With the release of Envoy version 1.4 today, we’ve taken the next big leap forwards in our goal with Envoy — to bring the best of Bitcoin to you, simplified. Since the release of Envoy’s full mobile wallet functionality with Magic Backup, we’ve been working tirelessly to bring you the next phase focused on giving you full control over your Bitcoin. Say hello to the most intuitive and approachable coin control to date.
Coin Control Made Easy
Taking control of your money has been a part of our mission from day one, and the ability to control exactly how you spend your bitcoin through Envoy is a key part of that. In this release of Envoy we’ve spent countless hours taking the concept of coin control that has existed in other Bitcoin wallets back to the drawing board, as coin control should be within reach of everyone, not just “techy” Bitcoiners. We think coin control should be something even grandma can use.
The concept of coin control can often be a foreign one to new Bitcoiners, but quite simply it’s a tool that allows you to choose what coins get spent in each transaction. The standard functionality of a wallet is to use a coin-selection algorithm to intelligently select the best coins to spend when you send bitcoin, but without some form of coin control there is no way for the algorithm to know what history each coin carries with it. When you combine coins with different histories, you reveal information about your financial activity you may not be intending to share!
When you use coin control, you can tag coins and add notes to transactions as you use Envoy, allowing you to spend only the coins which you want to each time you spend your bitcoin. Don’t want to reveal how much you get paid to your grocer? Only pay him using coins from your previous visits to the grocery store. Tired of your barista seeing how much you paid for dinner last night? Only pay him using coins you just got peer-to-peer. Coin control gives you total control over what information you choose to reveal each time you use Bitcoin — the very definition of privacy.
Using coin control on Envoy is just a tap away behind the new “Tags” icon inside of each account, where you can easily select to spend from an entire tag or get into the weeds and select individual coins to spend. You can keep things as simple as you want or get as granular as you want — you’re in control now. And if the concept of coin control seems like too much for you today, you can simply never touch it and still benefit from a smart coin-selection algorithm in the background that does its best to reduce fees while preserving your privacy.
All of this functionality gets added on top of the 60 second onboarding that Envoy brings via Magic Backups, the seamless integration with Passport, and the fully customizable privacy settings across the board. It’s time you experienced Bitcoin, simplified by downloading Envoy today.
If you want to deep dive into how you can use coin control we’ve got you covered with our new docs on the topic: Tags, Notes + Coin Control | Foundation Docs
Redesigned Learn Center
We have a deep passion for user education and empowerment, and want to make the output of that passion more accessible through Envoy. When you have questions about how Envoy or Passport works, want to learn more about Bitcoin, or simply want to pass the time with the sound of BitcoinQnA’s voice in the background, we’ve got you covered. We’ve started from scratch and improved every aspect of the Learn center, starting with a drastically improved video player and a new video host. Videos are faster to load, easier to control, and are now automatically marked as watched afterwards.
We’ve also added full support for reading our blog posts directly in Envoy without ever leaving the app or opening your browser. Blog posts also get marked as read immediately after viewing them, making it simple to keep up with the latest in Foundation announcements and education. In addition, we’ve revamped our FAQ section at the bottom and updated it with all of the recent changes in Envoy and Passport.
Privacy Shield Joins the Toolbar
We’ve always held preserving user privacy as one of our chief values at Foundation, and that starts with the options available to our Passport and Envoy users. With this version of Envoy, we’re taking things a step further and improving the visibility and usability of all of those privacy settings in Envoy with a new standalone section we’re calling the “Privacy Shield.” Quickly connect to your own Bitcoin full node, switch back to Foundation’s, use Tor for improved privacy, or turn Tor off for better performance when necessary.
Everything you need to know about preserving your privacy while using Envoy can be found in our documentation: Privacy | Foundation Docs
Activity Center, Reborn
In addition to launching coin control and revamping our privacy settings, we’ve taken the time to overhaul the activity center in Envoy and give it a new home in the toolbar. Everything you need to keep up with your Bitcoin activity, Passport firmware updates, and more can be found in the Activity Center now. We plan on expanding this in the near future to encompass more things as well, so keep an eye out for future Envoy updates!
Want to learn more? Dive into our docs here: Activity | Foundation Docs
So Much More
If this has piqued your interest, head on over to our full release notes to learn more about what we’ve added, improved, or fixed with this release of Envoy:
We can’t wait to hear your feedback on this latest iteration of Envoy, and if you have any questions or run into any issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out: