Brave adds Cardano blockchain support to browser and Web3 wallet

Update (May 13, 1:00 pm UTC): This article has been updated to add third-party commentary from Robert Roose.

Web3 and privacy-focused web browser Brave Browser has integrated the Cardano blockchain into its native and standalone wallets.

According to a May 12 announcement, the integration stems from a partnership between Brave Browser and Cardano development firm Input Output. Together, the two firms “will integrate Cardano into the Brave Wallet, enabling Cardano blockchain access and token management.” Brendan Eich, co-founder and CEO of Brave and the Basic Attention Token (BAT), said:

“Integrating Cardano into Brave Wallet not only expands multi-chain access, but also enhances security, governance participation, and the overall user experience.”

Eich said that Brave focuses on maximizing user choice while providing tools to engage with decentralized ecosystems. With this integration, users of the Web3 browser and standalone wallet will gain direct access to Cardano’s blockchain without leaving the interfaces.

Brave had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication.

Robert Roose, founder of Cardano interoperability protocol Mynth, told Cointelegraph that “this is a fantastic moment” for the ecosystem. AHe saidBrave Browser support is “a huge step” toward making Cardano “more widespread and interoperable.

Roose also said that Cardano decentralized applications (DApps) are now “within easy reach” through the Brave Browser. He highlighted:

“I really don’t see significant hurdles here. Most of the infrastructure and tooling work has already been done, so Cardano is truly ready for prime time."

Brave browser keeps expanding

Brave already supports the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. The announcement explicitly cites Midnight (NIGHT) as an ecosystem that would benefit from the support:

“The partnership also sets the stage for future innovation around engagement with Cardano’s governance and Midnight, a blockchain developed by Shielded Technologies, an Input | Output spinout focused on confidential smart contracts and data protection.“

Midnight is a privacy-focused Cardano sidechain. Input Output CEO Charles Hoskinson recently suggested that the network could also enable free transactions for non-fungible token (NFT) ticket holders.

Hoskinson explained that users would be given NFTs on sign-up, which would then give them the right to a certain number of transactions per day. This, he explained, would allow for use cases resembling those of the Web2 model:

“Then all of a sudden you have the entire Web2 business model: you can have free accounts and free apps for people to use and they’re using crypto infrastructure but they don’t have to have a token.”Source: Mintern

Mynth’s Roose said that Midnight “extends what Cardano can do,” and this was why his firm partnered with the protocol. He explained that “Mynth brings privacy-focused, interoperable crosschain swaps to the table, and Midnight brings private smart-contract interaction.”

Together, the two protocols allow Cardano users to enjoy heightened privacy levels. Roose said that more is to come, with projects bringing zero-knowledge proof-based solutions to the network as well.

The first collaboration in a long-term partnership

The announcement hints at more developments from the newly formed partnership between Brave Browser and Input Output. The post notes that the collaboration “sets the stage for future innovation around engagement with Cardano’s governance and Midnight.”

Eran Barak, the CEO of Midnight, told Cointelegraph in February that transparency, one of blockchain’s biggest selling points, also hinders widespread adoption and applications in fields like business and medicine. He said metadata allows individuals to be identified and tracked, hindering blockchain adoption.

The development of Midnight follows the team behind the Cardano ecosystem announcing a software toolkit allowing developers to deploy custom-built sidechains in early 2023.

Magazine: Charles Hoskinson, Cardano and Ethereum – for the record