On March 29, MetaMask announced a raft of updates to its mobile version 4.3.1, the most significant was the Apple Pay integration.
The catch is that Apple doesn’t directly support crypto payments through its own platform, so it has to be done through Wyre, which supports crypto and integrates with Apple Pay.
Users can now also buy crypto with debit or credit cards, eliminating the need to send ETH to the app in advance. Apple Pay users can deposit a daily maximum of $400 into their wallet using their Visa or Mastercards and the Wyre API.
Credit Cards for Crypto
MetaMask also uses the Transak payment platform to allow users to purchase crypto with their credit or debit cards. However, those wishing to use either payment platform must go through the KYC (know-you-customer) process.
Using MetaMask on layer-1 does also incurs gas fees, however, even though the firm says it does not profit from them. MetaMask also has its own fees, which are 0.875% of the transaction.
One of the other updates was support for gasless transactions, which is when private blockchains, or a project or protocol, pays for gas on behalf of the user.
On March 15, CryptoPotato reported that MetaMask surpassed 30 million monthly active users, making it one of the most popular crypto wallets available today. The news also revealed a $450 million fundraising round for ConsenSys, the Ethereum solutions firm behind the wallet.
On March 16, ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin announced that MetaMask would launch its own token and DAO. There was very little information about the token, but long-term MetaMask users are hoping for an airdrop similar to Uniswap.
Beware Fake Wallet Apps
Being one of the top wallets for crypto trading makes MetaMask a target for hackers and scammers. Cyber security firm ESET has recently revealed an elaborate scheme to distribute fake wallet apps to Android and Apple mobile devices.
The research indicated that the scheme has been running since May 2021 and fake wallet apps for MetaMask, Coinbase, Jaxx and Trust Wallet have been circulated on social media groups on Facebook to target Chinese users.
Several of them even made it onto Google Play Store, but the tech giant removed them back in January.
