Before we start, let’s get one thing clear. Smart wallets and account abstraction are the same thing. The terms are used interchangeably. They’re synonymous.
We practically invented the term account abstraction. We’ve been building smart wallets for more than six years and believe they’re the best solution for taking crypto mainstream.
Why do we need smart wallets?
Banks and crypto exchanges cannot be trusted with your money. There’s plenty of evidence to support that (remember 2008 or FTX?). With a crypto wallet, you can take control of your money and remove the middlemen.
The problem is that most crypto wallets are not smart wallets. This means they’re hard to use, lack basic security features, and make self-custody difficult. Smart wallets are the solution.
What is a smart wallet?
Smart wallets (aka account abstraction) make crypto simple. They have unique and powerful features that create a safety net for people who do self-custody. There is no safety net for traditional crypto wallets (EOAs), so we must move away from them as quickly as possible.
Smart wallets make self-custody a viable option for a mainstream audience, regardless of crypto knowledge. Here are some of their features that improve crypto's user experience.
Features of smart wallet
Multicall: No one wants to sign transaction after transaction to perform a simple task. With Multicall, you can bundle multiple transactions into one. It’s more secure, saves you network fees, and is a better user experience. Starknet is the only network with Multicall by default, this is because all wallets on Starknet are smart wallets.
Session Keys: There’s nothing worse than your wallet constantly popping up and asking you to sign transactions. Session keys remove this friction by allowing dapps to sign transactions on your behalf. We built the first session key on Starknet for a game called Influence. It prevents your wallet from popping up, so you can play uninterrupted. Gamers love it.
Social Recovery: Seed phrases have got to go. They’re a big blocker to mainstream adoption and why people have lost billions of dollars in crypto. With social recovery, you can recover your wallet without using a seed phrase or relying on centralised control. We have a quick and easy version of social recovery on Argent Mobile called off-chain recovery.
Two-factor authentication (2FA): Traditional wallets have limited security, making them prone to hacks and scams. With smart wallets, things are different. You can add extra layers of security to protect your wallet from attackers. 2FA is included by default on Argent Mobile and Argent Extension (Argent X) smart accounts.
Paymaster: Gas fees are a foreign concept to someone unfamiliar with crypto and blockchain. With Paymaster, you can pay transaction fees in any token or have them paid for you. We will introduce a paymaster to Argent soon.
A breakthrough for crypto
With these five smart wallet (account abstraction) features, the user experience of self-custody is completely transformed. However, this only scratches the surface of what’s possible.
Our mission is to bring crypto's benefits to a billion people. Start using Argent today to experience the power of smart wallets.
