Coinbase CEO Gets Patent for Bitcoin Transactions Through Email

The CEO of Coinbase Brian Amstrong has received a revolutionary patent that permits the transaction of Bitcoin through emails

Although the patent was initially filed back in March 2015, it wasn’t until December 2017 that it was finally awarded to Coinbase by the Patent and Trademark Office of the United States (USPTO). The CEO stated that thanks to this new development, users can now make payments in Bitcoin using their email addresses. These addresses are tied to their Coinbase Wallet addresses without any extra charges.

Zero fees

Per the concept of Bitcoin (BTC) transactions, an email address acts as the indicator for one’s wallet address across the system. With this in mind, the patent now allows for the coupling of the Bitcoin management module and wallet creation technology with a correlating email module on a provided host computer system.

In accordance with the outlines of Coinbase’s patent, this system will comprise of a grouped or individual vault where unclaimed Bitcoins will be stored for security purposes. 

“Hot wallet functionality is provided that transfers values of some Bitcoin addresses to a vault for purposes of security. A private key of a Bitcoin address of the vault is split and distributed to keep the vault secure […] A vault has multiple email addresses to authorize a transfer of bitcoin out of the vault.”

A confirmatory email which usually lasts 48 hours, will be sent to the user(s) upon making a Bitcoin transfer request out of the Coinbase vault.

Needless to say, for the most part, miner’s fee is not charged for transfer requests between the associate wallet and the email address within the system. This is due to the fact that a single host computer system is responsible for the nesting of the entire mechanism. 

To top it up, users can also trade their Bitcoins for fiat currencies thanks to a node present in the proposed network which will propel the hosting of a bitcoin exchange. 

Most importantly, in order to alleviate possible exchange rate losses between customers and merchants, this system will also provide an on-the-spot exchange mechanism when trading.

Unpersuaded Crypto Twitters 

In contrast to the expected reaction to the news of Coinbase’s patented email-based Bitcoin payment system, many crypto users have taken to Twitter to express their displeasure with one user responding, “@Maiirye:

“I know we are already doing kyc/aml with the exchanges but linking your wallet to an email address moves us one step closer to “non anonymous” transactions. The patenting and the ‘vault’ for holding unclaimed coins centralizes bitcoin transmissions… It’s a no for me“

In any event, whether or not you agree with this initiative, it’s clear as day that it’s in alignment with Armstrong’s ambitions for cryptocurrencies. According to him, his desires for Coinbase transactions goes beyond simple trades but rather a global adaptation of cryptocurrencies in the world economy.