ProtonMail Maker Proton Is Launching Its Own Bitcoin Wallet

Proton, the Swiss technology company that creates privacy-preserving online tools like ProtonMail and ProtonVPN, is launching Proton Wallet, a self-custody Bitcoin wallet.

This new product will be integrated with ProtonMail and will enable users to send bitcoin as easily as sending an email.

“Bitcoin’s value to society has been hindered by the difficulty of transacting and security concerns, and we designed Proton Wallet to specifically address both,” said Andy Yen, founder and CEO of Proton in a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine. “Proton Wallet’s ability to support Bitcoin via email now makes Bitcoin transactions as easy to use as PayPal, while preserving the decentralized and non-custodial nature of Bitcoin.”

Proton Wallet is the latest in its suite of end-to-end encrypted tools that help Proton users maintain privacy when using the internet.

Before diving into the details of this new product, it’s important to understand Proton’s motivation in creating it.
For Proton, Proton Wallet Is Personal

If it weren’t for Bitcoin, Proton might not exist.

“This summer is actually the 10 year anniversary of Proton,” Yen told Bitcoin Magazine in an interview.

“In July 2014, we had our original crowdfunding campaign, and halfway through the campaign, PayPal actually froze our funds. So, Proton actually had a near-death experience at the very beginning,” he added.

“We added a bitcoin donation link when the crowdfunding campaign got shut down, and that’s when we started receiving our first bitcoin. It was at that moment 10 years ago that we first realized the true power of Bitcoin and what it can enable.”

Yen also touched on how grateful the team Proton was that it held bitcoin when Credit Suisse, the bank it used to manage its fiat business funds, collapsed in March 2023.

“Credit Suisse had that moment of limbo where we were not sure if they were going to get bailed out or not,” recalled Yen. “The fact that we had a big portion of our reserves in bitcoin was actually something that was prudent to do because it more or less ensured the long-term sustainability of the business.”

Dingchao Lu, Director of Proton Wallet and the company’s first employee, is also grateful for the role that Bitcoin has played in the history of Proton, and he wants it to play a similar role for Proton users worldwide.

“We want to reduce the world’s dependence on centralized financial institutions,” said Lu in the press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine. “By giving users control of their own encryption keys and their own digital assets, we’re offering financial freedom, improved privacy and safety to millions of people around the world.”

Lu also shared that Proton has felt the financial benefits of holding the bitcoin it’s accepted for payments over the years.

“We’ve been taking Bitcoin payments since we launched out of beta back in 2016,” he told Bitcoin Magazine in an interview.

“That has been working well for us. The Bitcoin price has gone up something like 100 times since those early days, and we’ve held onto our Bitcoin,” he added.