The Argent team announced the release of the first version of their crypto wallet with built-in comprehensive DeFi functionality on May 18. According to the release notes – “Argent is now the easiest way to access DeFi, starting with TokenSets, PoolTogether, Aave, Uniswap V2 liquidity pools, Compound, Maker and Kyber”. The wallet itself is non-custodial, funds are held in an open source smart contract, private keys are stored securely on the smartphone and there’s no service fees. It features robust security mechanisms with innovative new features. The Argent v1 is currently available at Google Play and App Store. It was extensively tested over 18 months, independently audited and team ran a bug bounty program, to diagnose and rectify issues.
Argent v1 Smart Wallet – What DeFi Protocols Are Supported?
The Argent wallet is the first wallet to feature such comprehensive in-built support for the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols. The UI is minimalist and pleasant also. The users can enjoy one click access to major DeFi protocols from a single interface. The wallet supports interest earning protocols of Compound, Maker DSR and Aave. It also features automated asset management using Social and Robo TokenSets. They can also earn fees for providing liquidity to the newly launched Uniswap v2 or participate in the no-loss weekly cumulative interest based lottery of Pool Together. The Kyber Protocol is also integrated, allowing users to convert 80 tokens instantly without a counter party with the best prices and ease.
Argent v1 Smart Wallet – Security Features
The security features on the new Argent wallet are ingenious, thoughtfully crafted and differ widely from traditional crypto wallets. The team has focused on making the wallet’s security top notch while simultaneously paying attention to ease of use and user experience. The Argent doesn’t feature security through seed phrases and human non-readable addresses, instead relying on smart contract based recovery and free ENS addresses for every wallet. The users can lock/unlock their wallets, enact daily transaction limits and trusted wallet addresses and block fraudulent transactions.
The Argent security features rely on your phone number, bio-metrics provided by the smartphone and 6 digit pin code. The feather in the cap is the Guardian concept. The guardian can be either trusted people, hardware wallets, another MetaMask wallet and Argent Guard service (two factor authentication. They can allow easy and secure recovery, in case the user loses access to the smartphone or the wallet itself.
Argent v1 Smart Wallet – Impact On Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
The launch was well received in the crypto world and the Argent wallet is currently ranking #2 on Product Hunt. The Argent wallet provides the most simple albeit powerful interface, high grade security and one-stop aggregation for most Decentralized Finance (DeFi) related services, allowing easy access to even common users to interact with and start using them. The launch will pave the way for mainstream DeFi adoption, by removing the need to interact with complex interfaces and cumbersome user experience, which for the non-technical crypto crowd out there, was a nightmare before.
It is a next generation smart wallet, relying on security features, which will be replicated readily by other cryptos wallets, in the days to come. For crypto to gain mainstream adoption, the wallets need to be secure but easily recoverable if the user loses access or in case the wallet gets compromised. The Argent wallet does exactly that, operating with the level of security previously seen only with traditional financial institutions and banks, but trustlessly.
