Microsoft is reportedly working on integrating crypto and nonfungible token (NFT) friendly Web3 wallets into the Edge web browser.
In a March 17 Twitter thread, software documentary – and occasional info leaker – Albacore showed off a series of Edge user interfaces (UIs) that allegedly show the early stages of the company’s new Web3 wallet.
“The latest in Microsoft Edge’s upcoming feature challenge, crypto wallets aren’t sure how they feel about this kind of thing being baked into the default browser,” Albacore said pessimistically.
The latest in Microsoft Edge’s upcoming feature challenge, crypto wallets
Not sure how to feel about this type of thing being baked into the default browser, what do you think?
More pictures of the UI in the next tweet ➡️ pic.twitter.com/GAUPiZGLIY– Albacore (@thebookisclosed) March 17, 2023
The first image is the introductory page to the Edge wallet, with Microsoft seeming to note that: “we invite you to try our first Web3 wallet and give us your honest feedback on the journey.”
If found to be true, it appears that the wallet will be non-custodial with Microsoft not having access to passwords and recovery keys, but it will also be “embedded in Edge” instead of being an installed browser extension.
The accompanying image shows the ability to exchange, send and buy crypto assets, with crypto exchange Coinbase and Web3 infrastructure company MoonPay presented as “platforms that help you buy and deposit crypto into your wallet.”
In terms of NFT, the UI simply states: “Explore the different markets to find the first NFT, when you build your NFT collection, we will organize it here.”
The potential move from Microsoft marks another recent effort to improve the offerings and capabilities of Edge, which generally lags behind competitors such as Google Chrome and Apple Safari in terms of popularity.
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On February 7, Microsoft announced the integration of its search engine with artificial intelligence (AI) and chat via ChatGPT OpenAI as part of a new upgrade for the Bing and Edge browsers.