MyEtherWallet (MEW), the company behind Ethereum’s original wallet interface, launched its hardware wallet replacement app MEWconnect for iOS devices Tuesday, ushering in what it hopes will be an era of more secure software cryptocurrency wallets.

‘A Hardware Wallet, Without the Hardware.’

MEW has been teasing the app as far back as July when it posted a short video to its Instagram account giving users a sneak peek at what the app would look like. The video shows a user setting up an account in the app and connecting it to their online Ethereum wallet in a matter of seconds.

The app’s tagline is “a hardware wallet, without all the hardware,” and takes aim at the cryptocurrency wallet market by offering a free alternative to the very secure, albeit often pricey, hardware crypto wallet devices on the market today.

As with most new offerings in the crypto space, one of the end goals is wider adoption of cryptocurrency by the general public. In the official press release, MEW says its app is available for free, easy for users to understand and meant to take the place of hardware wallets for cryptocurrency storage.

MEW founder and CEO Kosala Hemachandra said of the app:

“We’ve been working hard to perfect MEWconnect over the past few months, and are excited to finally provide our global users with this free and easy to use app that has the functionality of a hardware wallet. We believe this app will play key role in wider cryptocurrency adoption, and we look forward to being a part of this transition.”

Super excited to announce public iOS release of MEWconnect, head to app store download it give it a shot and let us know your thoughts. 🎉🎊🎉🎊#phishersbegone #MEW #MEWconnect #teamMEW #ethereum https://t.co/6UPpzDiyei — MyEtherWallet.com (@myetherwallet) September 18, 2018

What Makes It a Secure Hardware Wallet Alternative?

According to MEW, there are several features that secure the cryptocurrency in a users’ Ethereum wallets when using this app. Users’ private keys are stored in an isolated, secure vault local to the user’s device. The app also uses two-factor authentication, prompting a second password entry before sending a transaction to the Ethereum blockchain.

MEW also says, in the description of the app in the iOS store, that the company does not collect data, there are no centralized servers to be hacked and the software is open-source.

MEW is of the mind that the accessibility and ease of use of its app will appeal to the everyday user who may not have significant amounts of cryptocurrency stashed away, and can’t afford to drop $90-$200 on a hardware crypto wallet.

The ability to manage their wallet on a mobile device will also appeal to users, says Hemachandra, who stated in the release:

“With this application users can now easily interact directly with MEW via their mobile phones, while still remaining in full control of their private keys and funds.”

MEW plans to follow up the launch of its iOS app with a beta Android version in the next month, which will be exclusively available to download through the Hockey app.