Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, has set its mission of getting at least some crypto into the pockets of as many users as possible, very clear as it announced the acquisition of the BRD wallet.
The wallet company was one of the earliest crypto businesses which were set up way back in 2014 and at that time, it was mainly used for sending, receiving, and storing bitcoin. Over the years, it has added many more features as it now serves multiple blockchain networks and handles 100s of tokens, and is now said to have over 10 million users. It has also been able to partner with many exchanges so that its users would be able to exchange and swap various tokens from within the wallet itself. Its focus is on making the wallet as good as possible and packing in as many features as it can seem to have borne fruit now with this acquisition.
On the other hand, this move by Coinbase is likely to have been driven with an eye on the 10 million users of the wallet as now the platform would be able to get access to the wallet userbase and this would be useful for Coinbase in the long run. Also, wallets are the entry point for any new user into the crypto ecosystem and so it is always important for major crypto businesses to have a wallet of their own or at least as a partner so that they would be able to bring in users in an easier manner.
“BRD’s unique expertise in self-custody crypto wallets will be invaluable in our goal of enabling more people to safely and securely access the decentralized world of crypto,” a Coinbase spokesperson said.“We’ll be sharing more information in the coming months about how BRD and Wallet teams will unite.”
This is likely to be a shot in the arm for the entire wallet industry as it shows the importance of the wallet which has long been ignored by many crypto companies and investors who have chosen to go with complicated products for their needs. With the focus of the industry now on bringing in mainstream users into the crypto fold, the role of the wallet assumed significance.
