London-based startup Argent has launched a new crypto wallet aimed at reducing the costs and environmental impact of interacting with DeFi systems.
In a statement today, Argent said that over 500,000 people have signed up for a waiting list to use their Layer 2 account built on zkSync, an Ethereum-focused scaling solution. It began offering customers early access to its Layer 2 account in October, according to a blog post last month.
The original Argent wallet, built directly on Ethereum and released in 2018, will remain open for long-standing customers – but Layer 2 accounts will default to new users. According to a spokesperson, hundreds of thousands of people are using the original service. Argent co-founder and CEO Itamar Lesuisse said in a statement that accessing crypto is becoming “expensive, slow and less secure.” Argent’s unattended layer 2 wallet aims to fix this by reducing gas fees by as much as $1 while offering fast transactions and a 95% carbon emissions reduction per trade.
Customers can use this service to buy, store and send crypto and also earn interest on tokens through links to DeFi apps like Aave, Lido and Yearn. Argent uses the services of crypto payment firm Ramp to help users buy crypto using fiat currencies.
The startup last raised $12 million in Paradigm-led Series A in March 2020. Previous backers include Index Ventures, Creandum and Firstminute Capital. Argent has also created a wallet on StarkNet, another Ethereum scaling solution called Argent X – but said in a February blog post that it’s “a developer tool for now.”
What is Argent?
Argent is a simple smart wallet for cryptocurrencies. It lets you do everything you would expect from a bank without a bank: store and send; Earn interest and invest. With Argent, it is possible to use decentralized applications including MakerDAO, Compound, Set Protocol, Uniswap, Pool Together and more.
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