Coinbase acquires decentralized app browser/wallet Cipher Browser

Coinbase announced today that it has acquired Cipher Browser, a decentralized app browser and wallet for the Ethereum blockchain that it will be using to bolster its own similar product. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Coinbase operates a decentralized mobile browser of its own, which it introduced last year, called Toshi. Users could utilize Toshi as a wallet for Ethereum and also browse Ethereum apps and send secure messages just like they can on Cipher Browser.

Coinbase will be combining the Toshi and Cipher Browser teams. It won’t be too crazy of a restructuring, given that Cipher was actually just created by a single person. That single person, Pete Kim, will become the head of engineering at Toshi as the company looks to integrate certain features from Kim’s product into the Toshi browser. Kim will work with Sid Coelho-Prabhu, Coinbase’s product lead for Toshi.

One of the first of these new features coming to the browser will be Testnets, which allow developers to test and experiment with their apps without having to use real cryptocurrency.