Coinbase Smart Wallet First Experience: Using a Crypto Wallet Like Alipay, 0 Gas for "Free Mint"

Author: Mia, ChainCatcher

Editor: Marco, ChainCatcher

Recently, Coinbase announced the public launch of the Coinbase Smart Wallet, aiming to bring over 1 billion users into the blockchain world by simplifying the user experience.

In February this year, Coinbase first announced its vision for the smart wallet at ETHDenver and provided developers with a beta version.

So, what does the Coinbase Smart Wallet look like from the user's perspective? What are its capabilities and limitations? Is it secure?

ChainCatcher will give you a first-hand experience.

What is the Coinbase Smart Wallet

As a newly upgraded self-custody wallet, Coinbase claims that its smart wallet addresses several major pain points in the current cryptocurrency experience, including a complicated onboarding process, high network fees, and cumbersome steps like recovery phrases.

The Coinbase Smart Wallet offers a simple, gas-free on-chain experience, supporting multiple chains and integrating major applications, allowing users to use blockchain technology as easily as logging into their favorite websites.

Additionally, by integrating with next-generation Layer 2 networks like Base, the Coinbase Smart Wallet further enhances on-chain efficiency and cost-effectiveness, making on-chain transactions simple, fast, and cheap.

Coinbase states that for existing wallet users, the official team will build a migration tool in the wallet application in the coming months to support the smart wallet.

First Experience with the Coinbase Smart Wallet

As Siddharth Coelho-Prabhu, Senior Product Director at Coinbase, said, "The smart wallet is a significant breakthrough in our goal to bring over 1 billion users onto the blockchain."

The convenience and smoothness of using the Coinbase Smart Wallet reflect this.

When new users enter the login interface, they will see the option to create a smart wallet.

After clicking on the creation interface, users will see the wallet creation page, where they can choose Passkey (iCloud Face ID, Google Chrome profile) to successfully establish the wallet.

Compared to most wallets that require independent password and account creation, the Coinbase Smart Wallet's setup leans more towards a "foolproof operation" typical of Web2, making it more convenient and straightforward.

Moreover, the mnemonic phrase can be directly backed up in iCloud, eliminating the need for users to back it up themselves.

Once inside the Coinbase Smart Wallet, users can add relevant crypto assets just like with previous wallet functionalities.

Currently, the Coinbase wallet page has automatically updated to the smart wallet page, and a "go onchain" test task has been launched on the "Learn" page. The tasks include "Swap," "Set Favorite Tokens," "Mint NFT," "Bridge," "Stake," and "Earn Token Rewards through Tasks." Users can experience the functionality updates of the smart wallet by completing tasks, and completing any three test tasks will earn them the "Evolving Explorers" NFT reward.

For existing users, the changes in Mint NFT are more intuitive compared to the registration process.

Users can mint three free mint NFTs provided by Coinbase without paying gas fees, with the network cost displayed as "0." The NFTs can be minted successfully in just a few minutes and will appear in the wallet. For NFT players, this truly realizes the essence of free minting, eliminating concerns about project teams issuing so-called "free mint assassins" to cover gas fees. Some NFT players have likened the smoothness of the operation to "ordering takeout"; in the Coinbase Smart Wallet, minting NFTs is as smooth and convenient as ordering takeout.

While being convenient, Coinbase has not compromised on security.

For on-chain interactions involving assets such as "Swap," "Set Favorite Tokens," "Bridge," and "Stake," the Coinbase Smart Wallet requires transaction confirmations just like traditional wallets, ensuring the security of the entire transaction.

In the Coinbase Smart Wallet system, the Web3 wallet feels like "Alipay" in Web2, where on-chain interactions no longer require complex signatures, private keys, or facial recognition to log in; a simple click completes the operation.

Lowering the Barriers for Users to Enter the Web3 World

Solving Onboarding Barriers

Coelho-Prabhu wrote in a blog post, "So far, (traditional wallets) on-chain operations have been slow, expensive, and difficult, requiring the installation of separate wallet applications and the use of first-generation blockchains."

Unlike the recovery phrases, applications, and extensions used in previous generation traditional wallets to access DeFi applications and services, the smart wallet uses industry-standard Passkeys. Since its release, it has been equipped with a web portal connected to Base, Ethereum, Optimism, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, BNB, and Zora networks.

Users only need any universal Passkeys, including Face ID, Google Chrome profiles, Yubikey, or fingerprint unlock features to create a free, secure self-custody wallet in seconds, without needing to download applications or extensions or deal with recovery phrases.

Easy On-Chain Payments

Coelho-Prabhu stated, "The Coinbase Smart Wallet allows users to create a free, secure, self-custody wallet in seconds. It simplifies the registration process, reduces the number of transactions requiring signatures, and allows seamless use of Coinbase balances."

Coinbase aims to address the fragmentation issue that arises when users must manage balances across multiple wallets for crypto interactions in traditional wallets.

The Coinbase Smart Wallet supports self-custody wallet balances or payments from Coinbase account balances, so users don't have to worry about encountering "insufficient balance" errors during interactions.

Cross-Application Portability

In the Coinbase Smart Wallet, users can seamlessly use Coinbase balances without excessive signed transactions, bringing their wallet, identity, and balances to thousands of on-chain applications. It can be used with hundreds of EVM-compatible applications that have already integrated with the Coinbase Wallet SDK.

Gas-Free Transactions

Developers can choose to provide gas-free experiences and sponsor transactions through payment proxies. In other words, developers or other parties can cover users' gas fees, thereby offering free products or services. This undoubtedly provides significant help for some free mint projects, allowing users to mint without paying gas fees, truly realizing free minting on-chain.