Quick Take
- There are 140+ crypto wallets, and they make up ~ 25% of all sales in the crypto market.
- Some experts expect crypto wallets to replace exchanges, and more and more players are entering the market: from Opera to Meta.
- The majority of American merchants consider implementing crypto payments a high priority. The researchers predict the growth of spending on infrastructure for crypto.
LG Electronics is testing Wallypto, a Hedera Hashgraph-powered crypto wallet. The company plans to roll it out in Q3 or a bit later this year. The wallet can be linked up with LG ThinQ, a platform connecting various LG AI products and services. So, blockchain and crypto have become new areas of interest and growth for LG.
The South Korean company is not the only one seeing wallets as a gateway to the crypto space and new business opportunities. In 2022, the crypto wallets market revenue reached $1.4 billion. By 2032 it’s expected to hit $3.4 billion.
Crypto wallets account for about ¼ of sales in the crypto market.
Future Market Insights
There are more than 320 million crypto users in the world. So, more merchants have already enabled or are viewing implementing crypto payments. Web2 platforms are trying to fit into the new reality while their CEOs and engineers are quitting their jobs for crypto start-ups. OneArt takes a closer look at prominent market players launching their own crypto wallets. Will they manage to benefit from a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity?
According to Cryptowisser, there are over 140 wallets so far. And the number will grow progressively. Moreover, crypto wallets are anticipated to replace exchanges as a more secure, fast, and easy-to-use solution. (No wonder Binance bought TrustWallet in 2018).
1. Robinhood develops a non-custodial wallet
A financial services company entered the crypto space last year. Now it continues developing new solutions to combat a revenue drop. It has launched a custodial wallet, listed four coins, and announced support for Lightning Network to make transactions faster and cheaper.
Having more than 22 million crypto customers, Robinhood announced creating a non-custodial wallet to trade and swap crypto without network fees. The launch was scheduled for the end of summer, followed by a global rollout by the end of 2022. However, it’s not available yet.
2. Opera launches the crypto browser with its native non-custodial wallet
Opera became the first browser to create and integrate a native wallet (currently in beta). Its Opera Crypto Browser features blockchain-related news, crypto space events, airdrops, communities, market prices, and more. Users can access dApps, send and receive crypto, manage NFTs, and import other wallets.
Computer browser users approve and verify their transactions via mobile browser. It makes transactions more secure. Especially given the cases with extension exploits that had led to massive wallet hacks. That’s why the upcoming OneArt extension won’t store sensitive data on users’ computers but use those on their mobile devices.
3. Linux creates a platform to help developers build interoperable wallets
The OpenWallet Foundation’s mission is to launch a platform with an open-source stack. It won’t develop a wallet itself but gather a community to create software. Thus, anyone who wants to build a wallet will be able to use it as a starting point.
The wallets are expected to be used for various purposes, such as payments, identity proof, etc.
4. GameStop roll out browser extension wallet (beta)
It allows users to store, trade, spend, etc. crypto and digital collectibles and interact with dApps and GameStop’s marketplace. It’s doubtful this wallet could gain huge popularity. But it might find its audience among gamers when it adds Web3 gaming after having partnered with Immutable X.
5. EarlyBird Crypto creates a wallet to invest in a child’s portfolio
A venture capital investor decided to bring crypto space opportunities to families. It rolled out a wallet to let parents add Bitcoin and Ethereum to their child’s portfolio. They can set up recurring investments, let family and friends contribute to the kid’s future, and add photos and videos to mark special moments.
6. Meta’s wallet dawn ➡️ dusk ➡️ rebranding (?)
Meta’s pilot, Novi, didn’t last even a year. Last October, it launched a project for a limited number of users in the US and Guatemala. The plans were big. They included bringing the wallet to more people, enabling free P2P transfers and cheaper merchant payments, ensuring interoperability, and adding support for Diem — Facebook-funded crypto.
Later, the Diem Association had to sell its assets, and Meta retired the project under the pressure of regulators. Finally, on September 1, 2022, the company shut down Novi. However, Meta plans to “repurpose” the technology for some future products. We don’t know exactly which ones, but they might include NFTs. Earlier, Meta announced “the ability to post digital collectibles across Facebook and Instagram.” It aligns with the company’s plans to create “a wallet for the metaverse.” Show must go on?
Priorities vs challenges
According to Deloitte, over 85% of merchants in the US say payments with crypto are their high priority as customers’ interest in digital currency soars. So, we’ll see crypto adoption rates grow even more in the near term.
Over 60% of those who took part in the survey said they expected to spend $500,000+ to implement digital currency payments within the next year. So, the researchers anticipate spending on infrastructure for crypto to grow.
However, currently, only 23% build their own service internally. And 39% of these small and mid-sized businesses say they need a 3rd party to help convert crypto to fiat currency. Why? Such a combination of habitual and new services helps them both benefit from using crypto and avoid the complexity. Thus, complexity remains the #1 hurdle for mass adoption, followed by security, no clear regulatory rules, and volatility.
For smaller companies, lack of funding is also a significant problem. But it can be solved as global blockchain funding is rising.
Closing thoughts
All the challenges and obstacles mentioned above seem to be rather a space for development, helping to make entering the crypto space and managing your assets more seamless, easy, and customized. So, solving these issues is the key to success in the highly competitive market.
It’s a question if all the players manage to leverage the opportunities the crypto space provides. For instance, Meta’s ambitions to benefit from crypto have been disrupted by the regulator’s crackdown and loss of support and trust. Meanwhile, Robinhood, with its customer-oriented approach, has all the chances to play a significant role in the crypto industry.
The only thing you can say for sure is that crypto wallets are about to become as popular as online banking and social media. Moreover, we at OneArt believe they will combine both into an all-in-one solution. That’s what we strive for — a user-centric, easy, and secure multi-chain wallet with broad functionality, including social profiles, dApp browser, custom NFT collections, AirPlay and Google Cast streaming, iCloud and Google Drive sync, and more.
OneArt Wallet for Android, web extension, and some more updates are coming soon. Keep in touch!
