The web browser Opera has just announced the launch of the first Web 3-ready browser. The Android browser includes a built-in crypto wallet and Web 3 support. It can be used with the latest Opera version.
Krystian Kolondra Source: Twitter
We are empowering Android smartphone users with an innovative browser that gives them the opportunity to experience Web 3 in a seamless way”, said Krystian Kolondra, EVP Browsers at Opera. “I would like to invite all tech enthusiast who may have heard of blockchain but haven’t yet experienced it to simply give our new browser and Web 3 a try. We have made it extremely easy. Our hope is that this step will accelerate the transition of cryptocurrencies from speculation and investment to being used for actual payments and transactions in our users’ daily lives.
Until now using cryptocurrencies online and accessing Web 3 required special apps or extensions, making it difficult for people to even try it out. Our new browser removes that friction”, commented Charles Hamel, Product Manager of Opera Crypto.
Opera for Android now supports Ethereum, allowing people to make transactions and developers to create decentralized apps (Dapps).
Users can now use Opera to access these emerging Dapps. We’ve decided to support Ethereum, as it has the largest community of developers building Dapps and has gathered a lot of momentum behind it. Opera with Crypto Wallet supports the Ethereum Web3 API, making interacting with these Dapps seamless to the user. We believe all browsers will eventually integrate some kind of wallet, which will enable new business models to emerge on the web”, added Hamel.
Opera for Android will access the Ethereum blockchain through Infura, an infrastructure secure platform.
It’s a significant step for one of the world’s leading browsers to add an ethereum-based crypto wallet and Dapp explorer, and speaks to Opera’s innovative roots and commitment to embracing next generation technology. We see this as an important moment in improving dapp accessibility, opening Web3 to mainstream audiences, and encouraging developers to build on Ethereum”, explained Joseph Lubin, Ethereum co-founder and founder of ConsenSys, a venture studio that invests in projects building the Ethereum ecosystem, such as Infura.
How to get started
- Download Opera from the Play Store (on Android devices);
- In order to make actual Web 3 transactions, purchase some Ethereum cryptocurrency first, then store it in your Opera Crypto Wallet
- Access a selection of Web 3 apps in the Dapp (decentralized application) store, accessible from within the browser’s built-in Crypto Wallet.
Opera plans its PC browser (Windows, Mac, Linux) Web 3 to be ready in 2019. The browser can already be tested in its developer version.