The largest United States crypto marketplace, Coinbase, has a variety of unique features and also supports a variety of the most popular digital currencies. This makes the crypto exchange a perfect place to carry out cryptocurrency trading activities.
Reportedly, the crypto exchange supports over a hundred countries and has over 98 million verified users. Outstandingly, Coinbase allows the buying of crypto assets with credit or debit cards in over 90 countries.
Hence, Coinbase and its products are no strangers to the crypto industry. If you have been in the crypto space for a while then you probably must have heard of the crypto exchange and its unique wallet browser extension.
Should you be unfamiliar with Coinbase wallets then this article covers all you need to know about the Coinbase wallet browser extension and the many blockchains, coins, and tokens it supports.
Coinbase wallet browser extension was developed to enable a more user-friendly web3 environment. It also presents users with more ways to interact and connect with decentralized applications across several blockchain networks.
About Coinbase Wallet
Coinbase wallet is a non-custodial wallet that allows you to securely store your crypto and rare NFTs in one place. Being a self-custody wallet, it gives you full control over your keys, data, and crypto assets.
The wallet comes in very useful because there has been an increased interest in web3, decentralized applications, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and decentralized finance (DeFi) in general.
Importantly, the wallet grants crypto traders and investors simplistic and safe access to the world of crypto. Using the wallet, users can explore the decentralized finance world using mobile phones or browsers.
Specifically, users can harness the power of decentralized finance (DeFi) to earn yield, manage NFT and crypto portfolios in one place, and participate in DeFi liquidity pools to supply or borrow crypto.
More so, it allows users to swap assets on decentralized exchanges, and join Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) to contribute to the governance and shaping of web3 projects.
Interestingly, the wallet has support for myriad tokens and a wide range of decentralized applications. Notably, the Coinbase wallet has different versions – the Mobile App and Browser Extension types.
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Coinbase Wallet Browser Extension
Notably, Coinbase.com and Coinbase Wallet browser extension differ in design and key management.
Remember, Coinbase.com is a cryptocurrency brokerage where buying and/or selling cryptocurrencies for fiat currency is possible. Users can access Coinbase exchange either on the web or using its mobile app.
However, Coinbase.com has the feature to store cryptocurrency assets after being bought. Here, users are not in control of private keys; rather the exchange serves as the custodian of wallets’ private keys. Hence, the centralized exchange is fully responsible for the security of assets.
On the other hand, the Coinbase Wallet browser gives users full custody of their wallets and assets. Here, private keys which represent ownership of crypto assets, are stored directly on the user’s browser and not stored within the centralized exchange.
As the name implies, Coinbase’s browser-type wallet only exists on web extensions and can only be accessed there. Since private keys are stored on the browser, users are always advised to write down the 12-word recovery phrase and safeguard them.
Interestingly, the Coinbase Wallet extension supports many blockchains and networks such as Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, etc. Lately, the exchange announced support for the Solana blockchain.
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Coinbase Wallet Adds Support for Solana Ecosystem
In March 2022, Coinbase announced its wallet extension support for the Solana blockchain. This entails that users can store, send, and receive Solana (SOL) and all of its SPL tokens alongside all of its EVM-compatible assets, including tokens held on Ethereum, Avalanche, Polygon, BNB, and other blockchain networks.
In other words, SOL and SPL tokens have been made available on the Coinbase Wallet browser extension. Again, it is worth noting that users who use Coinbase Wallet on either mobile or desktop ends will only see the SOL and SPL tokens that are in their wallets when using the Coinbase Wallet extension.
The development arose from the fact that Solana has continued to be among the top blockchains in terms of usage by both crypto users and developers, coupled with its vibrant community.
Very importantly, the development lifts off the burdens faced by users who wanted to explore the Solana ecosystem before the announcement. Prior to the statement, users had to create and manage an additional browser extension to keep track of their solana-based assets.
Undoubtedly and regardless of setbacks faced by the Solana blockchain, it has been among the fastest-growing blockchain projects.
Per available data, the Solana ecosystem has over $2.74 billion in total value locked (TVL). More so, the blockchain ecosystem records more than 1,400 launched projects across the decentralized finance (DeFi), web3, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) niches.
Interestingly, this development was tagged as just the beginning of Coinbase Wallet and the Solana ecosystem integration.
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More Supports for Solana NFTs
Coinbase also noted that it plans to further integrate with the Solana ecosystem. Reportedly, the ability for users to connect to Solana decentralized applications, view and manage their Solana NFTs directly within their Coinbase Wallet browser extension will be rolled out in the future.
Here’s what the top exchange said in terms of support for Solana non-fungible tokens (NFTs);
“In the coming months, we’ll be adding support for Solana NFTs and the ability for you to connect your wallet to Solana dapps to interact with everything the Solana ecosystem has to offer.”
