It was only last year that the once-top-in-the-game Android browser, Opera became one of the first browsers to take the decentralization route.
In July 2018, Opera Browser announced its plan to offer cryptocurrency wallet facility to enable users to store their crypto and ERC20 tokens in the browser itself in addition to allowing them to send and receive the crypto on the move.
Talking about the expansion, Charles Hamel, the Product Lead of Opera Crypto had said, “We believe the web of today will be the interface to the decentralized web of tomorrow. By becoming the first major browser to open up to Web 3.0, we would like to contribute to making the internet of the future more accessible. Our hope is that this will accelerate the transition of cryptocurrencies from speculation and investment to being used for actual payments and transactions in our users’ daily lives.”
Between then and now, Opera has taken several steps in the Blockchain direction:
- Introduced a “web 3 ready” android browser
- Developed a crypto-friendly iOS app
- Created a desktop browser with native digital wallet support
- Partnered with a Swedish crypto broker to sell Scandinavians discounted ETH.
Today, after a year, the brand has strived ahead and has added support for Bitcoin crypto to its Android browser app. Meaning, Opera users can easily carry out the Bitcoin transactions straight in the browser without the need of working around an extension or any other complex process.
Opera’s crypto wallet extended support to only Ethereum up until now, but a few months back, in July, the company had announced its plan to support both Tron and Bitcoin cryptocurrencies. While they were made available in the Beta version, it has been made official today that the browser will support both the crypto networks.
The launch is a validation of a growing trend where big tech companies are embracing blockchain whole heartedly. At the beginning of this week, HTC launched the Exodus 1s, following its release of Exodus 1 blockchain smartphone, which already comes powered by Opera. Additionally, the social media giant, Facebook is also making several moves to meet the planned 2020 launch of its Libra cryptocurrency.
And now, with over 350 million users across all platforms, Opera is bringing the popular cryptocurrency to the masses housed globally, just by making it accessible.
“With this release, Opera opens its crypto wallet to the world’s most popular blockchain, making it possible to send and receive BTC directly from the browser the way one would an image or a music file,” the company wrote in a blog post. “This means anyone can now not only send Bitcoin and Ethereum to another person, but can also use it while interacting with websites to pay for goods or services.”
While Opera has presently limited Bitcoin expansion to Android, Blockchain development agencies and enthusiasts are positive that the support will land on other Opera platforms as well – iOS, and then Desktop.