Introduction

The rapid growth of blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency market has ushered in advanced solutions and changes across a plethora of different industries, including finance, gaming, and more. With this rapid growth has come an increase in the complexity of utilizing many systems. Today, there are countless Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) blockchain ecosystems for users to interact with, with various innovative technologies creating more competitive projects, protocols, and decentralized applications (dApps), all with their own distinct transactional and asset management practices.

Navigating such a complex and evolving space has come at the cost of the user experience (UX) in many ways. This showcases how technological advancement can outpace practicality for end users, with accessibility playing catch up to innovation. Chain abstraction, which separates blockchain complexities from the end-user experience, aims to address this issue.

Why Multichain UX Is NOT User Friendly

The evolution of crypto since 2017 has seen an absolute explosion in interest in development across the board, allowing dozens of new blockchains to emerge with their own associated protocols, tools, and applications. As of 2024, there are literally hundreds of different L1 and L2 chains to choose from, creating what is now an extremely crowded space for consumers and significant complexities in the overall UX of Web3.

Users who wish to navigate across the likes of Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and other blockchains will typically find they need many different wallet addresses, compatible tools, assets, and more just to utilize different apps across blockchains. While some universal wallets like MetaMask support multiple networks, they generally do not cover them all, nor do they easily show the wallet owner what assets they have where and what applications they may be connected to or using. This makes the UX complicated, costly, and, quite frankly, inappropriately inefficient in garnering any form of mass adoption on-chain.

Just moving value across chains requires many different transactions and fees, resulting in a clunky and overpriced process. For users who wish to utilize different assets, mint NFTs, or participate in on-chain DeFi services, every single action item requires a transaction and corresponding fees to cover gas. Thus, unfortunately, the costs associated with truly navigating the multichain space result in siloed users (and liquidity) as it becomes economically inefficient to participate outside of the chain someone was onboarded onto.

Not to mention, wallet management alone is enough to deter a significant number of users from truly adopting multichain habits. Each externally owned wallet requires its own public key (an identifiable address string starting with “0x”) and corresponding private keys and recovery codes. Users who wish to traverse incompatible chains (like Ethereum and Solana) will be forced to manage multiple sets of keys and recovery codes.

The concept of blockchain modularity has gained traction as a potential solution to economic inefficiencies, serving as an alternative to monolithic networks. Modularity proposes that the primary functions of blockchains—execution, settlement, data availability, and consensus—be divided into separate layers or networks. However, modularity creates its own major issue: liquidity fragmentation. While fragmented liquidity is already a problem in the multichain space, it is further exacerbated when introduced into monolithic systems like Ethereum.

With Ethereum’s ever-growing L2 space, an increasing amount of capital that originated on Ethereum is now segmented across multiple different networks, including Aribtrum, Optimism, and Base. In a modular model, the more chains and networks that are introduced, the worse the liquidity fragmentation becomes. This also affects the UX as it means that pools, assets, and on-chain activities will experience higher volatility and more unpredictability in systems due to lower liquidity.

Improving the UX of a multichain crypto economy boils down to solving two main challenges:

Eliminating liquidity fragmentation wherever possible
Reducing the costs and complexity associated with fragmented user bases

Chain Abstraction

Chain abstraction is an innovative approach designed to streamline the increasingly fragmented modular landscape of Web3. By abstracting the complexities of blockchain technology, chain abstraction allows for seamless interaction with different blockchains, eliminating the need for users to distinguish between them. This approach can significantly enhance user experience by simplifying engagement with various blockchains and reducing the complexity of managing multiple accounts and assets.

This design pattern minimizes the necessity for users to understand the specifics of any particular underlying blockchain, focusing instead on completing user tasks in the most optimal manner, regardless of the involved chains. This reduces the entry barrier for average users, making blockchain technology more accessible.

