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MiniPay, a blockchain-based wallet built on Celo, has added support for USDT and USDC stablecoins with the launch of its new feature Pockets.
Announced on Wednesday, Pockets is an upgrade that brings one-click stablecoin swaps to MiniPay, the non-custodial stablecoin wallet in Opera. MiniPay is currently available in the four African markets of Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Ghana.
MiniPay’s hits milestone with Pockets launch
Specifically for Pockets, MiniPay can now offer users the new functionality of being able to swap between Celo Dollar (cUSD) and the top stablecoins USDT and USDC.
The new feature is a collaboration between MiniPay and Mento Labs, the developer platform behind the EVM blockchain Mento.
Mento currently supports cUSD and other decentralized stable assets, including cEUR, cREAL, eXOF and cKES and will power Pockets’ new “Drag & Swap” feature. To swap between the supported stablecoins, MiniPay users simply have to drag one pocket into another, with sub-cent fees applicable.
In a comment on Pockets’ launch, Mento Labs CEO Markus Franke said:
“MiniPay Pockets enable seamless transactions with stablecoins to onboard users to the digital economy. Mento Labs is very proud to support MiniPay users with easy and efficient stablecoin swaps on the Mento Platform,”
Bringing Web3 technology to users
With stablecoin adoption across the markets on the rise, Pockets is a major milestone that could spark further Web3 growth. Pocket’s development follows MiniPay’s expansion from Nigeria to include three other top crypto markets in Africa – Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.
The move, according to the MiniPay team, has seen users in the four African countries activate more than 3 million MiniPay wallets. The platform has reached this figure in less than a year, which highlights the rapid growth of the stablecoin payments and transfers market in the region.
“From the outset, MiniPay has been about simplicity and financial empowerment, and our collaboration with Mento to create Pockets is another big step forward in that mission… We’re bringing advanced Web3 technologies to a Web2 audience in the African continent by packaging them in ways that are comprehensible and accessible,” Opera’s EVP of Mobile, Jørgen Arnsen, noted.
MiniPay also offers Discover Page
Other than Pockets, MiniPay also offers access to dApps via its wallet through the Discover Page feature.
Discover Page helps to organize native dApps for easy access by users, with integration making it possible for users to leverage Web3 technology for everyday uses such as payment of bills and utilities.
As MiniPay allows users to handle these needs without having to cash out to a local currency, access to benefits across Universal Basic Income protocols, gaming and savings applications, among others, has increased.