Burner wallet - move funds quickly in a web browser [REVIEW]

Introduction

Technology is improving every day and blockchain is following suit. It didn’t for once lagged behind. Over the years, several dapps have been created on these chains to make sure everything is perfect. The blockchain itself won’t ensure mass adoption, so the dapps built on it are making sure every needs are met. A game addict can still play games and earn with it on a blockchain, while a blogger can key into any social media blockchain and enjoy endless writings. Even with all these innovations, one might still not like how some of them works, and that’s why there are many out there. You just need to find the one that works best for you at a particular moment.

Ethereum has lots of wallet out there we can pick from. Although these wallets does the same function of keeping ETH and its tokens, they work and are built in different ways. Here is one wallet that is totally different from others. I must confess, it’s something I never saw coming. This wallet is currently ranked 120 in state of the dapps.

Burner Wallet

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Austin Griffith got a good name for it. The user interface actually looks like something burning, perhaps the burn feature in it prompted the name. It’s still pretty much new and hopes to solve what it was meant to solve; sending out crypto conveniently. The wallet needs no seed phrase or long password. You don’t even need to download an app or register an account online. It erased the burden of having to deal with seed phrases and passwords.

Burner wallet runs on xDai chain, which is an Ethereum sidechain using the POA network, so it performs transactions on ETH, DAI and xDAI tokens. It’s much faster and cheaper sending a coin from the wallet which gives it more reason to be used. Couple of transactions can be completed on it before blinking the eyes thrice. It’s more like sharing a loaf of bread with a friend. The seconds it took you to give him two slices of that bread is (or almost) synonymous to the time spent in sending coin to a user on the wallet.

Getting started

As I said earlier, you don’t need to download anything or register an account somewhere. Just visit https://xdai.io/ to get started. The browser brings out the burner logo to show it is loading and then display this page.

_{Buner wallet on mobile}

It generates a private key automatically which is stored in the browser’s cookie. You can check to see your private key by clicking on “advanced”, but you probably won’t need to do that because there’s a “Burn PK” option available if you are done transacting.

_{Still on mobile}

Just ensure you don’t have xDai in it before burning it. Your ETH doesn’t disappear with it because the wallet links with metamask. You can send and receive ETH with it, but it will still be in your metamask whether you close or burn the wallet.

The image below is showing $2.33 on my ETH value because that’s the amount of ETH I have in my metamask. I opened the wallet in my desktop and it connected to my metamask. In case you are wondering, it will request for your permission to link before accessing your metamask tokens.

The beauty about burner wallet is the QR code and camera feature. I can send a coin to someone by just capturing a QR code; it will reveal the user’s burner and ask for an amount to send. Once I input it, the user gets it in seconds. This is a short demo showing two phones exchanging coins.

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The share button is also an interesting feature. Another mobile user can access the burner wallet just by capturing my QR code below. The camera can simply do all the work.

_{QR code on desktop}

I tried it on a system and connected to my burner wallet on mobile and it worked. My desktop camera opened when I tried sending ETH to my mobile. It recognized my mobile burner wallet almost immediately and prompted me to enter the amount of ETH to send.

You get charged less when you use xDai as transaction fee and to get this, simply tap on “request”. You will be directed to the page below to enter the amount of xDai you need. It will be deducted from ETH value, then click on the request button to complete the transaction.

The “exchange” button is another way of doing the convertion. Here, ETH can be converted to DAI, and DAI to xDai.

Why you should use the wallet

Sending coins to multiple users is better here. Especially when they are with you. You won’t need their wallet addresses or waste their time. Their camera is enough to complete the transactions. It’s very much faster and just little cash is spend on transaction fees. If they aren’t nearby, the wallet has a place for inputting wallet address. Just hit on the “send” button and you are good to go. It’s best for transferring coins to many people at once. Also, you don’t need to create anything or keep a password safe before using it.

Negative aspects

Burner wallet can only be used for a limited time. It’s just needed when you need to do a quick transaction. Funds can’t be kept in it for a very long time because you can lose the wallet easily.

Conclusions

The good sides clearly outweighs the bad side. It was made to be use for a short time with intent of making your transaction faster and easier. Blockchain is now moving to a stage where you can gift coins to a friend without going through lots of things. Burner access your camera, and with few clicks, it does the job. Well, you need to connect to an ETH wallet first and that might be too much work for a newbie, but this is still one of the fastest means of sending coins and tokens. This is something I didn't see coming, and after seeing what it can and can't do, it surely deserves a good rating. I'm giving it a five.


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You should check state of the dapps to see other awesome wallet dapps.

Useful links

Github repository

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