The Android version of the Opera web-browser will launch a private beta-version which will host an in-built wallet for cryptocurrencies.

Opera is one of the world’s top ten major web-browsers, with a 1.5% share of the global browser market. Now the firm has announced it will launch an Ethereum Web3API-integration into its Android version, with an integrated “default WebView”. “Tokens and collectibles” will automatically be added to the balance displayed in the wallet.

The company is not new to crypto: it announced in January that it had added “anti-cryptojacking” software to its browsers. Cryptojacking has become an increasingly pervasive problem in the world of cyber-attacks where a browser’s processing-power is hijacked by malicious parties in order to mine cryptos.

Charles Hamel, the company’s product manager has stated that his company is making “the internet of the future more accessible.”. He explained further:

“[By] becoming the first major browser to open up to Web 3.0 […] our hope is that this will accelerate the transition of cryptocurrencies from speculation and investment to being used for actual payments and transactions in our users’ daily lives.”

The Android Opera Mini Browser was launched in 2015 and currently supports many users, mainly in Africa and Asia. However, the company is hoping to attract more users to its platform through its first-of-its-kind crypto-friendly move. It has already been the author of novel features in the past, such as pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, and private browsing. All of the main browsers began to offer these features after they were initially launched on Opera. Doubtless, the same will be true of crypto-wallets and other web-browsers will follow soon.

Image Source: “Flickr”