Opera Takes a Giant Leap Into Web3, Integrates Solana, Polygon, StarkEx, and Others

Opera, the company behind the world’s first native web3 browser with built-in crypto wallet, announced adding support for several major blockchain ecosystems, including Solana, Polygon, StarkEx, Ronin, Celo, Nervos, IXO and Bitcoin. The tens of millions of active Opera users can benefit from blockchains and decentralized apps (dapps) and services within eight different blockchain ecosystems. From now on, users get access to the vast ecosystem of Polygon or Solana dApps or the benefits of Layer 2 DeFi via StarkWare-powered DiversiFi. They can also tend to their Axies by accessing Ronin.

Notably, today’s launch also extends access to PoS blockchains and Ethereum Layer-2 ecosystems: Polygon and StarkEx. By gaining entry to these blockchains, users can benefit from lower gas fees and faster transactions while minimizing their carbon footprint and still leveraging Ethereum’s robust decentralization and security.

The integration of multiple blockchains and notably Layer 2s is a key strategy in Opera’s mission to remain chain agnostic and seamlessly onboard millions of users to Web3 and to do so in an environmentally-conscious way.

“Ever since we started in the Web3 space in 2018, we’ve been sealing partnerships with the most popular and cutting edge blockchains and web3 domain name providers in order to accelerate crypto’s evolution from proof of concept towards mass adoption. Ultimately, Web3 is on its way to becoming a mainstream web technology and users won’t need to know they’re interacting with it. They need to get a superior user experience and a true benefit,” said Jorgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera.

In mid January 2022, Opera shipped the first public beta version of its new Crypto Browser Project on mobile and desktop. The Crypto Browser Project provides the ultimate, all-in-one, fully-dedicated Web3 browsing experience. Although Opera originally launched the first web browser with an integrated cryptocurrency wallet and basic Web3 support back in 2018, the Crypto Browser Project which includes a built-in dapp support, a non-custodial crypto wallet, as well as Crypto Corner, marked the beginning of a new journey towards a dedicated Web3 browsing experience with the aim of accelerating the evolution of the next generation of the Web. This is now coming to life.

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Polygon

Integration with Polygon is a key strategy in Opera’s mission to seamlessly onboard millions of users to Web3 and to do so in an environmentally-conscious way. Polygon’s fast, scalable, and ultra-low fee environment has made it one of the most popular Ethereum scaling solutions among users and developers alike. With Ethereum gas fees surging to unsustainable levels, the browser developer has moved quickly to integrate the project and allow a direct and efficient way for users to interact with Polygon.

By contrast, once assets are sent to Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) chain, the carbon impact becomes virtually negligible for asset minting and transferring. Polygon consumes just 0.00079 terawatts (TWh) of electricity per annum, making it more than 90% less energy-intensive than Ethereum layer-1. For example, minting a single NFT on Polygon produces roughly the same amount of CO2 as driving 0.26 kilometers.

From metaverse platforms, such as Sandbox, Decentraland, Minecraft-compatible NFT Worlds, Cryptovoxels and Somnium Space through to the most popular gaming dApps in the Polygon ecosystem, including projects from Polygon Studios, and games such as Aavegotchi, My Crypto Heroes, Atlantis World, Decentral Games, and many others. Opera’s support for Polygon exposes users to a popular Ethereum ecosystem with over 7,000 dApps to choose from, including popular gaming apps Sandbox, Decentraland, and Aavegotchi. Opera’s integration of Polygon builds on the browser’s aim to onboard millions of users to the Web3 space in an environmentally-conscious manner.

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Solana

Major web browsers began working towards including native blockchain features during the DeFi explosion of 2020. Since then, many have integrated varying levels of blockchain functionality. However, Opera’s inclusion of Solana beats out major competitors in the sector.

Solana became a top 10 cryptocurrency project by market cap moving into 2022. Its low transaction fees, high scalability, and energy-efficient consensus model have made it a viable player in the blockchain sector.

Opera’s users will now be able to access all the Solana ecosystem, including decentralized applications (dApps) currently hosted on the blockchain. These include apps ranging from decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Solend and Raydium; NFT marketplaces, as well as music streaming apps. While Opera is working with the Solana ecosystem to integrate the Opera Wallet, users will have to connect through the Phantom wallet for now.

Along with Solana, Polygon and other blockchains, Opera is also enabling access to Ethereum’s Layer-2 ecosystem via StarkWare-powered StarkEx and decentralized exchange, DeversiFi. The integration allows users to benefit from efficient, ultra-low-cost transactions that are over 100 times quicker and more cost-effective than the Ethereum mainnet.

Additionally, Opera has announced support for the Ronin blockchain, home to the popular GameFi project, Axie Infinity — and one of the runaway successes of the decentralized gaming space. Also included in the integration are Nervos, IXO, Celo and Bitcoin.

Jorgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera, said, “The average web user may still be hesitant to dabble with Web3, but with the integration of Solana, Polygon, and others in our mobile browser, they can now access these technologies from the safety and familiarity of the browser that provides them with a dedicated Web3 experience.”

Polygon and Polygon dapps are available in the Crypto Browser Project on Android and PC, as well as Opera for Android. Solana, StarkWare/Deversifi Layer 2, IXO, Ronin, Nervos, Bitcoin and Celo are available in Opera for Android and will become available in the Crypto Browser Project in the coming months.

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