Introducing Keplr: an Interchain Wallet for Cosmos Applications
Creating a unified dApp experience for all sovereign Cosmos blockchains
Celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Cosmos mainnet launch, the Everett Protocol team is proud to announce the public beta of Keplr Extension and Keplr Web.
One Wallet for the Cosmos Ecosystem
The Cosmos ecosystem architecture is unique in that it is a network of multiple independent blockchains that co-exist.
Whereas Ethereum applications are deployed on top of the same Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), Cosmos-based applications exist as independent blockchains with no limitations on technical architecture and standard.
While application-specific blockchains allows applications to build without constraints of the base-layer protocol, this problem presents challenges for service providers as they have to account for presenting user interactions across a diverse set of networks in a homogeneous manner. This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that most wallets only support specific standard transactions (i.e. transfer, staking, vote), with no support for signing arbitrary transaction messages that may be specific to the blockchain application.
Going Beyond Staking
Much of the work in unifying the interchain ecosystem has been done by wallets. Yet, the emphasis has primarily been on staking & token transfers.
We fundamentally believe that the Cosmos ecosystem is maturing to the point where use-cases beyond staking are taking shape. From creating a multiasset-collateralized USDx stablecoin with Kava, uncensorable social networks built by Forbole, interest-bearing fiat-backed stablecoins by E-Money and many more, we are reaching the point where staking is just a small part of what defines the Cosmos ecosystem.
Keplr is one small step in the transition from the novel Cosmos use-case being staking to the applications and its features that exist within the ecosystem.
Keplr Extension
Keplr Extension is an open-sourced browser extension wallet that supports the CosmosJS signing library created by our amazing developer (and a proud two-time HackAtom winner) Tony Yun.
The ultimate goal for Keplr Extension is to recreate the simplicity of using MetaMask on Ethereum on Cosmos. We’d like users to experience being able to access all Cosmos dApps using just one wallet on Cosmos. We hope to overcome the UX challenges that’s inherent to the sovereign blockchains ecosystem at the user application level.
Freatures
Right now, Keplr Extension supports transfers/staking for Cosmos Hub and Kava.
Our goal is to eventually add features such as:
- Extend native support for major Cosmos-SDK based blockchains
- Ability to manually add new Cosmos-SDK based blockchains
- Improvements to signing non-standard transaction messages for application specific transactions
- Token support
- IBC transaction support
At the end of the day, we that the the direction and features of the wallet be decided through community suggestions and discussions. Stop by at our GitHub and write up an issue if you have suggestions on new features or improvements.
Keplr Web
Try out Keplr Web here
Our goal with Keplr Web is to allow users in the ecosystem to access all applications in the Cosmos ecosystem through one unified portal.
💵 Want to open a CDP position in Kava?
📃 Maybe you’d like to write up a uncensorable tweet?
🏦 Or perhaps you’d like to manage your fiat-backed stablecoin position?
Our hope is that you can do all that in one place. Saving up some precious tab space on your browser, and lessen the hassle of downloading multiple wallets to sign in to multiple websites.
As some of the applications are undergoing the testnet phase, Keplr Web only supports staking for Cosmos Hub and Kava. However, we believe that will quickly change as each applications begin to ship their product in the near future.
Moving Forward
We would love to support for your Cosmos-SDK application on Keplr! Please get in touch via keplr@keplr.app for inquiries and feedback on Keplr. You can also leave an issue here on our GitHub.
Disclaimer: Keplr is still an experimental software in the public beta phase. We do not recommend storing large amounts of cryptoassets in Keplr. Use of Keplr is at a ‘at-your-own-risk’ basis, and Everett Protocol will not be held liable to losses that occur due to potential software bugs or error.
