
Microsoft has been quietly testing a built-in non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet for its Edge browser.
Microsoft is experimenting with a built-in non-custodial crypto wallet that could be used for crypto payments or as a gateway to DeFi and Web3 applications, according to screenshots shared by software researcher Albacore.
The screenshot further shows a user interface for a cryptocurrency wallet, a decentralized application explorer, a news feed, and the ability to buy cryptocurrency through Coinbase and Moonpay.
“This is a non-custodial wallet, which means you are in complete control of your funds. We will not have access to your passwords and recovery keys. It is embedded in Edge, so using it without installing any extensions Gets easier,” Microsoft says during the onboarding process.
While the wallet’s introductory page doesn’t indicate which cryptocurrencies are supported, a screenshot shows users will have the option of adding custom tokens manually.
The screenshots suggest that users will also be able to buy and browse NFTs across major markets with the wallet. The page related to NFTs reads, “Browse the various marketplaces to find your first NFTs, as you build your own collection of NFTs, we will organize them here.”
Microsoft has not officially announced the Wallet project.
The experiments with crypto wallets come as Microsoft is involved with the crypto space in a number of ways. Notably, the tech giant has shown a lot of interest in the Metaverse.
However, recently Microsoft Close Its Industrial Metaverse Core Team, a four-month-old project that aims to encourage the use of the Metaverse in industrial environments. The company also laid off the employees working on the project, which number around 100 people.
More browsers offer crypto wallets as adoption grows
Microsoft Edge is not the first web browser to include a crypto wallet. Several other major web browsers have recently added support for built-in crypto wallets as adoption grows.
Opera has been supporting cryptocurrency since 2018, initially adding the feature to mobile before expanding it to desktop in 2019. Recently, Browser Strong Its push into crypto by adding browser wallet support for several new blockchain networks including Bitcoin (BTC), Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), and Ronin (RON).
Similarly, Brave has its own crypto wallet, known as Brave Wallet, built in since November 2021. The wallet supports all Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible blockchains and Ethereum Layer 2 chains, with both standard ERC-20 tokens and NFTs on ERC. -721 standard.
last January the browser said it had crossed 50 million Monthly Active Users, with over 8 million users actively earning rewards in the form of BAT tokens.
This puts Brave far behind Opera in terms of overall popularity, but considering that the browser only launched in 2017, user growth in recent years has undeniably been strong.
Meanwhile, users of other browsers such as Mozilla, Firefox and Google Chrome can install third-party cryptocurrency wallets such as MetaMask to be able to use Web3 applications.