Overall, there are three core attributes associated with chain abstraction:

Chain Interaction
Unified User Interface
Cost Reduction

Chain abstraction allows dApps to execute their logic across multiple blockchains without needing users to switch networks, change wallets, or execute multiple transactions. Typically, users would have to manually switch the network they were using (in the case of universal wallets like MetaMask) to using a different chain or have to switch wallets entirely (if their main wallet was incompatible). This process is cumbersome and can lead to errors, creating barriers to user adoption. With chain abstraction, the underlying complexities of network interactions are hidden from the user. The system handles cross-chain communication seamlessly, allowing users to execute operations across any blockchain as if they were interacting with a single network. This not only simplifies the user experience but also enhances the efficiency and fluidity of dApp interactions, making blockchain technology more accessible and user-friendly.

This directly simplifies the user interface (UI) as well, in that it allows users to interact with their chosen dApps using any supported token from any blockchain with a single landing environment. There would no longer be a need to change interfaces every time the network needed to be changed.

Traditionally, users must navigate different interfaces and platforms to interact with various blockchain networks, which can be confusing and time-consuming. A unified interface consolidates these interactions into one cohesive platform, enabling users to perform all necessary functions without switching contexts. This streamlines the user experience, making it more intuitive and efficient. By eliminating the need to navigate away to perform essential functions, a unified interface reduces the cognitive load on users, encouraging broader adoption and engagement with blockchain applications.

These simplifications ultimately result in a reduction in gas and transaction costs, making the management of liquidity on the user's part far more efficient. In the current blockchain ecosystem, users must acquire and spend native tokens of each blockchain network to pay transaction fees, which adds an extra layer of complexity and inconvenience. With chain abstraction, these chain-specific details are managed behind the scenes, allowing users to conduct transactions without worrying about acquiring the correct gas tokens for each network. This simplification reduces the friction associated with blockchain transactions, making it easier for users to engage with dApps and perform transactions seamlessly across different blockchains.

Components of Chain Abstraction

Account Abstraction

Account Abstraction (AA) is a transformative approach in blockchain technology, particularly within the Ethereum network, that integrates Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) with smart contracts into a unified account type. This integration enhances flexibility and customizability in transaction validation by allowing programmable validity conditions through smart contracts. This framework supports specific applications like automatic payments while broadening overall transaction efficiency across Ethereum and other chains. Chain abstraction builds on this concept to create a simpler and more powerful user experience for on-chain users.

Today's wallets face several limitations, including security vulnerabilities and limited functionality, unless used in conjunction with other smart contracts. AA reimagines this scenario by transforming EOAs into smart contract wallets (SCWs). Unlike EOAs, which cannot initiate transactions on their own and require an EOA's prompt, SCWs merge the capabilities of both, empowering them to initiate transactions and execute complex, arbitrary logic inherent to smart contracts. This transformation unlocks a plethora of use cases, significantly enhancing user experience in the context of chain abstraction.

By converting an EOA into an SCW, the execution and signing of transactions are effectively separated. This means users do not need to execute transactions directly; instead, sophisticated actors, known as executors, can perform these tasks on their behalf. Executors handling transactions on behalf of users eliminate the need for direct interaction with smart contracts while maintaining user custody of funds. This dynamic allows for convenient blockchain application usage through interfaces like Telegram bots.

Intents

In the context of blockchain, an “intent” refers to a user's desired end state, such as acquiring a specific number of tokens, without detailing the precise mechanism to achieve this goal. This differs significantly from traditional transactions, which require explicit instructions on how to execute the action. For instance, a transaction might dictate "perform action A, then B, paying exactly C to receive X," whereas an intent simply states, "I want X and am willing to pay up to C." This abstract approach allows for more flexibility and efficiency in achieving user goals.

Intent-based systems leverage the concept of separating the "what" from the "how." Users specify their desired outcomes, and a service provider, known as a solver, handles the complexity of determining the most efficient way to fulfill the request. This can involve using various decentralized exchanges (DEXs), splitting transactions into smaller parts, or any other method to achieve the user's goal in the best possible terms. The solver's role is crucial as it ensures that the user’s intent is executed optimally, often resulting in better prices and reduced slippage compared to traditional transaction methods.

