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Proton<\/a>, the Swiss technology company that creates privacy-preserving online tools like ProtonMail and ProtonVPN, is launching Proton Wallet<\/a>, a self-custody Bitcoin wallet.<\/p>\n This new product will be integrated with ProtonMail and will enable users to send bitcoin as easily as sending an email.<\/p>\n \u201cBitcoin\u2019s value to society has been hindered by the difficulty of transacting and security concerns, and we designed Proton Wallet to specifically address both,\u201d said Andy Yen, founder and CEO of Proton in a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine. \u201cProton Wallet\u2019s ability to support Bitcoin via email now makes Bitcoin transactions as easy to use as PayPal, while preserving the decentralized and non-custodial nature of Bitcoin.\u201d<\/p>\n Proton Wallet is the latest in its suite of end-to-end encrypted tools that help Proton users maintain privacy when using the internet.<\/p>\n Before diving into the details of this new product, it\u2019s important to understand Proton\u2019s motivation in creating it.<\/p>\n If it weren\u2019t for Bitcoin, Proton might not exist.<\/p>\n \u201cThis summer is actually the 10 year anniversary of Proton,\u201d Yen told Bitcoin Magazine in an interview.<\/p>\n \u201cIn July 2014, we had our original crowdfunding campaign, and halfway through the campaign, PayPal actually froze our funds. So, Proton actually had a near-death experience at the very beginning,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cWe added a bitcoin donation link when the crowdfunding campaign got shut down, and that’s when we started receiving our first bitcoin. It was at that moment 10 years ago that we first realized the true power of Bitcoin and what it can enable.\u201d<\/p>\n Yen also touched on how happy the team Proton was when Credit Suisse, the bank it used to manage its fiat business funds, collapsed in March 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cCredit Suisse had that moment of limbo where we were not sure if they were going to get bailed out or not,\u201d recalled Yen. \u201cThe fact that we had a big portion of our reserves in bitcoin was actually something that was prudent to do because it more or less ensured the long-term sustainability of the business.\u201d<\/p>\n Dingchao Lu, Director of Proton Wallet and the company\u2019s first employee, is also grateful for the role that Bitcoin has played in the history of Proton, and he wants it to play a similar role for Proton users worldwide.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to reduce the world\u2019s dependence on centralized financial institutions,\u201d said Lu in the press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine. \u201cBy giving users control of their own encryption keys and their own digital assets, we\u2019re offering financial freedom, improved privacy and safety to millions of people around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Lu also shared that Proton has felt the financial benefits of holding the bitcoin it\u2019s accepted for payments over the years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve been taking Bitcoin payments since we launched out of beta back in 2016,\u201d he told Bitcoin Magazine in an interview.<\/p>\n \u201cThat has been working well for us. The Bitcoin price has gone up something like 100 times since those early days, and we’ve held onto our Bitcoin,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Proton will leverage its existing infrastructure to make Proton Wallet more user-friendly.<\/p>\n To use Proton Wallet to make a bitcoin transaction, both the sender and receiver must have the wallet. The sender need only have the recipient\u2019s email address, whether that address is a ProtonMail address or not, to send the bitcoin.<\/p>\n Behind the scenes, Proton will rotate Bitcoin addresses each time a user sends or receives bitcoin, which helps to prevent the addresses from being linked a user\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n As mentioned, Proton Wallet is non-custodial, which means that only users have access to the funds in the wallet. Proton will offer \u201crobust recovery methods\u201d for said keys, though it has yet to offer what those recovery methods will look like. Bitcoin managed in Proton Wallet can be retrieved even if Proton goes offline.<\/p>\n All transactions using Proton Wallet will occur on the base chain, as Proton has not implemented Lightning yet for one main reason.<\/p>\n \u201cLightning is very difficult to do in a non-custodial way,\u201d said Yen.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to do non-custodial lightning and you want to have people open up channels of their own, that’s a user experience that at the present moment still isn’t really solved,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Lightning support is something that we can add in the future as we find ways to work around the user experience problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Proton will also make it easier for people to buy bitcoin, as it will provide on-ramp integrations in over 150 different countries.<\/p>\n What is more, Proton Wallet will also provide support for two-factor authentication, including hardware security keys, and it will offer users access to Proton Sentinel, which employs machine learning and AI to help stop malicious login attempts. Proton Sentinel helps protect users\u2019 accounts in the event that the account has been compromised or if an attacker has obtained access to a user\u2019s login information.<\/p>\n Proton Wallet is currently only available to Proton Visionary users, a Proton plan<\/a> normally only for legacy users but that has been re-opened for a limited time, and \u201cselect Bitcoin community members\u201d as part of an early access program.<\/p>\n These participants can invite friends to join, while the product will be available to all Proton users in the future.<\/p>\n In the press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine, Proton also shared that it will issue a wait list for those looking to get started with Proton Wallet.<\/p>\nFor Proton, Proton Wallet Is Personal<\/h2>\n
The Details<\/h2>\n
How To Get Started With Proton Wallet<\/h2>\n