for by the exchange itself. External transfers could potentially happen – however, it’s not clear if they would be free-of-charge.
The patent was specific to Bitcoin – it’s not clear if this would include other cryptocurrencies. The new system would certainly open up more users to crypto – email is something almost with an internet connection uses. This would also be another way to bring financial services to the under-served.
What do you think? Let us know on our Facebook page!
