The developers of the popular cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask announced that it will support bitcoin, as well as tokens and applications of the Solana ecosystem.
According to the updated roadmap, Solana integration is scheduled for May, and bitcoin compatibility is scheduled for the third quarter of 2025. The developers announced plans to add bitcoin a year ago.
MetaMask has more than 100 million users worldwide, according to the service. Since 2021, more than 5 billion transactions have been conducted through it.
So far, MetaMask has only supported bitcoin in the form of “wrapped” tokens (Wrapped BTC, WBTC), which run on the Ethereum blockchain and other compatible networks. This meant that users had to exchange BTC for WBTC through third-party services and pay fees. Now they will be able to directly store or send “native” bitcoins.
Also, MetaMask has always supported only blockchains with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) support, such as BNB Chain (Binance Smart Chain), Avalanche, zkSync, Polygon, Arbitrum and others. In contrast, bitcoin and Solana have their own architecture. Support for Solana is scheduled to launch in May, marking the first integration into MetaMask of a blockchain that does not use EVM.
The update also includes an improved interface, including an updated logo, and new features. Users will be able to pay commissions (“gas”) with the token sent without having to hold ETH, manage multiple wallets in one app, and use batch transactions by combining multiple transactions into one.
US users will have access to a physical MetaMask card for cryptocurrency payments through the Mastercard network. It is scheduled to launch in April.
MetaMask also listed several promising, in their opinion, directions for development in the field of decentralized Internet (Web3). The company named several “ideas for impatient developers,” including: subscription-based payments, deferred transactions (give DEX permission to buy a token at a future price) and decentralized AI agents.
“We need to make Web3 more user-friendly, intuitive and useful for everyone from power users to newcomers to cryptocurrencies. The application areas are still limited. The number of networks is growing and it's difficult to navigate through them. And most importantly: we need to make wallets more powerful and at the same time more secure,” the roadmap says.
Earlier, on February 27, Joseph Lubin, head of Consensys, the developer of MetaMask, said that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to close the case against the cryptocurrency wallet. He noted that Consensys “was prepared to fight this lawsuit to a victorious conclusion, but is happy with this outcome as well.”
The SEC sued Consensys in June 2024, alleging that the blockchain company violated the law by providing a steering service to MetaMask. Consensys received notice that the regulator planned to initiate legal proceedings against it back in April.
In response to the April notice, Consensys sued the SEC for the regulator's treatment of Ethereum as a security. The company claimed that the SEC was “targeting” MetaMask software. In September, the court dismissed Consensys' lawsuit.
