A quick look at Coinbase Smart Wallet: What it looks like, what features it has, and how to use it

Author: Sid Coelho-Prabhu, Coinbase Wallet; Translation: 0xjs@黄金财经

On June 5, 2024, Coinbase announced that the Coinbase Wallet smart wallet was officially launched on the mainnet.

Here is a primer on why this leapfrog technology will reshape the on-chain experience and attract the next billion users.

No need to write down recovery mnemonics anymore:hello, Passkey! Coinbase Wallet smart wallet is a Passkey wallet. This next-generation technology helps us eliminate these 12 notes. Just use fingerprint, FaceID or yubikey to sign. Automatically and securely back up with iCloud or other password providers.

Once you sign up, Coinbase Smart Wallet looks like this:

No more wallet apps to install:New to crypto and want to use that cool app you just read about on X or Reddit or discord? Get started on the app website in your web browser in less than 10 seconds. No need to leave to install a separate wallet mobile app or extension.

One account for any app: Carry your wallet, assets, and identity with you anywhere on the chain. Smart Wallets benefit from the widespread distribution of Coinbase Wallet SDK in nearly all on-chain applications. Many applications have already received day one support, and we expect to gain widespread support in the coming weeks as more applications update the Wallet SDK.

Full Self-Custody: Despite all the convenience improvements, this is still 100% "your keys, your coins". This is not key authentication to some server where we store your keys: the key you have on your device is the verification key used for signing on-chain.

The magic of "paying" from a Coinbase account: If you are already a Coinbase customer and have a balance on the exchange. Many applications allow you to trade directly with that balance without having to fund your wallet first. It has never been easier for users to get started on the chain.

No More Gas: Gas will be a thing of the past. Developers can choose to sponsor Gas for their users, making it easier than ever to use. Base even now offers free Gas to developers who apply for funding.

Best-in-Class Wallet App: The Smart Wallet comes with a fully-featured companion website to manage your assets, identity, transactions, and more. We’re taking advantage of the world-class Coinbase Wallet app experience that users love. We’ll soon be adding support for Smart Wallet to our mobile app, too.

Batch Transactions:Remember having to approve, bridge, and swap as separate transactions? Batched transactions will make that a thing of the past, with one signature for multiple actions.

Free:For developers and users, there’s no WaaS or per-user fees to pay for, unlike many embedded wallet solutions.

Safe and Secure:Users will see transaction and signature previews, which helps ensure they’re secure. Our smart contracts have been audited 4 times by leading audit teams.

Simple, Fast, and Cheap:If you’ve done any on-chain transactions in the last 5 years, it was probably difficult, slow, and costly. Smart Wallet, combined with next-generation L2s like Base, takes away much of the pain and frustration of on-chain transactions. Now users can start using fun applications right away, while developers can focus on the experience and value proposition of their applications.