The non-custodial nature of this new digital wallet means that no centralised party, such as a bank or exchange, can ever have access to user funds. For consumers, this is an attractive prospect given the recent troubles in the cryptocurrency industry, particularly when it comes to high-profile bankruptcy filings from the likes of FTX. In addition, the Beam wallet is not linked to any identity, which means that it should appeal to users looking for more financial privacy.
When it comes to ensuring the widespread adoption of non-custodial wallets, techcrunch.com reports that one of the biggest challenges is making sure that users are familiar with crypto. Beam’s goal is to make decentralised wallets intuitive enough that even newcomers can go through an onboarding session within a few minutes.
To use Beam, users can start off by visiting the wallet’s website, where a QR code linked to a wallet address is automatically generated. Afterwards, they can transfer USDC stablecoins from their existing wallets or use Moonpay to convert fiat into crypto.
To transfer funds to other users, they can generate and share a wallet URL that contains the cryptocurrencies. This way, the receiver doesn’t need to already have a crypto wallet set up in order to receive the tokens. At first, Beam is targeting peer-to-peer payment scenarios and aims to become a global Venmo competitor, particularly in dollarised regions outside the US.
Beam was also designed to replace potentially confusing wallet addresses with ENS domain names, which are decentralised identities running on Ethereum. Users can create their own ENS names by paying with the native Eco tokens.
Eco is backed by e16z, and it managed to raise USD 95 million so far. At the time of writing, the company operates with a team of 45 employees across North and South America. Some of its previous investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, Founders Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Pantera Capital.
Andreessen Horowitz or a16z was founded in Silicon Valley in 2009 and represents a venture capital firm that backs entrepreneurs in the technology sector. Specifically, the company aims to connect entrepreneurs, investors, executives, engineers, academics, and industry experts in the technology ecosystem.
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