Human-Friendly QR Codes May Drive BCH Adoption: A conversation with QaRT Wallet developer Kim Jinryul

QaRT Wallet

I recently had the opportunity to interview Kim “Randy” Jinyrul, a developer based in South Korea who you may be hearing quite a bit about in the the near future. Randy is quickly making a name for himself in the Bitcoin Cash community with the Beta version of the new QaRT Wallet, a new app that fundamentally changes the way QR codes are used, and increase BCH adoption in the process.

Making QR Codes Human

QR codes are an incredible innovation. The idea of encoding information and making it quickly and easily scannable goes back decades, to the invention of RFID and barcodes. But just like these older technologies, QR codes have a problem: only a machine capable of scanning and deciphering the code can make any sense of what it means.

If you were to look at a QR code right now, would you be able to tell what information it contains without some sort of contextual information or additional explanation? Of course not.

Let’s say you got your QR codes mixed up, or somehow couldn’t remember which one corresponds to your cryptocurrency wallet, and which one gives you access to secret files on your cloud drive? Unless there is some other way to identify them, you’ve got a serious problem on your hands.

This is exactly the problem that Randy set out to solve with QaRT Wallet.

A developer since 2005, Randy has worked in worked in fields ranging from speech recognition to mobile security, and it was during last year’s crypto craze, that it occurred to him that QR codes for wallets needed to change.

Randy quickly built a functional BCH wallet, but as he explained in my email exchange with him, he wanted to add some unique features that would both increase adoption and address his frustrations with the way QR codes work.

“As you know,” explained Randy, “a person can not see any information by just looking at a QR code. I thought it would be more interesting and meaningful to share QR if it could show the personality of the owner.”

What makes QaRT Wallet so different is that it actually turns QR codes into images that are recognizable to the human eye. For instance, you generate a code for your wallet that includes a picture of your favorite pet, your significant other, or even a cartoon.

The idea is that when you see your QR wallet code, you’ll understand which wallet it is, but no one else will (unless you choose to tell them). It’s simple way of identifying your wallets simply by looking at them.

How did he build it? “I didn't use any special techniques, but use open sources available to everyone. If I was particularly concerned with developing QaRT wallet, it would look like a more professional and simple UI/UX configuration.”

“I'm a developer not a designer, so I don't know if it worked well... but I did my best.”

I’d say it’s coming along pretty well if you ask me.

Anything that makes cryptocurrency use SIMPLER is something that will lend itself to greater adoption, and that’s something Randy cares deeply about too. By integrating Where.Cash into QaRT Wallet has combined two ideas— human-friendly visual QR codes and the ability to find vendors which accept BCH— and created a powerful product that could significantly contribute to BCH use over time.

Keep an eye on this wallet and on this talented developer. I have a feeling we’re all going to be hearing a lot more about him in the near future.

The link to the wallet was taken down by Google.

You can also view "Randy's" Twitter Profile.

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