MetaMask wallet to add support for Solana and Bitcoin

MetaMask will add support for Bitcoin and Solana this year as part of its near-term product developments to improve its user experience.

The addition will give wallet users access to the two highly popular crypto ecosystems without having to use other crypto wallets or wrapped tokens.

The crypto wallet said it is expected to start full bitcoin support in the third quarter of this year. Support for Solana is aimed to launch in May, marking the first non-EVM chain to be integrated into MetaMask. 

"All MetaMask users will be able to buy, sell, swap, and interact with dapps across the entire Solana ecosystem," the platform said in its press release . "Existing Solana users will get access to the same security, reliability and rich features of MetaMask, along with access to all the chains you use with MetaMask today."

Solana has seen massive growth in the past year, driven by the mainstream trend of Solana-based memecoins. In the month of January, Solana saw over 12 billion transactions, according to The Block's data dashboard .

The addition of Bitcoin and Solana to MetaMask is accompanied by a planned "overhaul" of the wallet app's UI/UX.

MetaMask revealed that it will "abstract away" gas fees by introducing new features, such as gas-included swaps that allow users to swap tokens without having to hold ETH in their accounts. MetaMask said this will be applied to all transactions in March.

Other efforts to improve UI/UX include multiple Secret Recovery Phrases (SRPs) for users to manage multiple separate wallets in a single MetaMask app. This feature is set to go live next month.

The crypto wallet provider also announced a physical MetaMask card for users to pay with crypto in real life, using Mastercard's payment network. A virtual MetaMask card is currently available in select regions, while physical cards will be offered in April.

Meanwhile, Consensys founder Joseph Lubin announced Thursday that the company and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have agreed in principle to end the agency's enforcement case against MetaMask.

The SEC had alleged that Consensys, the developer behind the MetaMask software, violated securities laws through its MetaMask staking service.

The resolution of Consensys' case with the SEC came after the agency agreed in principle to dismiss its years-long case against Coinbase . Earlier this month, Binance and the SEC filed a joint motion to halt their legal dispute for 60 days.