Blocto Launches ERC-4337 Compatible Wallet, Discusses Future of Account Abstraction With Vitalik at EthCC Inbox

Blocto, a leading cross-chain wallet application and multi-chain Web3 ecosystem, today unveiled its ERC-4337 compatible wallet at the Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC), marking a significant milestone in the industry’s effort to push the frontiers of account abstraction (AA) innovation. The launch took place at AAvolution: Account Abstraction Village at the heart of EthCC, where Blocto convened discussions amongst key ecosystem players such as the Ethereum Foundation, Polygon, zkSync, Stackup, Etherspot, Gelato, and Fuse Labs.

Heralded as the key to bring Ethereum to the next billion users, account abstraction implements programmable smart contracts for payment experiences. By dramatically improving accessibility and security of crypto wallets, AA brings frictionless useability to the forefront of Web3. This enables non crypto-native users, regardless of their technological know-how, to seamlessly interact and engage with digital assets. 

Bringing the world of Web3 to the Web2 masses with Account Abstraction

Key thematic discussions about the history, current state of play and the future of AA innovation were held at AAvolution: Account Abstraction Village. This included topics ranging from account abstraction infrastructure, overcoming developer limitations in account and gas abstraction, simplification of user experience in Web3 onboarding to multi-chain interoperability as Web3’s key to mass adoption.   

Addressing the relative nascency of account abstraction deployment across the Web3 ecosystem, industry experts deliberated on streamlining both builder and user experiences for AA to complement existing infrastructure, rather than to displace incumbent technologies. Signaling major progress in Ethereum’s roadmap to achieve trustless, censorship-resistant smart accounts, panelists showcased the next iteration of AA-enabled innovation to assist developers in their building journey. 

Tom Teman, ERC-4337 Product Manager, Ethereum Foundation, said: “Frictionless useability and comprehensive security will be the key catalysts to bring Ethereum to the mainstream. Following the launch of ERC-4337, I’m thrilled to witness an impressive variety of account abstraction innovations deployed across the ecosystem at EthCC. Programmable smart accounts will revolutionize wallet UX development and how people interact with decentralized applications (“dApps”). I’m proud to support the onboarding of the next billion users to Web3 alongside numerous projects building in this space.”

Building on the open-source ethos of Web3, the event also saw active discussions around the interoperability for AA wallets to work seamlessly across blockchain networks and protocols. This is fundamental to greater onboarding of Web2 users, through smart contract wallets that open up more pathways into Web3.

Luis Schliesske, Co-Founder, Gelato said: “At Gelato, we believe multi-chain is the future. With Gelato’s multi-chain Account Abstraction tooling, it has never been easier for Web3 developers to build user experiences that rival and even surpass those of Web2 apps. We make it so that applications, like Connext, GnosisPay, and many others, and their users, don’t have to deal with all the friction that is inherent to blockchain interactions and just enjoy all the fun parts!”

The key benefit of AA rests in its ability to create wallets that are more accessible to users who are not well acquainted with Web3 user interface. This brings Web3’s underlying ethos of permissionless decentralization to the masses, advancing the industry’s roadmap to achieve a frictionless future of self-custodial financial technology. 

Breaking blockchain’s barriers to entry with Blocto’s ERC-4337 compatible wallet 

The newly launched Blocto wallet is fully compatible with ERC-4337 – the Ethereum standard that achieves account abstraction without the need for consensus-layer changes to the protocol. This standard enhances the functionality, security and overall user experience (UX) of wallets within the Ethereum ecosystem, surmounting many existing challenges related to digital asset payments. 

Aimed at making Web3 more accessible to the masses, Blocto is a pioneer in coinless onboarding, enabled by its chain-agnostic, universal gas fee solution, Blocto Points. Recognizing the inertia that new users face when embarking on their Web3 journey, Blocto will provide free Blocto Points to new users for subsidization of their first 50-100 blockchain transactions. By eliminating the need for native crypto tokens to start, Blocto significantly lowers barriers to entry for users to navigate the interconnected Web3 ecosystem with confidence. 

Powered by AA, Blocto’s ERC-4337 compatible wallet utilizes a decentralized paymaster to enact a novel freemium model for Web3 user acquisition. Augmented by a bundled transaction journey, users will benefit from an accelerated and friction-free transaction experience to spend more time on engagement and interaction across dApps. 

With the introduction of social logins to complement existing email logins, Blocto users do not need complicated seed phrases to access their digital wallet. By eliminating multiple steps in the onboarding process, Blocto simplifies the onboarding experience to allow unbridled access to Web3 in under thirty seconds, while allowing dApps to significantly increase chances of onboarding funnel conversions with Blocto SDK integration. 

Delivering on a highly intuitive UX and enhanced secure key rotation, Blocto sets itself apart from incumbents by leveraging a flexible custodial key management model. Providing users with the ability to dictate control and ownership over their digital assets, users can set their Blocto wallet in either custodial or non-custodial mode to securely explore the world of Web3.

The capabilities of AA brings the most clean and flexible on-chain UX approach, enabling Web3 wallets to offer a familiar interface that is modeled after the everyday digital banking experience. With social logins and subsidized transaction fees, Blocto’s ERC-4337 wallet offers a user-friendly and accessible way to onboard the next generation of internet users into a decentralized future. 

Hsuan Lee, Co-founder and CEO, Blocto, said: “Accessibility and interoperability are key principles that guide our approach to Web3. With the launch of Blocto’s ERC-4337 compatible wallet, we are creating a streamlined solution that makes blockchain technologies simpler and more accessible to everyone. Designed specifically for users regardless of their level of experience, the power of account abstraction provides a seamlessly optimized, UX-led gateway for all to meaningfully interact and engage with the limitless possibilities of the Web3 ecosystem. This ushers in a new era of instantaneous, secure transactions that surmount existing barriers, to ultimately instigate a transformative shift in the way we think about our global payment rails.”  

Marking its advent as one of the industry-firsts to achieve ERC-4337 compatibility, Blocto is a recognised leader in the field of account abstraction. Technologically similar to its predecessor with several elemental upgrades, Blocto has utilized smart contract wallet architecture since its inception. 

Since its Series A round in February 2023, Blocto has amassed 100+ integrated ecosystem partners, over 1.6 million active users, and increased its company valuation eightfold to $80 million. Leveraging investor support from strategic partners Mark Cuban, IPX (formerly Line Friends) and 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups), the company continues to enhance expansion of its interconnected multi-chain ecosystem, while bolstering product and infrastructure development aimed at simplifying the Web3 onboarding process. 

Looking ahead, Blocto will be integrating with multiple leading EVM-compatible Layer 2 blockchains and fostering growth of the wider Web3 industry through strategic ecosystem accelerator programs.