Intro
Crypto adoption is growing and developing every single day, and it’s looking for new ways. What do we have? Exchanges, dApps, loans, wallets, play-to-earn games, what else? Now we even have crypto browsers, but why actually do we need them? Do you have any ideas? Frankly speaking, we also want to uncover the topic and are happy to invite you to make it with us.
What Is a Crypto Browser?
A crypto browser or a blockchain browser is a kind that supports Web 3.0 technologies, such as blockchain. It fulfills the gap between today’s Web 2.0 experience and the decentralized internet stormed by Web 3.0 enthusiasts. By making decentralized protocols accessible through a familiar interface, crypto browsers provide a critical gateway to the decentralized ecosystem, especially for newcomers.
Almost all crypto browsers integrate a crypto wallet that allows you to buy, sell, or store your cryptocurrencies. While some of these crypto wallets are built into the browser (aka “browser-native”), many operate as extensions. For example, the MetaMask and Phantom browser extension wallets facilitate crypto transactions on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains, respectively.
In addition to crypto wallets, some crypto browsers integrate marketplaces for decentralized applications (dApps). Finally, certain crypto browsers also provide incentives that reward everyone who uses their browser. These incentives include crypto payments and mining rewards.
Essential Crypto Browser's Features
Finance is always a sensitive subject of fraud, but especially cryptocurrency which is completely digital, so no wonder privacy and security are the most essential characteristics to look for. Your browser just must be highly safe, it should protect your passwords and browsing history.
Does your crypto browser have privacy features like ad blocking, tracker blocking, or a VPN? Does it use a built-in wallet? Finally, does the crypto browser issue incentives as crypto or mining rewards?
- Built-in VPN — some crypto exchanges, including the biggest ones such as Binance and Kucoin, give you an opportunity to trade crypto anonymously. If you gain even more anonymity, getting a browser with a built-in VPN is exactly what you want. The matter is that VPN covers your real IP address and encrypts the traffic from your device. If your browser doesn’t have its own VPN, you can always have one as an extension. Choose the one with a strong reputation and good reviews, don’t neglect this question, and try to find the most powerful one on the market.
- Built-in Wallet — a built-in wallet option is very convenient and handy. You can store and keep track of your assets directly in the browser, with no need to share your personal data with another platform.
- Speed — once talking about trading, when the difference between profit and loss can be instant decisions during market changes, you do not want to be stuck with an unreliable browser. You need something rapid and reliable. Amazingly, a lot of browsers are good at this. Several of them are built within the Chromium engine, the quickest in the world.
- Tab Stacking — is another non-technical quality that is helpful for cryptocurrency operations. Your research on different assets involves opening various tabs. It is easy to lose track of the definite website for a piece of information.
With tab stacking, you can order every tab according to your preference. You can open a stack that contains multiple tabs about Ethereum and another on Bitcoin. So, if you need to find some information, you know where to find it.
Top Browsers of 2022
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More and more browsers are becoming crypto-friendly, but some stand out somehow as usual. We’re going to cover the ones that are best in the field.
1. Brave
In 2015, CEO Brendan Eich and CTO Brian Bondy launched Brave Software.
One of the main Brave Browser’s competitive features is swift web browsing and ad blocking. The best way to see this is from the Brave browser’s main screen. You can view how many ads have been blocked so far and how much data you have stored. On top, Brave supports cryptocurrency investment by providing sponsored ads, and widgets that allow users to buy a cryptocurrency and see market prices. There is even a special program that rewards you when you watch an ad.
There’s an opt-in mode to watch Brave’s commercials. If you proceed with the opt-in to watch ads, they will be provided via push alarms. Once clicking the push alarm, you receive a reward for the Brave’s Basic Attention Token (BAT). However, many say that there is insufficient compensation compared to the frequency of advertisements that are exposed. The problem is that there is a high possibility that the user’s personal information will be gathered to provide advertisements in a more efficient way.
Regardless, the Brave browser is making progress in boosting privacy and it supports the search engine Tor, which is believed to be one of the most anonymous out there. Great news, VPN is also included, but it is currently available only on iOS but not on PC and on Android.
2. Opera Reborn
Opera has launched its own “Crypto Browser” into beta with various helpful features like a built-in crypto wallet, easy access to cryptocurrency and NFT exchanges, and support for decentralized apps (dApps). According to Opera’s agenda, the main goal is to “simplify the Web3 user experience that is often bewildering for mainstream users.”
