Account Abstraction is key to improving the user experience and security of self-custodial crypto wallets.
By removing the reliance on private keys and making wallets more programmable, we can finally onboard millions of mainstream users without the fear of getting hacked
Technological innovation in blockchain has flourished over the last few years, but UX and UI design have failed to keep up.
People still get stuck on 16-word seed-phrases, and getting into DeFi without a centralised intermediary is still too intimidating for many.
Retaining self-custody over one’s assets is critically important, but self-custodial wallets have been clunky and confusing for the average user.
Most people forget their Web2 passwords on a monthly basis; how are users expected to keep their seed phrase and private keys safe for eternity?
Account abstraction improves the safety and security of self-custodial wallet products by removing the users’ reliance on the private key and making wallets programmable.
With this improved UX, non-custodial wallets can finally scale to millions of mainstream crypto-users.
Account abstraction entails abstracting the hard-coded authorization logic away from EOAs, turning each account into a programmable smart contract that can be tailored to meet the needs of any individual.
With account abstraction, users can have Hardware Signers, Paymasters, Social Recovery, Multifactor Authentication, and Quantum Resistant and Gas-Efficient Signatures.
This is why the next generation of self-custodial wallets, like Argent and Braavos, are currently being built on top of Starknet.
In December, Visa proposed the idea of using account abstraction to set up automatic recurring payments on Starknet.
This may foreshadow a world where big-tech subscription platforms like Netflix and Spotify could embrace crypto-adoption.
By making wallets easier and safe to use, account abstraction will serve as a powerful catalyst for self-custodial blockchain wallets to scale to millions of mainstream crypto-users.