Blockchain Debuts Android Bitcoin Wallet with Merchant Directory
Bitcoin wallet and block explorer provider Blockchain has unveiled
its latest Android wallet update, announcing the news at The North
American Bitcoin Conference (NABC), an ongoing two-day industry event
taking place in downtown Chicago.
The official launch follows the release of early previews provided by the company in June, a leak that coincided with Blockchain‘s debut of its new customer onboarding tool, Bitcoin.com.
Blockchain CEO Nicolas Cary
framed the announcement as part of a broader update to the company’s
wallet service that will find it issuing more news through the summer.
Combined, this initiative will help the company better meet the scale
that it excepts as more consumers join the bitcoin ecosystem.
Cary said:
“We’re completely focused on creating simple and engaging
experiences so we can go to web scale – supporting hundreds of millions
of users.”
Notably, the updated Android wallet integrates with user address
books and includes an in-app merchant map that can be leveraged to find
bitcoin businesses.
Click below to view a gallery of app images:
Merchant mapping
One of the more novel aspects of the new app is its inclusion of a
merchant directory that the company says uses a “fully verified
database” to let users discover local businesses that accept bitcoin in a
similar way as traditional merchant directories such as Yelp.
Images provided by Blockchain show that in-app business directory
pages include the phone number, address and website of bitcoin
companies, as well as a description of their services.
Users can also search an interactive map that includes five unique,
color-coded pins to specify the nature of the business and its services.
Reimagining interaction
Keonne Rodriguez, Blockchain’s product lead, said that the goal with
the app redesign was to focus on user experience, and images show that
personal finance management services may have influenced the final
release.
For example, the wallet dashboard allows Android users to see their
balance and divide their funds into categories such as “Vacation”, “Car”
or “Savings” to better manage their finances.
Additionally, the wallet will enable peer-to-peer transactions
without the recipient needing an existing bitcoin wallet, providing
bitcoin users with a way to bring more interested individuals into the
ecosystem.
Conference update
The announcement followed a Saturday speech by Blockchain COO Peter
Smith, who spoke opposite CoinSetter CEO Jaron Lukasiewicz at the NABC.
The event also
featured speeches from notable industry leaders such as BitPay senior
software engineer Jeff Garzik, OKCoin CTO Changpeng Zhao and Bitcoin
Shop CEO Charles Allen.
For more news and breaking announcements, follow CoinDesk’s live Twitter coverage of the event.
Correction: An earlier version of this article
stated that the event was attended by OKCoin CEO Star Xu. Xu has since
been replaced by OKCoin CTO Changpeng Zhao.