{"id":30063,"date":"2018-02-09T13:44:53","date_gmt":"2018-02-09T21:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=30063"},"modified":"2019-11-07T02:44:48","modified_gmt":"2019-11-07T02:44:48","slug":"myetherwallets-strange-transition-mycrypto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/myetherwallets-strange-transition-mycrypto\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring MyEtherWallet’s Strange Transition to MyCrypto"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, something weird happened with the popular Ethereum<\/a> wallet, MyEtherWallet (MEW). Without notice, MyEtherWallet<\/a> changed its name to MyCrypto<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After further investigation, it seems that MyCrypto essentially “forked” from MyEtherWallet.<\/p>\n

MEW is still available and in control by its other co-founder Kvhnuke, one of the two founders of MEW.<\/p>\n

However, the transition and announcement was strange to say the least, leading many to speculate about the possibility of a potential hack.<\/p>\n

So what is MyCrypto?<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Taylor Monahan is one of the co-founders of MyEtherWallet and the new founder of MyCrypto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MyCrypto is the birthchild of Taylor Monaham<\/a>, one of the co-founders of MEW and a highly respected person in the crypto-space.<\/p>\n

The public announcement of MyCrypto was abrupt and without any prior notification, it was very alarming to many MEW users. But once she released her Medium response<\/a>, it started to make a bit of sense.<\/p>\n

Although the way in which MyCrypto was announced may have been confusing for the community, Taylor is only human and trying to make a product that can work for the betterment of the Ethereum community.<\/p>\n

“I was terrified \u2014 am<\/em>\u00a0terrified \u2014 at the potential harm this change will have on myself, the team, and\/or the Ethereum community but ultimately, the risks created by continuing down the road we were on are greater than the risks of splitting to a new brand, new company, new name, and new domain. While contemplating this decision, I began to see that my inaction would be the only thing that guaranteed my failure.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"MyCrypto\"
MyCrypto is almost an exact clone of MyEtherWallet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taylor here is talking about scaling. MyEtherWallet started as a fun project, with no intentions to become one of the most popular and trusted Ethereum wallets.<\/p>\n

Most of the time, the co-founders had normal jobs and would update MEW in their spare time. But once things started getting serious last year, they needed to scale.<\/p>\n

While the actual confliction is unclear, it seems that Kvhnuke wanted the original MEW (he owns the GitHub) while Taylor wanted to create something bigger and more scalable.<\/p>\n

Why not announce\u00a0the split in advance?<\/h2>\n

Maybe they were not trying to make too much noise with the split. MyEtherWallet<\/a> still works and all the wallets are still intact and secure. The MyCrypto team just wanted to work on a new wallet and it was probably agreed that she must go rather quietly as to not bring the whole MEW crowd with her.<\/p>\n

However, that strategy seems to have temporarily backfired as crypto Twitter began speculating exactly what happened and why it went down the way it did.<\/p>\n

Will people move to MyCrypto?<\/h2>\n

For now, it seems that MyCrypto is almost an exact clone of MyEtherWallet. It remains to be seen what ways MyCrypto will differentiate itself in the future from MEW.<\/p>\n

\n

MEW doesn't exist without @tayvano_<\/a>! She was MEW, but now she is @mycrypto<\/a> & we should all migrate with her because she is a badass CEO\/builder! Her team built crucial infrastructure that we all use for FREE! Please support, donate to and use @mycrypto<\/a> #welovemycrypto<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/jtXTKI3Z22<\/a><\/p>\n

— Ryan Zurrer (@rzurrer) February 9, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n