BTC Via Email: Swiss Encrypted Email Provider Proton Launches Open-Source Bitcoin Wallet
- Proton, the company behind privacy-focussed products like Proton Mail and ProtonVPN, is stepping into the Web3 world.
- The Swiss team is introducing Proton Wallet, a self-custodial Bitcoin Wallet with heightened security and privacy features.
- Notably, the Proton Wallet will support sending Bitcoin to other wallets via a linked email address, removing the need for long strings of characters and numbers associated with other self-custodial wallets.
Privacy buffs likely know all about Proton Mail. For those that don’t, it’s one of the most secure email providers on the planet, doing away with the trackers and junk that often come with owning a popular domain (cough…Gmail…). The encrypted email service has grown in popularity over the years, with more and more internet users taking cyber hygiene seriously.
A company that hangs its hat on encryption and privacy is a clear match with blockchain tech. And that’s exactly what Proton is leaning into with their latest product, Proton Wallet.
Proton Wallet Will Let Users Send BTC Via Email Address
The new Bitcoin Wallet will include all of Proton’s fundamentals, including end-to-end encryption, a focus on user privacy and world-class security infrastructure.
Proton Wallet will also come with some unique features, like sending Bitcoin via email (taking advantage of Proton Mail), as well as basics such as buying, swapping and selling BTC.
At a glance, Proton’s products are targeted toward more advanced web users, who typically take privacy more seriously than casual browsers. However, part of the company’s charm is its user-friendly interfaces – Proton Mail for example, boasts a clean, fast and sleek design that appeals to a broad demographic.
The team wants to bring that same philosophy to Bitcoin wallets, letting newcomers and seasoned investors alike leverage Proton’s unique benefits.
Proton Wallet’s ability to support Bitcoin via email now makes Bitcoin transactions as easy to use as PayPal while preserving the decentralized and non-custodial nature of Bitcoin.
No Proton Mail? No Worries!
Interestingly, this function doesn’t require recipients to own a Proton Mail account. If both users have an email address linked to their Proton Wallet, sending and receiving BTC through the product is as simple as typing in an email address – something most people do every single day.
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Removing the complexity of transacting self-custodial cryptocurrencies has long been a blight on the industry. Several have avoided participating in the Web3 ecosystem due to the potential for error when entering a long wallet address or choosing the right blockchain network.
Proton Mail’s simplicity, paired with its lack of centralisation, could be the perfect recipe to onboard a new wave of privacy-centric participants in an evolving blockchain world.