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Coinbase continues to look for more optimization. In a world where versatile wallet tools like Metamask have had immense prevalence for crypto users, the attention and investment into standalone wallets is increasing. Of course, in enters Coinbase, one of the most prevalent names in the world of crypto exchanges.

The exchange has been scaling up from providing simple exchange capabilities this year through a number of initiatives. The list of supported tradable tokens on the platform continues to grow rapidly, a new NFT marketplace has millions of users on the waitlist, and now there are new initiatives at Coinbase to further the Coinbase Wallet capabilities.

This Browser Does More Than Just Browsin’

A press release to kick off the week for Coinbase has shared the firm’s latest announcement: the Coinbase Wallet is now available as a full standalone browser extension, available on the Chrome webstore.

The exchange first introduced a downloadable browser extension back in May. However, users were only allowed to link wallets to the extension, rather than having direct access. This week’s update takes the mobile app out of the equation, and will allow Wallet users to have streamlined access towards all wallet capabilities, including connections with NFTs, DeFi platforms, DEXes, and more.

Existing Wallet users can now drop WalletLink and download the standalone extension, allowing consumers to import existing self-custody Ethereum-based wallets or create a new one. While many blockchain platforms will of course still require specific wallets, (such as the Terra ecosystem or many Tezos applications, for example) there is no doubt that Coinbase is looking to take some market share from leaders like Metamask.

After a rougher start to the initial public trading period that $COIN faced earlier this year, the exchange is looking to right the ship, and has showed strong performance in the last quarter of the year. | Source: NASDAQ: COIN on TradingView.com

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What’s In A (Coinbase) Wallet?

Looking forward, the exchange has stated that they “will continue working to empower everyone to use dapps and web3 by building the easiest-to-use and most accessible self-custody wallet in the ecosystem.”

Self-custody has been a heightened topic in crypto, as consumers balance the reliance of emerging DeFi products with the old adage, “not your keys, not your coins.” Accordingly, many firms have shifted focus to potential opportunities with wallets. Jack Dorsey’s Square is reportedly working on a hardware wallet with self-custody features. User interface, security, device compatibility, and multichain support are the priority features for these platforms – with room for optimization relative to the current landscape.

It’s very likely that the wallet landscape and experience one year from now looks substantially different than it does today.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Cemented At $60K? Why BTC Could Smash All Resistance

Featured image from Pexels, Charts from TradingView.com