One of the best features is “Crypto Corner,” a news platform that shows up-to-date news about blockchain and cryptocurrency, real-time market prices, crypto events calendar, and NFT news. It has a built-in crypto wallet with features such as a tailored watchlist, secure clipboard, and QR code generator, giving an opportunity to manage their crypto assets without any need to visit 3rd party services online.
Opera Crypto Browser is 100% FREE and can be used anywhere.
3. Mozilla Firefox
Firefox is one of the most secure private browsers out there and one of the few with mainstream recognition and support. Why?
The answer is rather simple, it has HTTPS everywhere, so you don’t need to worry about visiting an insecure or fake version of an exchange or wallet. There is also NoScript, protecting you from various hackers. Also, you get sandboxing techniques and fingerprinting protection.
All these options are great and helpful for regular web browsing, as well. Crypto enthusiasts must appreciate crypto-jacking protection. It is a security feature that protects cryptocurrency miners from using Javascript to hijack and mine within a computer.
Firefox is an open-source browser, so users can check its code and make sure it does exactly what it says it does. And if you are into programming, you can also make adjustments of your own to personalize it.
The browser has features that are crypto-focused, such as an in-built wallet, but it has a massive library of extensions., as well. You can confidently install a wallet extension because they are inspected and safe.
The cool thing about Firefox is there is a mobile version too, for Android and iOS users. Firefox Focus is specially built for each platform, offering the same level of security and privacy. Unlike the regular mobile Firefox, it efficiently blocks pop-up ads and tracking cookies.
4. Tor
Tor always had a strong reputation as an extremely private and secure web browser. As a matter of fact, it does not act like a typical browser. Instead, it directs your data through the Onion network (a series with random nodes), which makes your traffic untraceable and anonymous.
Plus, Tor also encrypts your traffic during this process three times. Not only are you untraceable, but no one can learn your identity or track your online activity. On top of using an anonymous exchange like Binance, no one can trace your browsing history and traffic.
That’s not all, as there is even more security over there. Tor also comes with HTTPS Everywhere, making sure you always open the safer version of any website you visit. This minimizes the chances of you opening a fake crypto exchange or wallet site via phishing. There is also NoScript, a program blocking Flash and Javascript, which hackers can use to attack you.
Tor does not store your browsing data because it deletes it right away after each session. Every window acts as a separate private browser, so data is not shared between different windows. Of course, all these characteristics make Tor the best option if you prioritize security and privacy.
But it should be pointed out that Tor is slower than most browsers because it routes all your traffic through numerous network nodes. That’s why it can take up to 30-40 seconds to load a page. Not the end of the world, but could be quite inconvenient. Another drawback is that it has limited numbers of trading functions on centralized pages and has no ability to interact with decentralized apps (dApps).
If you can live perfectly well without all those trading tools, then you can enjoy the fact that your assets are safe, and everything about your online behavior is safe and sound, down to your searches. Tor uses DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine that does not collect or share any of your data.
5. Osiris
Osiris is a blockchain-friendly web 3.0 web browser. The main difference between Osiris and other well-known browsers is that it’s more consumer-centered and always has its users’ necessities in mind.
Osiris is a kind of unique web browser also because it integrates several blockchain networks into one platform. It is worth mentioning that it’s a blockchain-based browser that also has common browser functionalities and tools covered and has an intuitive UI for a better user experience.
For those who are not into blockchain technology, the browser provides an option to select a search engine, plus, it has Osiris Armor that blocks all annoying ads and deeply improves privacy. You can set privacy options with Osiris Armor and see how many ads and scripts have been blocked so far.
Osiris supports dAppstore, a dapp total marketplace that integrates decentralized applications (dApps). DAppstore is considered to be the most suitable and functional dApp marketplace for the Osiris browser and is also a blockchain platform that is quickly becoming a part of the global market.
DAppstore is creating an environment that can be used to the fullest and it is also resolving dApp access problems while removing security issues that blockchain users are experiencing at the moment.
Another crucial feature of the Osiris Browser is that it is building its own mainnet. That's the first time when a browser is going to have a completely developed mainnet.
Closing Thoughts
The world tries to monetize every single piece of reality, and that’s quite easy to understand why. Nowadays, when natural resources are fading, and it’s becoming rather problematic in terms of extracting them, too, digital currencies matter. Cryptocurrency showed us a way to earn in a smart and efficient way just by being online. Of course, browsers couldn’t stand aside, and they are fulfilling the demands of a new generation. Great that they try to combine security, usability, and convenience, that now you can track your earnings within a single browser while searching for the information you need.