On May 2, 2016, a new Bitcoin wallet called iPayYou (iPayYou.io) was launched, claiming to be the “easiest, safest, and most useful wallet” in the world. Currently available only via the web, Android and iOS applications are scheduled to roll out in the coming months. The founder and CEO, Gene Kavner, a former Amazon executive who also worked at Microsoft and Expedia, aims to make Bitcoin accessible to ordinary consumers.
Key Features: Email-Based Sending and Transaction Cancellation
iPayYou’s standout feature is the ability to send Bitcoin via email—even to recipients who have never heard of cryptocurrency. When Bitcoin is sent by email, the system automatically creates an account for the recipient, eliminating the need for pre-registration or understanding complex Bitcoin addresses. Additionally, the wallet offers a cancel transaction feature, which is rare among crypto wallets. If a user mistakenly sends Bitcoin to the wrong email address, they can cancel the transaction within a certain window, greatly reducing costly errors for newcomers.
Security and Fee Advantages
For security, iPayYou encrypts users’ private keys on its servers using 2048-bit certificates. The company states, “No one can decipher the keys, even our employees.” The platform also offers extremely low fees for buying and selling Bitcoin, appealing to cost-sensitive users. A future “Lock Price” feature will allow senders to fix the dollar amount, avoiding fluctuations in Bitcoin value. Cashback rewards and discounted gift cards are also in the pipeline.
Positioning: A Bitcoin Wallet for 'the Rest of Us'
Speaking at the Consensus conference in New York, Kavner explained: “I believe that we are doing something revolutionary with iPayYou—the world’s easiest, safest, and most user-friendly Bitcoin Wallet. It is the first wallet whose primary goal is to expand the ecosystem of Bitcoin users—from those who are generally highly technical, young, and male to a wider group of everyday consumers who will use it for their normal financial activities, such as paying friends, making purchases, gifting or investing in Bitcoin.” He believes iPayYou is “the first Bitcoin wallet for the rest of us—making Bitcoin simple for average consumers.”
Continuous Iteration and Ecosystem Expansion
The team chose to debut iPayYou during the three-day Consensus event, gathering executives, developers, and innovators. In addition to existing features, Kavner revealed that iOS and Android apps are on the way, along with more “never-before-seen” capabilities. He emphasized: “iPayYou changes the way people send Bitcoin by prioritizing sending payments by email. When Bitcoin is sent by email, recipients’ accounts get automatically created, eliminating the need for pre-creation and address lookup. iPayYou allows senders to cancel payments made by email if sent to the wrong email address. Many new and exciting features are on their way.”
iPayYou’s launch marked a significant step toward bringing Bitcoin from tech-savvy enthusiasts to mainstream users. Its user-centric design philosophy provided a reference model for later cryptocurrency wallets.