Ethereum took its first steps towards simplifying its user experience this week with the release of an EthereumWallet beta, a RushWallet version for the Bitcoin 2.0 platform. Cointelegraph decided to take a look at the 3 wallets that are aiming to end the era of command line and complex usability for Ethereum users.
Cointelegraph has previoualy covered the disruptive potential of Bitcoin 2.0 platforms like Ethereum. However, before we can create the decentralized applications and organizations, we must first make these tools easy to use. And while Ethereum holds a lot of promise, most would admit that it’s not quite ready for the lay consumer.
Hence, the following three organizations are actively working so that everyone including grandma can start using Ethereum.
Ethereumwallet.com by KryptoKit
CEO of KryptoKit and Ethereum Co-Founder Anthony Di iorio, released Ethereumwallet.com on September 4, which functions as a cross platform client-side web wallet.
Similar to RushWallet for Bitcoin, EthereumWallet beta allows the creation of wallets based on a URL book marking system. You can, of course, send and receive Ether and encrypt your private key at creation.
Among the current features the wallet supports include:
- Create wallets, send and receive Ether;
- Client side wallet creation and transaction signing. (keys are never sent to external servers);
- Code is completely auditable through “View Page Source”;
- Wallets can be created off-line by downloading the web wallet (Ctrl + S).
- No username or log in information required, based on bookmark client side links.
Some of the upcoming features yet to be released include:
- Export wallets;
- QR code support with android apps;
- Cross platform support through soon to be released KryptoKit, iOS, and Android wallets.
For more details, see Ethereum team’s reddit post.
EthereumWallet.org by Allen Dunkley
Developer Allen Dunkley told Cointelegraph:
“Around half a year ago we found out about Ethereum and were fascinated. Recently they decided to release the wallet to the public. And we were a bit scared off from the complexity the console wallet was tied to. So we decided to build a secure web wallet (for us) so we could handle our ETH transactions with ease.”
The wallet can perform a variety of basic functions like wallet creation, sending and receiving, all client side and open source.
Unlike KyptoKit's ether wallet, Dunkley has expressed an active interest and development in supporting Ethereum's second generation features with an easy to use interface.
“Our plans for the future (and this is what we are currently working on) is the interaction with Smart Contracts,” he explains. “This means not only the creation of a smart contract but also the interaction with present ones. Here we plan that (based on the type of the contract) a web [graphic user interface] is automatically generated so that users may view all stored data as well as call contract functions with ease.”
Dunkley adds:
“We really hope that the community joins the project: more manpower means more results. Everyone is invited to fork the code and suggest improvements.”
Among the most noticeable features of Dunkley's EthereumWallet are:
- Open source. Developers are encouraged to fork code and collaborate;
- Client side wallet creation and transaction signing;
- Wallets can be created off-line by downloading the web wallet (Ctrl + S);
- Encrypted version of wallet stored on server with Google Authenticator 2FA;
- Pass phrase seed backup.
MyEtherWallet
Last but not least it Myetherwallet. Following the same model as the previous two - a model popularized by blockchain.info - this wallet is an “Open Source JavaScript Client-Side Ether Wallet” with a variety of novel features such as:
- Bulk generation of wallets encrypted with a password;
- Exporting of wallets in JSON, CSV, TXT and paper wallets;
- Easy paper wallet creation;
- Interface to purchase Augur REP tokens from ongoing crowdsale;
- Basic sending and receiving of transactions;
- Open Source;
- Client side wallet creation and signing of transactions.
A chrome extension for MyEtherWallet is also under development.
Have you tried any of these wallets already? Share and comment about your experience below.