Opera for Android

2019: Opera allows to pay off with bitcoins directly

On October 22, 2019 the Opera company announced an exit of the upgraded version of the browser for Android equipped with the built-in bitcoin wallet.

Thanks to a new feature users can send and accept bitcoin and the Tron cryptocurrency and also to use them for purchase of goods and services in online stores, without leaving the web observer.

Opera announced an exit of the upgraded version of the browser for Android equipped with the built-in bitcoin wallet

We decided to add Bitcoin support to acquaint with this function wider user group — the head of cryptodivision of Opera Charlz Hemel noted.

According to him, new features should become demanded among users of cryptocurrencies which do not want to be limited to only one storage of digital assets.

Users of Opera can link the bank cards supporting work with bitcoin and TRX to the client. Also in the browser the ability to integrate with the applications created on Tron blockchain system is implemented. Users can make transactions with use of one more cryptocurrency — Ethereum.

One more change in Opera concerned appearance of the browser. He received the corporate Squircles interface offering light and dark subjects in each of which there are options of gray, red, blue, violet and green colors.

According to developers, the Opera interface for Android is processed to reduce quantity of the distracting factors. In new design there is no sharp geometry which was replaced with the concept of focus with transitions.

We want that the Opera browser set the new standard among mobile browsers, providing unique features which, according to us, the modern browser should have — Opera products manager for Android Stefan Shtyernelund said.

Besides, in the new version of mobile Opera requests for demonstration of notifications and WebAuthn support are improved.^[1]

2018: Exit browser blockchain version

On December 13, 2018 Opera announced "blockchain browser" — the new version of Opera for Android which supports the Ethereum protocol.

Thanks to it users of Opera can make transactions by means of the Ethereum cryptocurrency through the built-in cryptopurse, and developers can create the decentralized applications (Dapps) using in practice of advantage of this technology.

Opera started the blockchain browser supporting Web 3.0

Updated Opera for Android supports the concept of Web 3.0 at which applications are not installed on phone, and work at the decentralized networks and use cryptocurrency for transactions.

Still for use of cryptocurrencies and access to Web 3.0 necessary there were special applications or expansions that complicated attempt to try these technologies. Our new browser eliminates this barrier. We decided to implement Ethereum support as this biggest community of the developers creating Dapps — the product manager of Opera Crypto  Charles Hamel said.

To test new features of Web 3.0 which are supported by Opera users need to purchase a little currency of Ethereum and to save it in the cryptopurse which is built in the browser. Users can get access to Dapps from this purse.

We hope that this pace will be quickened by transition of cryptocurrencies from speculation and investments to use for real payments and transactions in everyday life of our users — the executive vice president for the Opera browsers Krystian Kolondra said.

In addition to mobile version of the browser, support of Web 3.0 will be implemented also in desktop options for Windows, Linux and macOS in 2019.^[2]

As notes ZDNet, Opera gets access to Ethereum blockchain thanks to a startup of Infura which is financed by ConsenSys company under the leadership of  Joseph Lubin — one of founders of the Ethereum project.

Notes