The popular Ethereum and crypto wallet MetaMask has officially announced the activation of a new feature.
This is the ability to sell cryptocurrencies held in the wallet in order to receive fiat currency (USD, EUR, GBP).
Crypto news: Selling feature arrives on MetaMask’s Ethereum wallet
MetaMask is a non-custodial wallet, so it only allows the storage of cryptocurrencies.
However, thanks to the new Sell functionality, it is also possible to receive fiat currency by selling the cryptocurrencies stored in it.
This is made possible through the use of external platforms that allow the receipt of fiat currencies.
In other words, the user of the wallet does not receive the proceeds of the sale in fiat currency on the wallet itself, but on an account on an external platform that allows the receipt of fiat currency.
Similarly, for purchases, an external fiat currency account is used for payment.
As such, Metamask will remain a non-custodial crypto wallet and will therefore continue to not support fiat currencies, as it is not possible to use non-custodial wallets to store fiat currency anonymously without going through an authorised intermediary.
However, by connecting to external, obviously custodial platforms that allow fiat currency to be stored, it does at least allow the purchase and now sale of cryptocurrencies in fiat currency.
The Sell feature is currently only available to users in the US, UK and parts of Europe, and only for ETH and tokens on the Ethereum network, with the idea of extending it to native second-layer tokens in the future.
A short video tutorial showing how to use the new feature has also been released.
The MetaMask Wallet
MetaMask is now probably the most widely used Ethereum wallet in the world.
In fact, it is very convenient to use, mainly thanks to its browser extension, which allows you to connect your wallet directly to many web services.
It was created in 2016, but it is mainly thanks to DeFi and the dApps that it has become a huge success.
Its success is due to the fact that it can interact directly with the dApps or web interfaces of the DeFi protocols, making it very convenient and easy to use.
Over time, it has evolved and added new features.
It started as a wallet dedicated to Ethereum, initially supporting ETH and all ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum, but over time it has added support for other blockchains, including Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Fantom and Celo, as well as the second layers Polygon, Optimism and Arbitrum.
Although it allows direct connection to dApps and DeFi protocols, it remains a non-custodial wallet, i.e. its private keys remain solely in the possession of the user.
This adds a level of risk, as it is up to the user to keep the seeds safe, but at least it prevents you from losing access to your funds due to the caretaker’s mismanagement.
MetaMask is developed by the well-known company Consensys, which is by far one of the largest and most important crypto companies in the world.
KYC: Will it be mandatory?
Non-custodial crypto wallets do not require any KYC procedure because they do not need to verify the identity of the user, and if they are truly decentralised, they cannot even rely on an external identity verification provider.
In fact, MetaMask does not require KYC, but all external fiat currency providers do.
At this point, however, it is possible that even MetaMask will be forced to add an identity verification requirement, especially for those who want to sell cryptocurrencies and fiat cash.
Indeed, external platforms to which fiat currencies are sent will require verification of the origin of the funds, and MetaMask without KYC cannot in fact provide this.
It is hard to imagine that wallet partners for this new functionality will accept receiving fiat currency without being able to verify its origin, except for small amounts.
At this point, it seems possible that Consensys will be forced to perform KYC, at least for those wishing to withdraw significant amounts of fiat currency.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2023/09/06/sales-fiat-currency-ethereum-metamask-crypto-wallet/