Solvers are sophisticated actors who execute transactions on behalf of users in the most optimal manner. When a user submits an intent, it is routed to an encrypted private mempool where solvers compete to fill the intent. Solvers use their own balance sheets, private order flow, or on-chain liquidity venues like Uniswap and Curve to fulfill these intents. This competition among solvers drives their margins to zero, ensuring users get the best execution possible. This system benefits users by abstracting away the complexities of blockchain interactions and providing a seamless experience.

Achieving Chain Abstraction Through Intents

In an account-abstracted world, the delineation between signers and executors allows users to click a button to sign a transaction, outsourcing all on-chain needs to sophisticated actors. These actors bear the risks and manage interactions across various applications on different blockchains. By pricing their services according to the risks and complexities involved, solvers ensure that users do not need to worry about the intricacies of blockchain transactions, including gas fees and execution risks. This significantly simplifies the user experience and aligns with the goals of chain abstraction.

An example of intent-based architecture is found in a project called deBridge, with its chosen model shown below:

Chain Abstraction and ZK Technology

Zero-knowledge (ZK) technology is a revolutionary cryptographic method that enhances privacy, security, and efficiency in blockchain networks. By allowing one party (the prover) to prove to another party (the verifier) that a statement is true without revealing any specific information about the statement itself, ZK technology addresses several core issues in blockchain ecosystems, such as data privacy and resource optimization.

There are three primary rules when it comes to ZK technology:

If the statement is true, the honest verifier will be convinced by the honest prover.
If the statement is false, no cheating prover can convince the honest verifier that it is true, except with some small probability.
The verifier learns nothing other than the fact that the statement is true. The actual data or the specifics of the statement remain hidden.

ZK Technology in the Context of Chain Abstraction

As stated previously, chain abstraction is designed to simplify user interactions across multiple blockchain networks, effectively hiding the underlying complexities of blockchain-specific operations from the end user. Here, ZK technology plays a crucial role by enabling secure and private validations of transactions across different chains.

particle network — Source: Particle Network

By using ZKPs, chain abstraction frameworks can verify transactions across different blockchains without needing to expose the details of the transactions. This allows for a more seamless and secure interaction between disparate blockchain networks, enhancing user experience and security.

ZKPs also reduce the computational load on the main chain by allowing off-chain computation of transaction validations. Only a proof of the transaction’s validity is submitted to the blockchain, significantly reducing the data and processing load. This is especially beneficial in chain abstraction, where interactions could span multiple blockchains and potentially overwhelm network traffic and storage.

Finally, in a chain abstraction environment, where a user might interact with multiple blockchains, maintaining privacy across these platforms is crucial. ZKPs ensure that user transactions remain confidential, with no details of the user's activities being exposed across the chains.

Consider a dApp that facilitates cross-chain asset swaps. With ZK technology, the application can verify that the assets are locked in a contract on one chain before releasing equivalent assets on another chain without revealing any details of the underlying assets or user identities. This not only simplifies the user's interaction but also ensures that all transactions are secure and private.

Overall, the integration of ZK technology within chain abstraction frameworks offers significant advantages in terms of security, privacy, efficiency, and user experience. As blockchain technology evolves, the synergy between sophisticated cryptographic techniques like ZKPs and chain abstraction models will likely play a pivotal role in the widespread adoption and functionality of decentralized systems.

Leading Projects in Chain Abstraction

As of 2024, several projects, including NEAR Protocol, Particle Network, and others, are leading the development of chain abstraction technologies. Each of these projects has garnered its own approach to improving the UX of the emerging modular blockchain economy. For example, NEAR Protocol utilizes an “account aggregation” approach to facilitate cross-chain transactions, while Particle Network offers a Cosmos L1 universal settlement layer, enabling developers to create applications that automatically operate seamlessly across various blockchains.

