MetaMask launches open beta of cross-chain Snaps

The MetaMask team announced the open beta testing of the Snaps protocol, aimed at expanding the application beyond EVM-networks.

Today marks a major milestone for MetaMask: we’re launching MetaMask Snaps Open Beta, the first step towards our journey to create a fully permissionless ecosystem with MetaMask. ?

Read the ?for everything you need to know ?https://t.co/DuHrwxQvi8

— MetaMask ?? (@MetaMask) September 12, 2023

Snaps are software modules that can be integrated into the wallet for various enhancements or additional functionality.

Thanks to the update, there is now the ability to configure cross-chain bridges between blockchains, including Bitcoin, Solana, Avalanche and StarkNet.

In the initial phase of testing, MetaMask launched 34 Snap apps. Among them are the aforementioned cross-chain protocols, as well as smaller extensions, such as an internal chat or additional security layers.

All Snaps are developed by third-party teams. The core idea of the initiative is to allow developers to upload their utilities to MetaMask without friction.

“We are building an open platform for innovation and we do not charge for publishing Snaps. We also believe that unrestricted innovation is a cornerstone of a decentralized system — no intermediaries,” said Christian Montoya, head of product at the company.

MetaMask noted that more than 150 projects are currently involved in developing various add-ons for Snaps, according to the company.

Earlier, the crypto wallet team integrated the ability to cash out digital assets to a bank card or PayPal account.

According to CoinGecko’s report, in 2023 MetaMask became the most popular non-custodial wallet with over 22.66 million installations.

In July, developers updated the browser extension interface in release v10.33.