Opera was originally launched in 1995, making it an impressive 23 years old. A grand old man of the scene, it was one of the earliest internet browsers, competing with the likes of Mosaic, Netscape and the original version of Internet Explorer. But this old dog has always been adept at learning new tricks, as testified by its 322 million active users. In July of this year, Opera announced the launch of a built-in crypto wallet for its Android mobile browser, and now the wallet’s being made available for desktop too.
July’s move made Opera the first major browser to offer a crypto wallet. Their wallet enables Android users to make online payments, as well as storing, sending and receiving crypto. In addition the new browser claims to be fully “Web 3.0” compatible and supports Ethereum Web3 API, enabling users to access decentralized applications (DApps) on the go.
The new desktop wallet enables users to access the mobile wallet via their home computer or laptop by scanning a QR code, meaning two or more systems can be synced up seamlessly. The syncing technology is well established, having been used by Opera for other applications for some years. The fact that the wallet is held on users’ phones means fingerprint security can be used rather than lengthy passwords, and the wallet is “user-controlled” – public and private keys are stored only on the phone itself and not on a server – adding further to the system’s security credentials.
Opera say they’ve received an “overwhelmingly positive response from the crypto community” after the release of the Android wallet. So where next? According to a recent press release, Opera’s aim is “to make crypto-integration mainstream.” That’s fighting talk, and given the pioneering browser’s track record,only a fool would bet against them.
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