By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 25th, 2024
Coinbase has been showing interest in Web3. And for this reason, the platform has been keen on expanding its product offerings.
The largest crypto exchange platform in the US, Coinbase, has started rolling out access to Ethereum-based dapps for its app users. But according to the announcement which was made via a blog post on its site, only a select few American users will have access to the services for now. And sooner or later, the services may now be extended to all other users of the platform. Recently, user interest in Web3, Decentralized Applications DApps, and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) have all skyrocketed. To this effect, Coinbase is adding some new services for the second time this month, as it looks to keep up with the trends.
The New Features
According to the post, eligible users may now be able to buy non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on marketplaces such as OpenSea and Coinbase NFT. However, they can do all this, directly from the Coinbase app.
Additionally, users will also be able to carry out transactions (buying and selling) on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Uniswap and Sushiswap. And lastly, users may also explore decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols like Curve whenever there’s a need to borrow or lend funds.
The announcement also claims that the features will be powered by Coinbase’s mobile browser and a new dapp wallet. Here’s how.
While the browser will provide access to DApps, the new DApp wallet is what users will use to exchange funds. However, there’s a tiny bit of difference between Coinbase’s wallet and regular decentralized hot wallet apps like MetaMask. And that is in their security.
Notably, the Coinbase hot wallet will have a co-custodial setup. That is, both the user and the company will be able to store the wallet’s private key. And with this, users are protected when device-related issues arise.
So invariably, when users lose access to their keys for whatever reasons, they can rest, assured that Coinbase will help.
Coinbase in Web3
It is important to note that Coinbase has been showing interest in Web3. And for this reason, the platform has been keen on expanding its product offerings. At least, this will enable the company to give its users the Web3 experience it so desires.
So far in May, the exchange has now launched two major products. Firstly, it launched the long-anticipated Coinbase NFT marketplace on May 4. And now, the access to Ethereum-based dapps.
Unfortunately, its NFT marketplace launch hasn’t exactly lived up to expectations thus far. On its first day, it recorded only 150 transactions that amounted to only $75,000 in sales volume.
Coinbase’s Q1 earnings report is also a bit worrisome at the moment. The report shows that the exchange has seen its revenue drop 27% to $1.1 billion. That was $1.6 billion in Q1 2021. Meanwhile, its monthly users have also reduced, falling from 11.4 million in Q4 2021, to 9.2 million now.