Microsoft Windows comes with the Edge browser pre-installed and even though Chrome is dominating the market, Edge still holds a notable market share. Most browser-based crypto wallets are plugins that are compatible with a variety of browsers, devices, and operating systems. This includes Edge which supports MetaMask and Phantom among dozens of other wallet solutions. Last weekend it became clear that Microsoft has plans to integrate crypto natively in its web browser.

Will Edge introduce a crypto wallet anytime soon and which coins and tokens will be supported?

An unknown developer lifts the curtain

A developer that goes by the nickname Albacore revealed a hidden crypto feature in Microsoft Edge last Friday. He published his findings on Twitter and provided several screenshots. They show that some sort of crypto wallet is running natively in the browser.

Judging from the screenshots available, it appears that Microsoft is building a non-custodial Ethereum wallet. The wallet comes also with a warning from Microsoft stating that testers have to use their funds with the wallet and will not be reimbursed by the company in the event of a loss.

It is not clear if and when the wallet is going to be released. With Ethereum still being the world’s biggest smart contract platform and a growing number of Web3 applications, Microsoft could be closing a gap.

There are only a few native crypto browsers

Dedicated crypto browsers are rare. Opera and Brave are pioneers in this field both offering integrated wallets out of the box. Other browsers are less concerned with developing native wallets or tools to enhance Web3 compatibility.

At the end of the day, they don’t have a strong incentive to develop their solutions with so many browser extensions being available to customers. It remains to be seen if integrated crypto features are going to provide a competitive advantage.

Chrome is the most popular browser by far judging by its market share. Every Android device comes with Google’s browser which makes it even harder for competitors to maintain their positions. Firefox is rumored to go out of business this year since its market share is shrinking every year. About 90% of the company’s revenue comes from Google and the contract is running out this year. This dependency shows that new and unique features like crypto wallets could present new opportunities for companies by conquering a niche that their competitors chose to ignore.

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