Yesterday, Coinbase announced its new product, Wallet as a Service (WaaS), in its blog post. According to Coinbase, WaaS is offered in the form of an API as a ready-to-use solution for "safe, secure, and easy access to web3 wallets."
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"WaaS is a scalable and secure set of wallet infrastructure APIs, enabling companies to create and deploy fully customizable onchain wallets to their end users," Leonard Law and Patrick McGregor of the Coinbase team said in the same post, adding that their solution will allow companies to integrate wallet functionality directly with their apps.
They also emphasized the simplified onboarding, which now only requires a username and password.
"Whether enabling gamers to trade in-game items and currency or creating new avenues for loyalty programs such as token-based rewards, WaaS is a powerful tool for companies looking to tap into the potential of web3," Law and McGregor added. They believe the WaaS API can "free up resources that would be spent navigating the nuances of blockchain infrastructure. Instead, companies can focus on what matters most: delivering more value and innovative products to their customers."
Coinbase WaaS supports native integration, which simplifies implementation, while it also comes with high scalability. The API was specifically designed to optimize the user experience, making it as flawless as the navigation through the wallet interface of Web2 solutions. Coinbase's developers also built their wallet to give users full control over their keys and assets.
Some companies have already successfully implemented Coinbase WaaS. The surreal sci-fi action RPG game Moonray, which allows players to earn NFTs, and the Web3 integration solution Tokenproof are among the first projects to choose the Coibase wallet.
"When users download the Tokenproof app, we’ll help welcome them into web3 by creating their first wallet, which will be powered by Coinbase. This is a huge step towards making the space more approachable and accessible and we’re excited by the opportunity to work with such a highly trusted partner," Tokenproof’s founder Fonz told Coinbase.
Thirdweb, the company that provides a Web3 development framework, and Floor, the mobile application for managing NFTs, have also deployed Coinbase wallet.
"So far, most brands have had to target crypto-natives for their Web3 expansions precisely because the onboarding process is often too complex for newbies. Built-in wallet solutions are the first step towards bringing these experiences to regular users," Web3 agency Hype expressed its excitement about Coinbase WaaS in its tweet.
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Coinbase's WaaS solution is based on Multi-Party Computation (MPC) cryptographic technology, which is used for generating keys and sharing their fragments among multiple parties. Unlike traditional cryptographic solutions that use a single location to store a key, MPC divides a key into portions and distributes them across multiple storage locations. At the same time, a single party can only see one's own share of the key, which has no meaning in isolation. In this way, MPC protects a wallet even if the device on which it is installed is compromised.
While MPC offers customers a high level of protection, it still allows them to recover their keys.
