Account Labs raises $7M for Google account wallets
With the funding, Account Labs also plans to drive adoption in Asia
Shawn.ccf/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks
Account Labs has created a smart wallet that will enable users to use their Google accounts to set up a Web3 wallet, bypassing the need to remember a complex 12-word seed phrase.
The smart contract wallet, UniPass, will utilize account abstraction principles to enable users to create and access their on-chain wallet and top up crypto using Apple Pay or their Mastercard or Visa cards.
Account Labs came into existence following the merger of Keystone, a hardware wallet developer, and UniPass, a software wallet developer.
It recently secured $7.7 million in a funding round co-led by Amber Group, MixMarvel DAO Ventures, and Qiming Ventures.
In an interview with Blockworks, Account Labs CEO Lixin Liu said the basic problem the company was trying to solve was how to enable users to regain access to their smart contract wallet on a new device if they had lost their seed phrases.
“When a UniPass wallet is created initially, the smart contract will also place a person’s Google account into the code,” Liu said.
This means that smart contracts will be able to verify an email address without requiring the end users to remember their seed phrases.
“Your Gmail account is also protected with ZK [zero knowledge] in the smart contract,” he said. “Otherwise, people will see how much money is associated with each Gmail account, which is super risky.”
Read more: Bitcoin’s first zero-knowledge light client seeks to drive innovation
To prevent Gmail accounts from being a single point of failure, the team is also introducing a concept called Guardians. Guardians are designed to help in cases where a user has their Google accounts compromised or has lost access to their emails, and a backup account set by the user will be able to regain access to the lost wallet.
As no KYC is required, any person can download the UniPass app, but the team at Account Labs noted it will focus on the Philippine market following the initial launch of UniPass, with plans to drive adoption in the rest of Southeast Asia in the near future.
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
- The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
- Empire: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.
- Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.
- 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox.
- Lightspeed: All things Solana.
- The Drop: Apps, games, memes and more.
- Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.
