Uniswap Labs, the company behind the popular decentralized exchange, Uniswap, has announced that they’ve developed their own self-custody wallet. Uniswap has millions of users, so the development of this new wallet is significant.
They initially announced the wallet at the EthDenver conference, where they emphasized the wallets ability to switch between various Ethereum networks, including Polygon and Optimism. The wallet also provides tools for price discovery and trend monitoring, allowing users to follow the trading activity of other wallet users.
Cal Capuozzo (the lead designer) explained that the wallet was designed to be as accessible and intuitive as possible. Since the web version of Uniswap has so many users, they were able to use the help requests they’ve received over the years to identify problem points (particularly relating to wallet connectivity) that users have struggled with.
Uniswap’s new wallet also features a storage function for seed phrases, which are secret passwords consisting of 12 or 16 random words. Users have the option to store their seed phrases in Apple’s iCloud, providing a convenient solution for users.
Note: I’ve mentioned several times throughout this site, you should prioritize security over convenience if you’re using the wallet to store a significant amount of value.
I personally wouldn’t store my seed phrase on iCloud, but to each their own.
Ironically, while the Uniswap dev team has made it easy to store your seed phrase to iCloud, Apple hasn’t yet authorized the wallet’s addition to the App Store. Although Uniswap claims to have responded to all of Apple’s concerns, adhering to every specification, the company remains in limbo.
Apple has previously been skeptical of crypto apps, as they have blocked Coinbase and other trading services. While it’s unclear why Apple hasn’t yet authorized Uniswap’s wallet, it may be linked to increased government scrutiny of crypto, or a move to defend its own expanding payments empire.
At present, the Uniswap wallet is not available on Android platforms. Users who want to use it will need to get approval from the company and use Apple’s trial software platform, TestFlight, if they want to give it a try.
