Just as your e-mail domain name can say a lot about how/when you first got online, I have a theory that our choice of digital wallet will also reflect our blockchain, crypto and web3 profile. (Remember those early ISPs and e-mail services such as AOL, Lycos, Compuserve and Pacific Internet?)

Part of the challenge with early digital wallets was the UX/UI – before the advent of software, browser-based and hardware wallets, users relied on “paper wallets” to manage their private keys. The first software wallets needed to be set up very carefully, so that your seed phrase or private key was not stranded on an abandoned hard drive, and thus lost forever. I think the first BTC wallet I used was CoPay, which was an early multi-sig wallet, but which has largely been discontinued. The arrival of browser extensions such as MetaMask have made a difference when it comes to bridging between chains, and managing a wider range of assets.

Even though there is more interoperability between digital wallets (cross-chain, multi-asset), dedicated applications are still needed for BTC and other chains. Also, some use cases (iGaming, web3/DeFi) may demand more specific wallets to support particular functionality. But like many crypto users, I still maintain about 6 different applications, including exchange-based wallets.

I suppose the eventual user experience will be a seamless transition between crypto, web3, DeFi, TradFi, NFTs and RWAs. But until then, stay safe and make sure you know where your private keys are at all times!

Next week: Signing off for 2024….