MyEtherWallet Goes Mobile with Ethereum and Altcoin App

The internet’s most popular crypto wallet is about to move into the app market. According to a recent announcement by MyEtherWallet (MEW), users will soon be able to add “Connect” to their iOS device and use it to access their funds. Before MEW Connect goes live, the company is rolling out a beta product for iOS. Once the public testing phase is complete and any kinks are ironed out, a fully functioning app will be available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

For MEW, the mobile software will be another way for its 600,000 daily visitors to manage their Ethereum coin and altcoin balances. As per the July 23 announcement, MEW Connect will give people who choose to invest in altcoins direct access to their balances without the need for a private key. In essence, the mobile app turns MEW into a free version of the leading hardware wallets, Ledger Nano S and Trezor. For users, the innovation will be another crypto wallet option like Opera’s new browser system that makes storing funds more secure and easier to access. This trend in major companies trying to provide the public with convenient new solutions to buying and storing altcoins seems to be on the rise and can only be good for the popularity and price of Ethereum and cryptocurrencies in general.

MEW Connect Will Idiot-Proof Wallet Logins

In technical terms, MEW Connect will use Apple’s keychain service to encrypt data. An inbuilt QR scanner will read a code on the MEW website and log users into their account. By using QR codes instead of asking users to type in their private keys, MEW Connect is reducing the risk of phishing attacks. According to Brandon Arvanaghi, a security advisor at Bloom, more than $7.5 million has been stolen by criminals using a fake MyEtherWallet website. Indeed, as the price of Bitcoin boomed in 2017, novices flooded the market. Often uneducated about cryptocurrency security, wallets and transactions, many have since been duped by fraudulent sites.

To help overcome this, MEW Connect removes the need for entering a private key and replaces it with a QR code. Then, using a peer-to-peer connection, the encrypted on-device data is paired with a web-based peer. In simple terms, the code unlocks a user’s MEW wallet. What’s more, the app itself will be password protected and the developers have told TechCrunch that TouchID logins are likely to be a possibility in the future. For users, this system makes storage Ethereum and other altcoins a lot safer. However, for the wallet world at large, MEW Connect is more than a free alternative to Nano and Trezor. By removing the need for private key logins, the app is protecting the casual user that may be too lazy or uninformed to make sensible decisions. This, in turn, is broadening the cryptocurrency industry’s appeal.

Innovations Evolving into Mass-Market Products

 

As the crypto world evolves, developers are being forced to consider the needs of the masses. Unlike the early days when Bitcoin mining was a niche activity, today’s industry is diverse in every sense. From the number of coins available to the skill level of users, the market is no longer the reserve of tech geeks. Because of this, services and applications need to become more user-friendly. As the latest research from Imperial College London suggests, the ultimate fate of cryptos hinges on six factors, one of which is usability. On the other side of the coin, MEW Connect should also buoy the price of Ethereum. If it’s easier for novices to store their coins, they’re more likely to buy. This, in turn, will push up the popularity of the Ethereum blockchain.

In fact, alongside the beta release of its mobile app, MEW announced a new collaboration with Simplex. Using advanced AI algorithms, Simplex makes it possible for MEW users to buy Ethereum using their credit cards. By creating a bridge between old world and new world technology, the system will make it easier to buy ETH. When you combine this with a simple and secure mobile crypto wallet, the process of buying, storing and sending coins is becoming more novice-friendly. Of course, MEW Connect won’t solve all the issues surrounding crypto security. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, Ethereum Twitter scams are still making the headlines thanks to some high-profile cases.

Even with constant innovation, security will always be a game of cat and mouse between developers and criminals. Irrespective of this, the market is changing. MEW Connect is one of the latest examples of a company trying to make advanced crypto technology affordable, simple and, importantly, usable on a mass scale. Although it may not replace established cold storage solutions, the MEW app could become an effective entry point for newbies, casual users and, soon, for general consumers.

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