Despite progress in blockchain usability, new users often struggle with technical complexities, such as selecting the wrong network or having incompatible assets. In this article, you will learn what blockchain abstraction means.
Blockchain abstraction enhances network usability and interoperability, allowing for smoother asset transfers and easier access to DeFi and NFT markets.
Blockchain, or just “chain abstraction,” has become a popular topic on the web as crypto developers, users, and fans look for ways to bring in new users and grow the economy.
By separating the end-user experience of blockchain technology from its complicated base technology, blockchain abstraction makes it easier for people to use while keeping its main benefits.
This makes it easy for developers and users to work with blockchain apps without knowing much about technology.
Why Do We Need Chain Abstraction?
Even though different blockchain apps have become easier to use over the years, some technical issues can still be hard for regular users. People new to blockchain might be used to buying things with U.S. dollars or a credit card.
But when they try to buy an NFT for the first time, they might find that they don’t have assets on the right blockchain and can’t make the purchase. Or maybe they try to send USDT to their wallet but pick the wrong network, so they lose the money.
For an experienced “crypto native” user, these steps may seem simple, but for new users, they can be hard to understand.
Blockchain abstraction tries to fix this by making different blockchain networks easier to use and more compatible.
Interoperability means that different blockchain systems can talk to each other, share data, and work together without any problems. In other words, assets can be moved between blockchain networks without going through a third party.
Users would not have to cross between chains as much if developers made apps that were more naturally interoperable. This would give users direct access to DeFi protocols or NFT markets.
The internet became popular when it took away the complexity of HTTP and TCP/IP, and computers in general when they came with Windows and Apple operating systems.
Blockchain needs to do the same to reach a wide audience. Blockchain abstraction tries to make it as easy as popular web2 apps by giving users familiar experiences like easy sign-ins and one-click interactions.
Example of Blockchain Abstraction
One example of blockchain abstraction is easy tools for people to use. Wallets like Phantom and MetaMask make handling private keys and transfers easier.
Users can send and receive cryptocurrencies through easier-to-understand tools like online banking apps, so they don’t have to deal with complicated cryptography.
For example, MetaMask lets users connect with the Ethereum blockchain from their web browsers. This means anyone who knows how to use a browser extension can use blockchain technology.
Over the years, these wallets have also added features that give users more choices. For example, in-app linking or swapping lets users move assets between blockchains without finding and connecting to an external bridge.
The NEAR protocol is a Layer 1 blockchain that has implemented some elements of blockchain abstraction.
This was a big goal for the people who created it because it made it easier for people to use blockchain. One way is to use accounts that humans can read so you can connect with them using names instead of complicated wallet addresses.
By linking blockchain smart contracts to outside data sources, middleware systems like Chainlink add another level of abstraction. This is very important for DeFi platforms and other apps that use real-world info.
Chainlink’s independent Oracle network gets data from many places and feeds it into smart contracts. This makes the complicated process of integrating outside data with blockchain apps easier to understand.
Accounts Abstraction on Ethereum
Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, has also said something about account abstraction. At a conference in South Korea, he said that account abstraction is the way to make blockchain coders and users safer and more convenient.
The goal of Ethereum’s account abstraction standard, which is also known as ERC-4337, is to let user wallets work like smart contracts without having to handle accounts that other people and their private keys own.
ERC-4337 lets more advanced features like multi-signature wallets, social recovery tools, and user-defined validation rules work right in their accounts.
By moving validation reasoning from the core protocol to the account level, users can set up their security measures, which could make their accounts less vulnerable to breaches and unauthorized access.
A lot of good things could happen for people with ERC-4337. Multi-signature authentication, for example, lets users handle their accounts more flexibly and safely.
This is because multiple private keys are needed to authorize transactions, greatly lowering the hacking risk. Social recovery options also let users get back into their accounts through trusted contacts, which lessens the effect of losing private keys.
ERC-4337 also makes it easier to separate gas fees, meaning users could pay transaction fees with tokens other than Ether or even have someone else pay them.
