WalletConnect is a kind of API that connects your crypto wallet to decentralized applications (dApps). This way, you can get going with your crypto assets, no matter which wallet you use and no matter which dApp you want to use.

WalletConnect is sometimes mistakenly thought of as an app, whereas it is a protocol for connecting apps and your wallet. Because it is open-source, it is more of a standard than anything else.

The problem it solves in the market is that many crypto wallets can't do anything except store and send or receive your crypto. Whereas on dApps you have to access a wallet to do anything: think swapping or staking coins. They were more or less separate universes, which got a bridge through WalletConnect.

When we say wallet, we're not just referring to browser extensions like MetaMask, but also hardware wallets like Ledger. The apps in question are not only financial Web3 apps but also Web3 games.

Useful for users and developers

As a user, ever since WalletConnect you have more choice to choose a crypto wallet that you like. Before WalletConnect, you could not always connect every wallet to every dApp.

For developers, it also used to be difficult: they had to "hardcode" the support for all those wallets. WalletConnect now takes care of that for them.

Is WalletConnect safe?

Have you used WalletConnect to create the link between your wallet and the app (for example, with a QR code? Then you still have to give approval for each transaction in your wallet. WalletConnect has no permission to do this. Also, the connection is - of course - encrypted.

A few examples

• You have ETH on your MetaMask and want to get yield on it on a DeFi app. You use WalletConnect to connect the two.
• You want to swap coins on Pancakeswap in your mobile browser. The coins in question are on your TrustWallet app. Connect them to WalletConnect and you're good to go.