Here, we discuss the latest trends and advancements in account abstraction, as well as bring some insights from Etherspot’s kitchen.
No need to fasten any belts this time — just relax and enjoy the read 😌
The rise of Chain Abstraction by NEAR Foundation
In 2023, the open web experienced significant growth, notably in zero-knowledge technology, layer 2, and rollup-driven solutions.
According to Illia Polosukhin, co-founder and CEO of NEAR Protocol and Unchain Fund, these developments laid the groundwork for 2024’s major evolution in Web3: chain abstraction.
This means blockchains and their infrastructure will become increasingly ‘invisible’ to users and even developers. Developers will be concerned with distribution, access to users, liquidity, and speed, as well as the security and reliability of infrastructure. Most end-users don’t care about the app’s infrastructure; they want value and great experiences.
ZK proofs introduce a new approach to ledger security, allowing even a single computer to prove that rules were followed. This shifts the focus from building on shared chains to a more flexible approach where security is unified across networks. This unified security has major implications for app builders and leads to defragmenting liquidity and security, offering more flexibility.
The open web will start to feel more like today’s internet, a single platform experience. The key is account aggregation and removing the need to manage multiple accounts, as demonstrated by NEAR’s work on multichain, non-custodial accounts.
As crypto marches towards the mainstream, the focus will shift to user experiences over technical layers, aiming for a better, user-centric open web.
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Particle Network introduces BTC Connect for Bitcoin
Particle Network has introduced BTC Connect, the first EVM-compatible account abstraction protocol for the Bitcoin and Ordinal ecosystem.
This innovative protocol is designed to simplify building on Bitcoin. It enhances the ecosystem’s vitality through new L2s, Metaverses, and DeFi tools. With BTC Connect, developers can easily create applications leveraging Bitcoin’s unique security and value.
BTC Connect utilizes ERC-4337 and L2 EVM-compatible chains to introduce the following features:
- Smart accounts
- Paymaster
- Bundler
- Bitcoin-specific Modal
This enables gasless trades, account programmability, compatibility with existing BTC wallets for Layer-2s, and integration into the smart contract ecosystem. The aim is to abstract away complexities and drive value to BTC applications.
A robust partner ecosystem supports BTC Connect:
- Unisat Wallet for Bitcoin NFTs and Ordinals
- Rcsvio’s Bitcoin Metaverse
- BRC420’s Ordinals protocol
- Various layer-2 solutions
As BTC Connect prepares for launch, Particle Network promises more exciting updates and innovations for 2024.
Gelato Network’s Optimism and Lisk integration
Gelato has expanded its Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS) Platform to include support for OP Stack and enable Lisk, a Layer 1 blockchain, to join the Ethereum ecosystem as an Ethereum Layer 2 on OP Mainnet.
This move is part of Gelato’s mission to democratize access to modular blockspace and marks a new era in blockchain adoption. The OP Stack, designed to alleviate Ethereum mainnet congestion, now integrates Gelato’s web3 middleware services for a comprehensive development environment with native access to top-tier services.
Layer 2 chains like Lisk, leveraging Gelato’s platform, gain a fully serviced web3 development environment from the start. This innovative approach simplifies the deployment of new chains, enhancing the Superchain ecosystem.
Optimism’s Chief Scientist, Ben Jones, acknowledges Gelato’s contribution to executing millions of transactions and its pivotal role in realizing the Superchain vision.
The collaboration between Gelato and Optimism envisions a world with interconnected blockchains, scaling web3 applications horizontally.
Gelato offers a secure, scalable, and super-fast service, supporting the launch of production-ready environments from the Genesis block, while Optimism focuses on scaling Ethereum and building decentralized power structures through the Optimism Collective.
Lisk joins this ecosystem, aiming to bring Web3 to the next billion users with its scalable and cost-efficient Layer 2 network, secured by Ethereum.
Blockchain predictions for 2024 by Ripple, Coinbase, a16z, and Starknet
Experts from Ripple, Coinbase, a16z, and Starknet provide ten predictions for blockchain technology in 2024. Key forecasts include:
- Interoperability is expected to break down silos between blockchains, allowing for seamless data and value transfer across diverse platforms, enhancing the efficiency of the entire blockchain ecosystem.
- Bitcoin’s fee structure may see changes due to decreased block rewards and increased reliance on transaction fees driven by innovations within the network.
- The modular thesis is consolidating, with developments in Ethereum rollups and other hybrid solutions, while monolithic blockchains like Solana continue their trajectory, sparking interesting industry narratives.
- Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), specifically SNARKs, are making strides towards practicality, promising a wide array of use cases from IoT to media authentication.
- Account abstraction is set to revolutionize key management and user interfaces, potentially making seed phrases obsolete and fostering more inclusive finance.
- Concerns about centralization, censorship, security, and privacy are driving innovations in mempool encryption, fraud prevention, and corporate crypto adoption.
- Significant shifts in layer-2 flows and consolidation are coming, further shaping the future of blockchain technology and its applications.
Unpacking state diff and account abstraction in blockchain
The Account Abstraction concept is gaining momentum in blockchain, focusing on issues like high calldata costs. zkSync’s state diff model is key to addressing these.
Rollups are essentially blockchains performing off-chain computations secured via smart contract bridges. They maintain a state root on Ethereum, with integrity proved by ZK and fraud proofs.
While Optimistic rollups rely on on-chain data and fraud proofs, ZK Rollups use cryptographic algorithms for secure, efficient state transitions with various data layers.
Data Availability is crucial for rollups to ensure censorship resistance, liveness, and security, inheriting Layer 1’s cryptoeconomic and social security.
State diff is a method of posting data to the base layer with trade-offs on finality, only paying for functions that change Layer 2’s storage slot in Layer 1. It posts overall state changes rather than individual transactions, reducing costs.
Account Abstraction and state diff together allow users to pay only for Layer 2 execution costs, not all transaction data.
This is particularly beneficial in payment-focused applications like Clave, which utilize zkSync’s state diffs for lower calldata costs and enhanced security with decentralized protocols.
Alongside EIP-7212 integration and other innovations, these developments aim to:
- solve gas issues
- reduce calldata costs
- improve proof verification efficiency.
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