Coinbase: app and wallet now adopt new DeFi approach

During the Permissionless conference at Blockworks, Coinbase’s Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee said that the app and wallet will now adopt a new DeFi approach, integrating new features with the goal of mainstream Web3. 

Coinbase and the new DeFi approach of its App and Wallet

Surojit Chatterjee, Chief Product Officer of Coinbase, was featured at Blockworks’ Permissionless conference, where he described the new features that will be integrated into Coinbase Pay and Coinbase Wallet, with a DeFi-first approach. 

According to reports, the plan is to expand Coinbase Wallet to more cryptocurrencies, and to integrate new features focused primarily on API, DeFi and self-custody. 

Essentially, Coinbase Pay, a simplified move from fiat to crypto, will be integrated into Coinbase Wallet and MetaMask, along with new functionality for Web3 identity and non-custodial dApp wallet in the Coinbase app.

Through Pay, users will be able to purchase crypto with fiat money and transfer it to the self-deposit wallet of their choice in one step. The function will serve users even if they are not Coinbase customers through a guest checkout process in the near future.

Coinbase in partnership with ENS for Web3 identity

Chatterjee then announced how Coinbase intends to address Web3 identity through its partnership with Ethereum Name Service (ENS). 

JUST IN: Coinbase is partnering with ENS allowing people to claim ENS id within Coinbase Wallet

Announced at @Permissionless

— Blockworks (@Blockworks_) May 17, 2022

“JUST IN: Coinbase is partnering with ENS allowing people to claim ENS id within Coinbase Wallet”.

Chatterjee said the cumbersome use of long public key wallet addresses, that on Ethereum for example begin with 0x, remains a barrier to adoption. To reduce complexity, the Coinbase Wallet will allow users to request an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) address free of charge.

Not only that, Coinbase aims to manage privacy by becoming a secure provider of KYC verifications that can be passed on to third-party dApps while maintaining user privacy, using zero-knowledge proof (ZKP). 

Finally, the company is also launching a self-custodial dApp portfolio based on multi-party computation (MPC), a cryptographic technique for secure private key management used in Fireblocks and Qredo’s institutional-level custody solutions.

In this way, the new dApp Wallet would allow quick and direct access with DeFi apps. 

Coinbase’s 86% stock market loss

Perhaps Coinbase‘s good news could also open up some hope for its shareholders. Since it was listed on the Nasdaq 100 technology index in April last year, its stock has lost 86% of its value. 

It was 14 April 2021 when Coinbase debuted with a price of $381. Last week it closed below $58, while today it is at $70. 

A small rise, not yet worthy of its initial price or its all-time high of $429 recorded a few hours after trading began.