Breadwallet – an open source cryptocurrency software wallet – recently announced that it has been acquired by Coinbase. In response to the news, the price of the BRD token soared 400%.
Breadwallet Joins Coinbase
Breadwallet announced its acquisition by Coinbase in a blog post earlier today. The team said they will work with the exchange to bring decentralization to more users around the world.
“At this time, nothing will change in the BRD wallet app,” read the statement, “and as always, your funds are safe and secure. In the future, the BRD Wallet users will have an optional migration path to personal custody with Coinbase Wallet, which will include a special giveaway. Stay tuned for more details coming in 2022. “
Breadwallet launched as an app in 2014, focused on making crypto custody more accessible to regular people. According to a 2016 statement, the team was particularly intrigued by the financial freedom and inflation hedging capabilities provided by Bitcoin. More recently, Bloomberg has recognized that Bitcoin is one of the best inflation hedge assets right now.
The wallet currently serves over 10 million users worldwide. As part of the wallet functionality, these users get additional functionality to keep BRD tokens in their wallet. BRD is the utility token native to Breadwallet, used to reward users that interact with the app.
The value of the token beyond the app is entirely determined by market forces, which have largely worked in its favor today. While formerly trading for $0.16, its price spiked to $0.50 at about 3:18 EST, and again to $0.80 at 4:04. That’s five times its starting price, ever since announcing joining Coinbase.
The conquest of Coinbase
Coinbase has quickly gotten a foothold in almost every aspect of the cryptocurrency space with various new products and partnerships. Besides acquiring Breadwallet, the exchange has also partnered with META (formerly Facebook) to launch its cryptocurrency wallet “NOVI”. The exchange even became the official cryptocurrency partner of the NBA.
