The spotlight is back on NFT security. Two recent hacks, both for tens of thousands of dollars, have highlighted the dangers (see this tragic Reddit post for more). Fortunately, there's a solution: Argent.
We built Argent to protect the highest value NFTs. There are two main reasons why Argent is immune to these attacks:
- Multisig security - all transactions to untrusted addresses are automatically blocked unless you deliberately approve them with guardians (friends, your hardware wallet, MetaMask, or our automated option).
- No seed phrase - the hacks often involve tricking someone into entering their seed phrase on a malicious site. As soon as you do this, it's game over. The attacker has complete control. Argent doesn't have seed phrases though. Problem solved.
For an example of the phishing attack.
Argent would have prevented the attacks.
But why not just use a hardware wallet?
This was a common response to the hacks on social media. But, as Vitalik has written, a smart wallet like Argent has a few important advantages.
- Using a hardware wallet alone is a single point of failure. And it's only as safe as your seed phrase.
- With Argent you can choose addresses to trust. Transactions to these are seamless. Any other transactions (say, to an attacker's wallet) are automatically blocked. So even if an attacker somehow got access to your unlocked phone and wallet, they still couldn't drain the account.
- Hardware wallets have supply chain risk. Argent's smart contracts are open source for anyone to inspect. They've also been repeatedly audited by independent firms; and even reviewed by the legendary samczsun.
Here's crypto researcher and DeFi power user, Hasu, on Argent:
And another example of an NFT power user going down the Argent rabbit hole:
Conclusion
Argent has been live for over three years and protects several hundred million dollars worth of crypto, including NFTs. Our approach to security is why Vitalik has said "we need wide adoption of social recovery wallets".
Argent works smoothly with NFT marketplaces like Rarible and OpenSea and supports ERC721 and 1155.
We'd love to see what you think.
Further reading
