Coinbase Wallet Adds Support for Short and "Human-Friendly" Cryptocurrency Addresses
One of the scariest features of transacting with cryptocurrency, for many new users, is correctly inputting the long hexadecimal addresses involved. Various individual projects and larger collaborations have tried to tackle this anxiety-inducing issue in different ways, so that bitcoin adoption can grow. The latest venture to try and take on this challenge is Coinbase.
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San Francisco-based cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase has introduced a new way for its wallet app users to send each other crypto using short, human-friendly addresses. Every Coinbase Wallet user has an associated username (like @example), that can now serve as an address so they can easily receive transfers from other users of the app instead of their full-length crypto address.
This new feature is compatible with all the currencies already supported by Coinbase Wallet, including bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ethereum, ethereum classic, ripple’s XRP, stellar lumens, dogecoin, and all ERC20 tokens. For anyone with privacy concerns, the wallet app has been upgraded with a new privacy toggle in the settings menu so you can keep your username private and prevent other users from searching for it.
“Wallet users often tell us how cumbersome it is to deal with long and nonsensical crypto addresses like 0x89136a83664fa0673930be34463e444260775dc or 3GVBSgLLLjAoNRKxw5hm7kANN2P2mEQJy. They also tell us how stressful it is to send money with the fear of having copied and pasted addresses incorrectly,” explained Sid Coelho-Prabhu, Product Lead for Coinbase Wallet. “Human readable addresses help fix these problems.” Short Addresses on Coinbase Wallet Ethereum Name Service With Multi-Currency Support
The Coinbase Wallet is also integrating the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), which means users can now send crypto to .eth addresses. ENS supports not only payments of ETH but also BTC, BCH, LTC, and many others including all the currencies currently supported by Coinbase Wallet.
ENS is an open source project managed by a non-profit organization, supported mostly by grants from the Ethereum Foundation as it didn’t hold an ICO and has no investors. Its developers see it as a key component of the emerging decentralized web. Over 50 wallet teams have expressed support for integrating ENS into their apps.
The developers of the Coinbase Wallet app believe that these improvements will make cryptocurrency much easier to use and thus help drive adoption by a more mainstream audience. Coelho-Prabhu added: “There are now services that let you associate a short human readable name with your crypto addresses. We’re pleased to integrate them into the Coinbase Wallet experience. Users can now easily send money to friends and business partners like they do with traditional payment apps, albeit globally and in crypto.”
What do you think about the Coinbase Wallet adding support for short and human-friendly addresses? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Coinbase Wallet.
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Avi Mizrahi is an economist and entrepreneur who has been covering Bitcoin as a journalist since 2013. He has spoken about the promise of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology at numerous financial conferences around the world, from London to Hong-Kong. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.