Recently, the emergence of ZetaChain has brought the concept of "chain abstraction" into the spotlight. However, through in-depth research, I found that @NEARProtocol is the real originator of "chain abstraction". It proposed BOS front-end operating system, account aggregation, super wallet, etc. At first glance, At first glance, it feels like Web2, but in order to lower the technical threshold of Web3 and improve the user entry experience, a thorough system modification is indeed needed. Why? Next, share my observations.
First of all, there are two main lines of development in the evolution of the public chain track: "modularization" and "chain abstraction".
"Modularization" is now well known, and developers tend to develop lightweight and low-cost components; various DA layers, execution VM layers, settlement layers, etc. have a variety of composable formats; and Daxing Stack stack's scalable AS A Service Keychain strategic alliance narratives, etc., have made the idea of modularization become the main theme.
In comparison, "chain abstraction" is still in its infancy, and the overall market is still in the bug-fixing stage of "account abstraction", and is even stuck in abstraction, which makes ordinary users feel more and more " "Abstract" dilemma.
There are two main reasons:
1) The abstract track aims to solve the problem of lowering the threshold for user participation and pave the way for Mass Adoption. However, currently "account abstraction" can solve the compatibility issues between homogeneous chains through contract standards such as ERC4337. Once it involves heterogeneous chains, it will Challenges arise. It was originally developed through wallet-side adaptation, but the emergence of various wallets has undoubtedly increased the user's choice threshold.
2) It is not enough for the abstract track to be centered on "engineering realization". The ultimate goal must be "user-oriented". For example: using biometric logins such as social networking and fingerprints to lower the threshold of use; using MPC technology to eliminate private keys and reduce security barriers. ; Allowing back-end protocols and liquidity to achieve non-perceptual connectivity across the entire chain, lowering user operation thresholds, etc.
In general, the market's efforts in "account abstraction" in the past were not enough. "Chain abstraction" is needed to further eliminate the inter-chain communication + liquidity gap until all back-end complex protocol interactions can be "hidden". Achieve an improvement in user experience friendliness.
However, most Web3 Native developers are accustomed to "engineering implementation" innovation, and a timely impact of the development power of Web2 may bring about a Catalyst catalytic effect.
NEAR chain, which seems to have been dormant for a long time, has done a lot of front-end + back-end development, perhaps because it wants to make a big splash in the new narrative of "chain abstraction". So, what has NEAR done in the past?
-BOS blockchain operating system
Now that I log in to the NEAR website, it is no longer the same page listing my assets, but a dazzling array of items, giving the illusion of opening the Facebook social networking site.
Its Featured Components are recommended. Clicking the Open button can directly access the liquidity Staking page of a certain protocol. Selecting NFT Marketplace will also directly jump to the purchase page of many NFT listings. In addition, there are feed information flows, users and News recommendations. When I first used it, I couldn't believe that this was a Web3 project. It was a pure Web2 portal that just looked like it.
This is why NEAR has launched a new blockchain operating system BOS, a common layer for browsing and discovering network experiences, and a "front-end" system that is compatible with all blockchains. (There are still limited protocols that can be connected through actual experience)
It is not difficult to see that NEAR is trying to become an "interface entrance" like an OS-like system. Users can even customize and create their own front-end portal. It's a bit close to the Web2 product experience.
If you just look at this unfamiliar and fancy front-end, you will inevitably feel that these developers are not doing their job properly. If you look at it from the strategic height of "chain abstraction", it may not be difficult to understand;
-Account Aggregation account aggregation
With BOS as the front-end of the system, how can the NEAR back-end cooperate to achieve the integration of all on-chain accounts?
1) NEAR account abstraction: In my impression, NEAR's abstract functions such as email login and private key retrieval have always been pretty good, especially since the entire chain has implemented short domain name operations. It is not difficult to implement fingerprint FaceID biometric login based on Fast Auth. This step can be achieved. The user Onboard threshold is lowered;
2) Chain signature: NEAR has built a MPC Nodes full-chain joint signature verification system. When users interact between different chains, the NEAR network can serve as a common related party of assets to jointly sign transactions and realize inter-chain interaction. In essence, it is consistent with the interoperability logic of other relay chain types, allowing the back-end "standardized" and unified contract layer to perform cross-chain communication on behalf of users. NEAR has not written much about the decentralized nature of chain signatures. It can be seen that it has strong self-confidence with the strong performance of sharding;
3) Intention relayer: With the basis of MPC common chain signature, the chain contract can help users handle some "intentions". After the user initiates a transaction intention in the NEAR chain, the NEAR contract can remotely control the heterogeneous chain contract to carry out the next operation. , equivalent to PayMaster’s agency responsibilities. Theoretically, as long as the logic that can be achieved through inter-chain interaction becomes more complex, the user’s intentions and usage experience will be richer.
-Super Wallet super wallet
NEAR has previously been connected to MetaMask based on the Snap function. Users can sign transactions in MetaMask and connect to NEAR. Is this the end?
No, according to the NEAR chain abstract strategy plan, a super wallet should cover all Web3 applications, while gas consumption, asset bridging, network switching and other functions must be hidden. It seems that NEAR is trying to abstract the wallet paradigm. Since there is already a Facebook portal at the chain level, it must be equipped with a WeChat applet application entrance. The @SenderLabs wallet on the NEAR chain seems to be working in this direction.
It is not difficult to understand that after NEAR implements "chain abstraction", the first to benefit should be the wallet application.
Under normal circumstances, if a wallet wants to be smooth and smooth and reduce the "migration rate" of users, it usually needs to strengthen its development and adapt to various heterogeneous chains and diversified assets. In the abstract background of the NEAR chain, the wallet only needs to smoothly adapt to the NEAR chain. Compatibility of other chains, cross-chain interoperability of assets, autonomous switching of the network, etc. can all be hidden.
For example, when a user browses an application in Wallet Discover and clicks a button to interact, the wallet will automatically configure the network and handle asset status switching. The user will feel the same as browsing an e-commerce website for shopping, and there is no need to worry about the entire back-end interaction logic. . Just imagine, if such a super wallet project is implemented, it will make many current wallet products tremble.
that's all
I have reviewed for you what NEAR has done on chain abstraction in the past six months. As for, what has been achieved with the vision of chain abstraction? Can it be completely done? What will be the final landing form? It’s all still unknown, and if you try it out of curiosity, you may feel disappointed. However, this is the answer that NEAR chain abstraction wants to hand over, do you believe it?
Note: I have written many articles about "chain abstraction". From @zetablockchain to @ParticleNtwrk to @Entanglefi, everyone is paying attention. Their chain abstraction solutions also have their own strengths. After seeing how NEAR is so Web2-oriented, I have a lot of ideas. How should they respond to the vision of opening up?
