Eco Protocol developers launch Beam wallet for Optimism and Base

Supported by the venture fund a16z, the DeFi project Eco Protocol’s team unveiled the Beam crypto wallet for payments on Ethereum Layer-2 networks — Optimism and Base from Coinbase. The Block reports.

Beam supports an account abstraction feature integrated after the EIP-4884 proposal. The extension enables the wallet to function as a standalone smart contract, and also supports two-factor authentication and the possibility of access recovery.

“We are bridging the gap between ordinary payments and cryptocurrency, meeting the industry expectations that have persisted for more than a decade. […] With Beam, users gain access to the inherent advantages of digital assets, such as censorship-resistance, custody, and privacy,” said Eco Inc. CEO Andy Bromberg.

According to him, the wallet interface was designed to resemble peer-to-peer traditional payment systems for greater convenience.

Users will be able to make payments using a generated QR code. The company noted that Beam does not require mandatory verification.

The Eco project has raised around $95 million across five funding rounds from September 2019 to July 2021. In addition to lead backer a16z, investors include Founders Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Pantera Capital, and Coinbase Ventures.

In July, Circle launched a wallet-as-a-service platform for Web3-applications.

In the same month, Mutiny’s team released a beta version of an extension for standalone storage of cryptocurrencies linked to the Bitcoin micropayment network Lightning Network.