- MetaMask unveiled a new integration with Hyperliquid and Polymarket.
- The integrations go live later this year for mobile users first.
The industry’s largest crypto wallet is expanding far beyond just holding digital coins.
On Wednesday, MetaMask revealed native integrations with the popular perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid and one of the largest prediction markets, Polymarket.
While MetaMask users can easily access each of these two apps on desktop, the new integration is optimised for an improved user experience for those trading on their smartphones.
The reason?
Frustrated punters.
“We’ve discovered there’s a lot of demand to interact with prediction markets, specifically Polymarket,” Gal Eldar, global product lead at MetaMask, told DL News.
“But an insane amount of users are just dropping off.”
One-click trading
Placing a bet on Polymarket can be a headache.
While the prediction market allows for deposits in the USDC stablecoin, the token must be native to the Polygon network.
If traders don’t have it, they need to find a bridge that allows them to swap to applicable tokens, then place the bet on the correct network, all while ensuring there’s enough gas to cover all these operations.
“We focused on completely collapsing all of these steps into one-click,” said Eldar.
MetaMask is also collapsing the number of steps for its Hyperliquid integration, too.
The Polymarket integration is slated to go live in permitted regions later this year, and the Hyperliquid integration launches today.
Going mobile
The moves are part of a larger strategy to get users off their desktops and on their phones.
Not unlike some of the largest fintech apps on the market.
“Where we’re moving with this is to transform MetaMask from just being a wallet to being a full fledged onchain financial platform,” he said.
Over the past several months, MetaMask has introduced several key products that point towards this transition.
In June, the wallet provider announced the launch of a Mastercard-powered debit card that allows users to spend directly from their self-custodial wallet.
In August, an errant governance proposal confirmed by DL News revealed that MetaMask was also collaborating with Stripe to launch a native stablecoin called mUSD.
“The intention of the stablecoin within the context of MetaMask is for it to basically function as a form of cash money,” said Eldar.
250 million users
The shift comes at a time when larger fintech players, such as Revolut and Robinhood, are increasingly taking a closer look at crypto, too.
In June, Robinhood announced the launch of roughly 200 tokenised stocks, and it plans to roll out its very own blockchain later this year.
However, with over 250 million users as of June, MetaMask aims to retain as many of them as possible through its new suite of products and integrations.
“In previous cycles, we see users come and go,” Eldar told DL News.
“We want to give them a good enough reason to stay.”
Liam Kelly is DL News’ Berlin-based DeFi correspondent. Have a tip? Get in touch at liam@dlnews.com.
