Crypto adoption is the holy grail for many in the space, and a major leap forward could be on the horizon thanks to Wuabit, a service that aims to integrate cryptocurrency transfers within the world’s most popular messaging apps. The platform has been in the works for around a year and is finally on the verge of launch, according to a British newspaper who spoke to a member of the team, with a beta testing phase expected to be rolled out within a month. The testing will involve BTC through WhatsApp, although Wuabit aims to have a stable of top cryptocurrencies and messaging platforms embedded in time.
#Bitcoin within #Whatsapp? We want your mom to have her first chatty crypto wallet! Just launched our beta waiting list!! ? ? https://t.co/FbTY9CLyNY #cripto #im pic.twitter.com/HvM1gtJ3fS
— Wuabit (@Wuabit) August 25, 2018
Sending Bitcoin the Easy Way
The process of sending BTC over mobile would involve a user’s cryptocurrency being stored in the Wuabit wallet on the phone, something that may put people off due to potential security compromises. In terms of how it will work, all we know so far is that the app will be a software agent (a computer program that acts for a user or other program), powered by AI and accessible through a chat interface – a chatbot. Essentially, it will act as a kind of plugin for WhatsApp where the user will choose from a list of predetermined commands within the bot to check their balance, send funds, and more.
If successful, this could be a huge step forward for crypto adoption, with those who had never before considered holding crypto, or those who wanted to but didn’t know how to do so, able to receive it from their friends in a familiar format, as relayed by the spokesperson:
Crypto payments via WhatsApp can introduce greater numbers of new users who only know how to chat to this complicated space.
Execution is Key
As with anything in the cryptocurrency space, ideals are all well and good, but proper execution is often the downfall. If Wuabit can take their time and do as much as they can to make the product both easy to use and secure, they may just have laid a golden goose.