NEAR Protocol

One of the leading projects within chain abstraction, NEAR Protocol, is actively developing various solutions to enhance the overall UX of common blockchains and applications. These solutions include security aggregation, account aggregation, Data Availability layers (DA), intent brokers, decentralized frontends, and super wallet development. By streamlining user and application interactions across various chains, NEAR Protocol enables users to seamlessly engage with platforms like Ethereum, Avalanche, and others using a single NEAR account.

Key Components of NEAR’s Chain Abstraction Efforts

Account Abstraction

NEAR Protocol’s account abstraction simplifies user interactions by allowing account creation and recovery using familiar methods such as email addresses. This eliminates the need for users to manage complex wallet interfaces, seed phrases, or private keys.

Key features include:

Email-Based Account Creation (FastAuth): NEAR allows users to create accounts using their email addresses, bypassing the need for complex wallet setups and seed phrases. This method utilizes multi-party computation (MPC) to ensure security and ease of access, similar to familiar Web2 authentication methods.
Multi-Chain Account Management: Users can control accounts across multiple chains from a single NEAR account. This functionality supports signing transactions on various blockchains using the same account, thus eliminating the need for multiple wallet interfaces and easing the user experience.

NEAR's account aggregation model supports a unified identity for users across multiple blockchains. Users can interact with dApps on different chains through a single account, which automatically handles asset bridging and transaction signing. Related to this premise are super wallets.

Super wallets simplify user interactions across Web3 networks by eliminating the need for network switching and managing different gas tokens. These wallets streamline the process of engaging with multiple blockchains, significantly enhancing user convenience and efficiency.

Relayers and Meta Transactions

NEAR's relayer services enable developers to subsidize gas fees for their users. This means users can interact with dApps without needing to acquire native tokens to pay transaction fees. Meta transactions allow users to send transactions via a relayer, which then attaches the necessary NEAR tokens for execution.

Blockchain Operating System (BOS)

NEAR has also implemented a similar concept to create user-friendly interfaces via its frontend abstraction technology. This is utilized when interacting directly with dApps through NEAR’s Blockchain Operating System (BOS), which provides the following:

Composable Decentralized Frontend: A framework that integrates easily with Web2 and Web3 backends, allowing developers to build and deploy applications quickly.
Reusable Components: Developers can use and adapt components similar to LEGO blocks, fostering a collaborative development environment.
DapDap Gateway: A universal gateway to Ethereum Layer 2 solutions and various dApps, simplifying user navigation across the DeFi landscape.

Security and Data Availability

NEAR utilizes ZK technology to ensure security and data availability across its ecosystem. This approach allows transactions to be verified with minimal trust, ensuring secure and efficient cross-chain interactions. Additionally, NEAR's DA layers ensure that all transaction data is recorded in blocks and accessible to all network nodes. This is crucial for maintaining the network's credibility and integrity, especially for Ethereum rollups processing transactions more efficiently by leveraging NEAR's infrastructure/.

Chain Signatures

Chain signatures enable NEAR accounts, including smart contracts, to execute transactions across different blockchains. This innovation allows users to cover gas fees using the Multichain Gas Relayer (MGR), simplifying the process of acquiring and managing different native tokens for transaction fees across various chains.

This functionality is accomplished through Multi-Party Computation (MPC). The process involves several key components:

MPC-based Key: Upon creation of a NEAR account, the user's private key is generated using MPC, ensuring that the key is never fully stored on any single device or server.
Smart Contract Signatures: NEAR Protocol uses smart contracts deployed on target blockchain networks (such as Ethereum and Avalanche) to produce signatures for transactions initiated by the NEAR account. These smart contracts are programmed to accept and validate signatures created by the NEAR account’s MPC-based private key.
Indexers and Relayers: Indexers within NEAR Protocol monitor target blockchain networks for signatures generated by the NEAR account's smart contracts. Once a valid signature is detected, relayers submit the transaction to the appropriate blockchain network for execution.
Intent Relayers: These components manage cross-chain transactions by converting tokens and gas fees between different blockchain networks. When a user initiates a transaction on a blockchain network other than NEAR, the intent relayer automatically converts the necessary tokens and gas fees from the user's NEAR account balance.

