With the exciting news that Maxthon’s newest browser, Maxthon 6, will fully support the Bitcoin SV (BSV) blockchain, we wondered what made them build for the original vision of Bitcoin, and what kind of functionality the browser will offer. To find out, we reached out to Maxthon’s CEO, Jeff Chen.
While many may not be familiar with Maxthon’s browser offerings, they will definitely know some of the technology they innovated. “In the past, it invented the world’s first online bookmarks service and password autofill feature, which have become standard in most browsers,” he said. “Today, it still has some unique features, like dual screen display, dual browser engine (webkit and trident) support, automatic tab refresh, and much more.”
But the features that make BSV even more seamless were the ones we wanted to hear more about. Chen noted an innovative wallet solution, aimed at making blockchain applications easier to approach. He also hyped a new protocol which will provide an all-in-one solution to fetch and display data saved on blockchain. Finally, it will also help developers, as it will have a set of APIs, which will allow more developers to develop blockchain applications.
We asked Chen why his company decided to start developing for BSV in the first place, and he revealed it’s been a long time wish for him, but without scaling, it wouldn’t work. “I have observed the development of Bitcoin from the very beginning and think it’s a ground breaking technology,” he admitted. “I have been thinking about connecting Bitcoin to a browser for a long time. Unfortunately it’s hard to do so with BTC, from the small block design to the lacking of easy to use development tools. I kind of felt Bitcoin was only good for trading.”
Thankfully, the massive scaling nature of BSV changed that. “I found the connection from the philosophy level and implementation level,” Chen said. “I agree with the vision that BSV presented to the world, especially how BSV can bring honesty to the world and make a better society. Naturally I want to contribute to this vision. I see there are needs in current BSV projects, like making it easy to use for average users and creating more attractive applications. And Maxthon is exactly good at solving these issues. Maxthon has been dedicated to making web browser easy to use for over 15 years, we have the idea and team to do it.”
Why BSV and Maxthon are a good fit
He emphasized four reasons a marriage between BSV and Maxthon will benefit users, starting with providing easier access to blockchain for the average person. But it will also allow easier implementation for new BSV applications and features. With the traceability of the blockchain, he believes it will promote a more honest society. And of course, Maxthon benefits from being at the cutting edge of technology.
Why now though? “With the Genesis update of BSV, it’s technologically matured to develop REAL applications,” he said. “It’s the best time for anyone to combine blockchain to business ideas.”
In their press release, Maxthon noted that some users won’t even know they are using BSV. We asked to know more about this. “We believe most users care about the pain points a product can resolve, not the token it uses, either it’s BSV or USD or even some kind of credit,” Chen said. “Maxthon 6 will try to use the easiest way to approach users.”
So we know alpha and beta versions are on the way, but how can users get involved, and start using Maxthon 6. “The alpha is expected to release in late February and beta in March,” Chen told us. “Users will be able to join the closed test and community test when we release them.”
We are certainly looking forward to hearing more of what Jeff Chan has to say when he speaks on Day 2 of the upcoming CoinGeek Conference.
New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.