Coinbase has introduced a new feature that allows for instant messaging between two wallet addresses for users of Coinbase Wallet.
Extensible Message Transport Protocol (XMTP), an instant messaging platform that enables users to connect using blockchain addresses, is the foundation of the new feature.
The decentralized social media platform Lens also makes use of XMTP. Select wallet users can now chat with each other using their usernames ending in cb.id,.eth, or Lens, according to Coinbase’s post.
All users will eventually have access to the functionality after it is first made available to users who scan a QR code from the blog post or have Lens profiles.
Users can block addresses they don’t wish to receive messages from, and messages are end-to-end encrypted to preserve anonymity. One of the reasons for the feature’s release, according to Coinbase, was to reduce fraud in the cryptocurrency industry.
Users will no longer be required to rely on a different messaging platform where the recipient’s Web3 identity may not be able to be verified because they may now send messages straight to the owner of a wallet address.
According to Coinbase, doing so might “eliminate unnecessary risk and potential losses.” Twitter, Discord, and Telegram are now the most popular chat apps among cryptocurrency users, but none currently allow users to confirm their Web3 identities.
Additionally, the business claimed that adopting XMTP for messaging lessens centralization. Users can still maintain their XMTP chat history and see them using alternative XMTP apps like Lenster or OrbApp even if Coinbase stops supporting its wallet or goes out of business.
“Your chats will transfer automatically, so you can focus on connecting,” said Coinbase.
The XMTP materials state that XMTP Labs, the messaging protocol’s creator, owns 100% of the network nodes on which it operates. But according to the records, the business is “working toward a phased decentralization of the network.”
Shane Mac, a co-founder of XMTP, once more emphasized the importance of decentralization. He highlighted that XMTP is not an instant messaging or social networking application.
Instead, it is a protocol that other programs like Coinbase Wallet and Lens can use. He believes that by doing this, users are free to select the app they wish to use without giving up their identities or chat histories each time they switch apps.
“To really have a network that is interoperable and decentralized, developers have to want to build on top of it. So we have over 400 developers building on top of XMTP[…]You really have to incentivize developers to build with you, not to build a closed-walled silo.”
An increasing campaign to encourage the use of Web3 usernames includes Coinbase Wallet. All users were given free cb.id usernames in September, which contributed to a spike in registrations as the year ended.
Users can send cryptocurrency to a human-readable name with Web3 usernames rather than the lengthy strings of characters that make up a crypto address.