Across

Across is an innovative cross-chain bridge protocol designed to enable fast and cheap transactions through the integration of an optimistic oracle, bonded relayers, and single-sided liquidity pools. The recent launch of Across V3 marks a significant upgrade, decoupling these layers and opening their interfaces to developers. This version introduces an innovative intent order structure, simplifying the integration of cross-chain capabilities into dApps. By making each module of the intents architecture explicit, developers can now build seamless single-chain dApps that support cross-chain intents, significantly improving user experience.

As the first intents-driven interoperability protocol, Across V3 aims to deliver the sophisticated cross-chain user experience demanded by developers and users in the increasingly complex multichain ecosystem.

The V3 composable intents engine includes three core components:

RFQ System for Intent-Based Orders: Facilitates requests for quotes based on specific intents.
Network of Third-Party Relayers with Off-Chain Liquidity: Ensures liquidity and facilitates transactions.
Optimistic Verification-Based Settlement Mechanism: Provides a cost-effective way to verify and settle transactions.

This modular setup allows developers to connect to any part of the stack according to their specific requirements.

When a user wants to transfer assets from chain A to chain B, they deposit the funds into a "deposit box" on chain A, specifying the destination and the fee they are willing to pay. Relayers monitor these deposits and, upon verifying the deposit details, promptly transfer the equivalent funds to the user on chain B. Subsequently, the relayer submits proof of the transfer and the original deposit's validity to the Optimistic Oracle (OO). Once the OO verifies this information, the relayer is reimbursed.

The Across protocol optimistically assumes the presence of at least one honest disputer to handle disputes. This slower settlement process is less costly than maintaining a network of verification nodes or a dedicated blockchain for rapid verification. The key innovation here is the decoupling of immediate order fulfillment from the complex verification process, with the relayer temporarily fronting the funds.

The Across architecture enhances cost-efficiency by bundling thousands of settlements into a single message, significantly reducing the cost and complexity associated with verifying and settling individual transactions. This aggregation approach streamlines operations and minimizes the on-chain footprint, reducing gas fees and improving overall network efficiency. Historically, discussions surrounding bridge security (read CryptoEQ’s report here) have focused on validator sets within messaging bridges. As intent-based bridges gain traction, it is crucial to broaden the scope of these security discussions to encompass these newer systems.

CAKE Framework

Developed by Frontier Research, the CAKE (Chain Abstraction Key Elements) framework outlines three crucial infrastructure layers (excluding the user-facing application layer) essential for achieving seamless blockchain interactions. In a chain-abstracted world, users can connect their wallets to a dApp’s website, sign transactions, and wait for eventual settlement. All the complexities of acquiring required assets and final settlement are abstracted away and handled by the CAKE's infrastructure layers.

Permission Layer

The permission layer is the entry point where users connect their wallets to a dApp and request a quote for a user intent, which defines the expected outcome of a transaction. This could be transferring assets or engaging in yield-generating strategies. The wallet must be capable of reading the user’s assets and executing transactions on target chains. Key design decisions in this layer include supporting various signing schemes and transaction payloads to enable multi-chain transactions and minimizing user friction by abstracting the complexity of multiple sub-transactions into single actions.

Solver Layer

The solver layer estimates fees and execution speed based on the user’s initial balance and intent. This layer is crucial in cross-chain settings where transactions are asynchronous, and sub-transactions may fail during execution. The solver layer addresses the cross-chain trilemma involving fees, execution speed, and execution guarantee. By leveraging sophisticated solvers, the system can bring liquidity and execute operations on behalf of the user, enhancing user experience without requiring users to bridge assets themselves.

