Communities are one of the hallmarks of the crypto industry, with almost every single blockchain network, DeFi protocol, NFT collection and decentralized exchange platform striving to foster a loyal and vibrant place for their users to come together.
Strangely though, crypto wallets themselves are not known for their communities, despite being among the most widely used applications. After all, every crypto user needs some place to store their crypto, and with the industry’s strong emphasis on decentralization, the vast majority choose to do so in some kind of wallet, be it a smartphone app like Metamask or a hardware-based wallet like Trezor or Ledger.
Even so, these wallets are not renowned for their sizable, colorful communities. Unusually for the crypto world, the companies that actually develop the most popular crypto wallets tend to be centralized entities, which means they keep a significant portion of the revenue generated from transactions for themselves, and make all of the decisions behind closed doors.
Looking to change this is Ambire Wallet, one of the leaders of a new generation of “account abstraction” wallets that aim to transform crypto and make it more accessible with user-friendly features.
Unlike other wallets, Ambire Wallet has created its very own governance token, known as $WALLET, in addition to WalletDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization that enables the wallet’s users to have a say in its development.
Ambire Wallet is a firm believer in the importance of letting wallet users have their say. After all, crypto wallets are one of the most crucial user-facing elements of Web3 itself, and so the decisions on their future can be among the most contentious of all. The crypto industry itself is all about decentralization and user control, and so it only seems right that wallet users should be allowed to make their voices heard.
What is Ambire Wallet?
Created by the founders of the blockchain-based advertising exchange AdEx, Ambire Wallet is a self-custodial crypto wallet with “smart” features that make it suitable for both newcomers and more experienced crypto natives. It combines a simple user interface with advanced functions to help every kind of user navigate the world of Web3 more easily.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of Ambire Wallet is its “account abstraction” features, which pave the way for multiple login and recovery options, such as email registration, Web3 wallet and hardware wallet. By signing up with an email address, users have an easy way to recover their password and regain access to their wallet, doing away with the need to store a seed phrase.
Other newbie-focused features include multiple fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, human-readable transactions – meaning no complex terms or confusing processes – plus the ability to connect to any decentralized application and, soon, the ability to link Ambire Wallet to a credit card so you can spend your crypto in physical stores.
Meanwhile, its more advanced features include transaction batching, which enables users to batch many transactions together to save on gas fees, and a “Gas Tank” that allows for pre-payment of gas fees and make further savings. In addition, Ambire Wallet users can pay gas fees in the token of their choice, rather than the official network token, negating the need to keep a supply of ETH for example, to interact with the Ethereum network.
Having launched in 2021, Ambire Wallet has grown to support more than 15,000 crypto tokens on 11 blockchain networks, and boasts a growing catalog of dApps, featuring many of the best known Web3 projects in one place.
Decentralized Governance
With WalletDAO, Ambire Wallet hands over the governance process to its users, so they can have a say on its future development and integrations. The decisions made by the WalletDAO community will impact every Ambire Wallet user, so it’s only fair that they should be able to participate.
Ambire Wallet underscores the need for community involvement. When it comes to wallets, there’s always lots of debate regarding proposed integrations with dApps and decentralized services, especially with wallets that are focused on the DeFi experience. For instance, the decision about which DeFi protocol should be the default swap provider in a wallet is always going to be contentious, as there are many different services available, all with their own advantages and disadvantages. By involving the community in these decisions, Ambire Wallet can satisfy more of its users, and that’s good for the future of Ambire Wallet.
WalletDAO isn’t entirely decentralized, as the ability to propose changes is still reserved for Ambire Wallet’s development team, but they will always ask the community about any future update. When a proposal is made, $WALLET token holders will be given the opportunity to debate the merits of the proposed update, as well as the drawbacks, before voting on whether to accept or reject the idea.
In the WalletDAO’s first governance vote, the Ambire Wallet community voted to increase the burn rate for claiming $WALLET token rewards from 30% to 50%, which extended the lock-up period for staked $WALLET to 60 days, up from 20 days.
Advantages of $WALLET
Besides being able to vote on governance decisions, there is a strong incentive to hold $WALLET tokens in Ambire Wallet, as doing so entitles holders to continuous rewards, paid out in $WALLET.
These rewards stem from the revenue generated from transactions by Ambire Wallet users, plus a portion of the $WALLET supply reserved for this purpose. $WALLET token holders earn extra $WALLET proportionally based on their portfolio balance (measured in USD) on a continual basis. Ambire Wallet uses a complex formula to calculate these rewards, and it calculates this every minute to reflect changes in its user’s balances. To be eligible for these $WALLET rewards, users must have a minimum of $1,000 worth of assets in their Ambire Wallet, and be ranked among the top 50,000 Ambire Wallet accounts, based on portfolio value.
The other crucial benefit of $WALLET is staking. When holding $WALLET, users can stake their tokens in a single staking pool, and in return they’ll receive xWALLET, which represents their share of that pool.
Staking $WALLET allows users to earn a portion of the revenue generated by Ambire Wallet from transaction fees. In the beginning, the xWALLET tokens received by the user will be equal to exactly 1 $WALLET. However, as the pool receives staking rewards, 1 xWALLET token will be worth slightly more. For instance, when the staking pool accrues 10% yield, 1 xWALLET will be equivalent to 1.1 $WALLET tokens.
As mentioned, there is a cooling off period of 60 days when users want to unstake their $WALLET, though there is also a “rage quit” option that allows users to withdraw their $WALLET instantly, but at the cost of a hefty 40% of their total stake.
Additional $WALLET utility includes depositing the tokens into a range of third-party DeFi protocols’ liquidity pools, enabling users to earn rewards that way. $WALLET tokens can also be traded on various crypto exchange platforms.
A final benefit for $WALLET holders is that they’ll be able to test new functions in Ambire Wallet, before they become widely available. The thinking behind this is that $WALLET holders are likely to be more involved in the project’s development and governance, making them the most ideal beta testers of new features.
Is $WALLET A Good Investment?
Investing in $WALLET tokens is a smart move for all Ambire Wallet users, and all the more so if they believe in the future of Ambire Wallet.
The Ambire Wallet stands out from other crypto wallets because of its experiments with decentralized governance and its focus on boosting Web3 adoption by simplifying the crypto experience. Besides being easier to use, a big part of Ambire Wallet’s appeal is the ability of users to influence its future development. By providing a forum for users to discuss and vote on every idea that’s proposed, Ambire Wallet is more likely to evolve into the kind of wallet that users actually want, boosting its long-term prospects.
All told, $WALLET tokens look to be an attractive alternative investment for crypto users. If Ambire Wallet does eventually grow to become one of the top crypto wallets, as planned, holding $WALLET tokens could prove to be a very lucrative investment.
Source: https://coincodex.com/article/47061/investing-in-wallet-crypto-the-ambire-wallet-governance-token-with-passive-rewards/