Why are you still using a crypto wallet in browser extension?
Hi frens,
One of the weird things to me is: crypto wallets as browser extensions are so much more popular than as mobile apps. So many tutorials out there guide you to use MetaMask, with the browser extension rather than the mobile app.
Personal computers including Windows, Mac, or even Linux, are still less secure than smartphones.
The reason is, when you create a crypto software wallet or import a mnemonic into it, the secret private key exists somewhere in the file system. If you install any software, it could inspect your file system, and extract the private key of your crypto wallet.
On smartphones, that’s not possible because an app sits in its own sandbox, isolated from each other. Unless there’s a vulnerability on the system level, and the malware app takes advantage of it. So that’s equally important to keep the system up-to-date.
So why were many crypto wallets built out of browser extensions?
My guess is, most early players in crypto were web engineers. That was reasonable because running a blockchain node required knowledge of running web services. And they were usually only familiar with one frontend technology: JavaScript.
Let’s take a look at metamask-extension, built starting from 2015. A browser extension is developed in JavaScript.
Another look at metamask-mobile, built starting from 2018. It’s a cross-platform mobile app, developed with React Native, in JavaScript.
What’s more, modern smartphones come with a secure chip that safely deals with your biometrics, like fingerprints or face recognition. With account abstraction in the future, it’ll be possible to turn every smartphone into a hardware wallet, storing the private key and signing in a secure chip!
So, how do we use a crypto wallet as a mobile app? What if I would like to use the larger screen of my laptop?
Now it comes to WalletConnect. You definitely see it in many web3 dapps. WalletConnect connects your crypto wallet with dapps, by just scanning the QR code with your crypto wallet in the mobile app. Simple as that.
There was a famous picture for that (source):
That’s end of story, right? We just need to wait for WalletConnect to be completely decentralized with self-host relays.
But sometimes I still face issues on some dapps when connecting with WalletConnect, so let’s cross the fingers for your beloved dapp 🤞.
Lastly, if you’re coming from Ethereum.org Writers Cohort, you know this is the end of it. But my writing journey is just beginning, thanks for all your support! Subscribe below to receive my further letters.
Your friend,
Denken