MetaMask Develops Mobile Client

November 1, 2018 10:33 PM

In another development out of this week’s Devcon4 in Prague, Czech Republic, Dapp bridge and browser MetaMask has revealed its upcoming mobile application and wallet.

ConsenSys founder Joseph Lubin announced the news and showcased the official user interface of MetaMask Mobile yesterday.

Lubin’s ConsenSys team has been working on MetaMask development since 2016.

MetaMask operates as both a popular Ether and ERC20 token wallet and a Dapp browser and bridge that allows users to access the distributed, or decentralized web. Through its Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or Brave add-ons, MetaMask users can run Ethereum Dapps in their browsers instead of running a full Ethereum node.

MetaMask has achieved over 1.3 million downloads and reports over 500,000 active users; it now has 18 full-time employees.

The web-browser plugin handles Dapp requests and enables the transfer of Ether (ETH) and Ethereum-based ERC20 tokens with a simple interface. Applications that are run with MetaMask connect to its native wallet to process and record transactions on the Ethereum mainnet.

MetaMask also works to

block phishing and other scams that attempt to steal users’ private keys. It can also be integrated with hardware wallets like Trezor and Ledger to sign transactions.

The public beta version of MetaMask Mobile will be available from early 2019 for iOS and Android, but a preview of the desktop-mobile sync feature is on YouTube now.

In related news, MetaMask is adding a “privacy mode” to its desktop version tomorrow, November 2, to stop account addresses from being exposed to websites, a further step for privacy on the Ethereum blockchain. In addition, Dapps will now be able to suggest specific tokens for the add-on to track so that users do not need to manually enter token addresses.

The popularity of MetaMask has led users to call for a mobile client for some time and may serve to increase the use of Ethereum-based Dapps.

According to stateofthedapps.com there are now over 2,000 Ethereum-based Dapps with 14,000 daily users. Ethereum has been the platform of choice for Dapp developers over recent years but is facing increased competition from other blockchain platforms like EOS and, more recently, TRON.

Melanie Kramer is a freelance FinTech, blockchain, and cryptocurrency writer based between France and Canada. Melanie has studied, and retains an avid interest in, global politics, business, and economics.

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