Crypto wallet MetaMask finally launches on iOS and Android, and it supports Apple Pay

If you've interacted with cryptocurrencies in the past couple of years, there's a good chance you've used MetaMask. It's a cryptocurrency wallet in the form of a browser extension that supports Ethereum and its ecosystem, making it easy to connect with a decentralized app (dApp) that resides on a website.

But even though it's been an essential tool for crypto users for years, MetaMask wasn't widely available on mobile — until now. On Wednesday, ConsenSys announced the availability of MetaMask Mobile on iOS and Android.

The app is a bit different from the desktop version of MetaMask. For one, it's not a browser extension. On mobile, MetaMask is a native cryptocurrency wallet, with the ability to interact with various dApps, either through a list of featured applications, or by entering a dApp's URL into a built-in browser.

Fortunately, transitioning from desktop to mobile should be easy, as it can be done by generating a QR code in desktop MetaMask and scanning it with the phone, which should sync the entire transaction history to the mobile MetaMask.

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Credit: CONSENSYS

MetaMask Mobile also has another, massively important feature: The ability to purchase ether (Ethereum's currency) directly in the app using Apple Pay, debit cards, or other payment methods (depending on the country). For someone looking to interact with, say, a DeFi (decentralized finance) application, the ability to purchase ether directly in MetaMask and immediately put it to use removes a lot of unnecessary friction.

Security is key when dealing with cryptocurrencies, and MetaMask boasts secure login, key vaults, and the ability to generate passwords and keys for dApps directly on the device to make sure no one besides the user can access the accounts.

Not everything that MetaMask supports on the desktop has made its way to the mobile app. For example, support for Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets is absent.

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It's been a long time coming. MetaMask Mobile was in closed beta with just 135,000 users since late 2019. ConsenSys says the browser extension has been downloaded over 4 million times, meaning the demand was there. In the meantime, wallets like ZenGo and Argent have showed up, with a focus on DeFi-related features, but MetaMask remained the browser of choice when it comes to interacting with dApps.

It'll be interesting to see whether the mobile version catches on as strongly as the desktop MetaMask did.