Robinhood Announces Web3 Wallet to Rival MetaMask

Robinhood is diving into the world of Web3 with the announcement of a non-custodial wallet, allowing customers to access NFTs, decentralised exchanges and swap tokens through a new interface.

https://twitter.com/RobinhoodApp/status/1526619287162691584?s=20&t=BI6vhy5NRtyuC6U7eTdBMw

Digging Deeper into Crypto

According to the announcement made at the Permissionless Web3 conference, the newly launched non-custodial wallet will operate much like rival MetaMask, which remains the wallet of choice in the world of Web3 despite recent issues concerning phishing attacks and user downtime:

The wallet will operate separately from Robinhood’s existing stock platform, and has been specifically optimised for user experience. This was apparently done in order to provide beginners with a simple and intuitive design to easily navigate a space that can be complex.

Co-founder and chief executive Vlad Tenev confirmed as much, saying:

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With our Web3 wallet, we’re building a product that will satisfy the most advanced DeFi believers while creating a secure on-ramp for those who are just starting out in crypto to go deeper into the ecosystem.

Vlad Tenev, co-founder and CEO, Robinhood

Robinhood’s crypto CTO Johann Kerbrat reiterated the importance of being user-friendly to beginners, adding: “We’re [Robinhood] making it [the wallet] not scary, [but] easy to use.”

Aside from providing a newbie-friendly interface, users may also be pleased to hear that the company intends on subsidising gas fees, elevated levels of which have plagued the sector of late.

Shift in Public Perception

Robinhood has been making news since inception, more often for the wrong reasons – from revelations that “free trades” came at the expense of selling users’ order flow, to its role in the infamous GameStop short squeeze.

With its stock down 80 percent from its all-time high, Robinhood is clearly looking to turn the tide with its new product. Last month, it revealed plans to integrate with Bitcoin layer 2, the Lightning Network, however the company was later mocked after the CEO claimed that DOGE could “become the currency of the internet”.

Judging by reactions to the news, Robinhood has a public relations problem that even a best-in-class wallet may not solve:

https://twitter.com/iBobbyShell/status/1526640289162485760

Dale Warburton
Author

Dale Warburton

Dale is a former attorney turned passionate Bitcoiner with an interest in investments, macro, geopolitics, innovation, tech, nature, wildlife, MMA and Bitcoin (of course).

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