Settlement Layer

After user approval, the settlement layer ensures transaction execution. It involves bridging the user's assets to the target chain and then executing the transaction. This layer decouples immediate order fulfillment from the complex verification process, relying on relayers to front the funds temporarily. This approach optimizes cost-efficiency by bundling multiple settlements into single messages, significantly reducing gas fees and operational complexity.

Achieving Chain Abstraction

Combining these three layers into a unified product achieves true chain abstraction. Key insights include differentiating between transferring information and transferring value. Information transfer should be lossless and rely on secure pathways to ensure accuracy, while value transfer can be lossy based on user preferences. Sophisticated third parties can be utilized to offer faster, cheaper, or guaranteed value transfers.

By effectively integrating these layers, Cake Framework aims to provide a streamlined and user-friendly blockchain experience, abstracting away the complexities and allowing users to interact with dApps effortlessly. This holistic approach not only enhances user experience but also sets a new standard for blockchain interoperability and efficiency.

Particle Network

Particle Network’s modular L1 blockchain is built on Cosmos SDK, functioning as a high-performance EVM-compatible execution environment. Like NEAR, Across, and other chain abstraction-focused projects, Particle Network aims to enable an adoptable UX that simplifies account and transaction management into a single UI.

Universal Accounts (UAs)

Particle’s chain abstraction stack begins with the creation of Universal Accounts, which function as ERC-4337 smart accounts attached to a pre-existing EOA (externally owned address). These accounts aggregate token balances across multiple chains into a single address by automatically routing and executing atomic cross-chain transactions. Users can create and manage accounts using traditional crypto wallets or social logins provided by Particle’s Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS).

This accomplishes two key things:

Unified Interface: UAs provide a unified interface built on top of existing wallets, allowing users to deposit and use tokens across multiple blockchain environments as if they existed on a single chain.
Central Coordination: Particle L1 acts as a coordination and settlement layer for all cross-chain transactions processed through UAs, maintaining a synchronous state across accounts.

Universal Liquidity and Gas

Universal Liquidity is another key component of Particle’s chain abstraction services. This feature automates the execution of user transaction requests, unifying balances across different networks. It eliminates barriers such as the need to purchase native gas tokens or create native wallets for new networks.

Automatic Liquidity Sourcing: When a user wants to purchase an asset on a blockchain they haven't used before, the necessary liquidity is sourced from their existing balances on different chains and in different tokens.
Decentralized Messaging Network (DMN): The DMN enables Relayer Nodes to monitor external chain events and settle state events, facilitating cross-chain transfers and maintaining the system’s efficiency.

Closely related is universal gas, Particle’s third pillar of its chain abstraction stack. The Univeral Gas Token allows users to pay gas fees with any token through Particle’s UAs. It works by allowing users to select their preferred gas token, which is routed through Particle’s native Paymaster contract. Gas payments are settled on their respective source and destination chains, with a portion of the fee converted into Particle’s native $PARTI token to be settled on the Particle L1.

Future Outlook

Despite the promising advancements in chain abstraction, security concerns remain paramount, as highlighted by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin. The integration of multiple blockchains introduces new security challenges, potentially leading to desensitization toward security issues as systems become increasingly interconnected. Addressing these concerns is crucial as developers continue to push for a more streamlined and accessible blockchain ecosystem. Robust security measures and vigilant monitoring must accompany the technological advancements to ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of these interconnected systems.

Nevertheless, the evolution of blockchain technology through chain abstraction represents a significant step towards making digital assets and blockchain applications more accessible to the general public. This technology simplifies user interactions by abstracting the complexities of multi-chain operations, allowing seamless transactions and interactions across various blockchains. As chain abstraction continues to develop, it holds the potential to fundamentally alter how users interact with digital platforms, making the complex world of blockchain more user-friendly and integrated. The ongoing advancements in this field promise to bring about a new era of digital interaction, where the underlying complexities of blockchain are hidden, offering a smoother, more intuitive user experience.

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