Chain Abstraction - The Ultimate User Experience?

Chain abstraction is the talk of the town, and for good reason—it could onboard your dad, mom, and even your most skeptical friend. But what exactly is it?

Chain abstraction is on everyone's lips. You’ve probably seen something on Twitter like: “Chain abstraction is the next logical step from modularity.” or even “Chain abstraction = Build wherever.” What on earth does that even mean, you may be wondering?

Let's address the core issue first. Wait... are you saying it actually solves a real problem?

There are already a ton of different chains. From Layer 1s like Ethereum and Solana to Layer 2s such as Arbitrum and Optimism, and even appchains like Aevo and Dymension, each has its own ecosystem bustling with users, liquidity, and applications. Spoiler alert: this trend is only going to grow.

Managing all these chains has become a headache. Setting up multiple wallets, dealing with different tokens for gas across chains, and having to bridge is far from user-friendly. This can’t last; Frankly, this chaos isn't going to attract mainstream users like my dad anytime soon.

Here comes Chain Abstraction. Formally, it simplifies users' interactions with blockchains, allowing them to use any product and asset without managing multiple wallets, bridging, or underlying infrastructure. If you love easy terms like me, it's when a user interacts with multiple blockchains without realizing it. In other words, we don't care if we’re using Arbitrum or [insert your favourite chain].

This looks like the ultimate user experience, right? There are many attempts to reach chain abstraction. Let’s look at a few of them. 

Socket aims at reaching chain abstraction with its so-called modular order flow auctions, aka MOFA. 

Crazy series of words, innit? Thought, the concept can be simplified to marketplace for chain abstracted transactions. 

Imagine this: you've funded your wallet with 1 ETH on Arbitrum. While scrolling through Twitter, you come across a tweet about the next ultimate memecoin on Solana. You really want to buy it, but alas, it's on a different chain, and you don’t have any SOL. You’re stuck.

With Socket’s MOFA, you can create a request stating, "Hi, I am nairolf, and I want to buy this coin with 1 ETH from Arbitrum." From there, Transmitters, a term used to refer to people ready to perform a task for you, will compete for the right to execute your request. The best offer wins, the Transmitter executes your request, takes a fee, and voila, you've bought this next 100x memecoin.

Did you notice something? You haven’t bridged anything. You didn’t need any SOL. Chains are no longer a problem! Hooray!

It's akin to wanting to improve your garden but lacking the necessary skills or tools. You hop on Facebook like a boomer and post: "Hey, I need help with my garden." Then, gardeners bid to do the job for you. A couple of weeks later, your garden looks exactly how you envisioned. You're not concerned about the gardener's background, age, or preferred brand – as long as your garden looks great.

Back to our coins, the cool thing about Socket’s MOFA is that it doesn't only work for swapping one coin for another. It works for any type of transaction. Yep, you can do whatever you want without worrying about using different chains. Abstraction, you’ve said?

There are plenty of other ways to think of Chain Abstraction. This concept encompasses various sub-branches, such as Account Abstraction, Signature Abstraction, and many others.

If you're wondering what those terms mean, imagine your blockchain experience without the abstracted concept. Signature Abstraction? Well, say goodbye to those scary signatures before executing a transaction. Device Abstraction? No matter if you're on mobile, desktop, or even a vape, you'll be able to access your wallet. Enough chatter; what are other players in the chain abstraction field?

XION from Burnt

Xion has introduced Generalized Abstraction, an all-encompassing solution. From Account Abstraction to Gas Abstraction, Xion is a Layer 1 blockchain aiming to increase adoption of web3. With Xion, web3 would become frictionless, eliminating technical barriers for all users. For example, instead of dealing with scary private keys, you could just use your email or FaceID to access apps. Gas Abstraction makes gas invisible to users, so they don't have to think about it or even understand what gas is. The end result? It'll feel like you're using web2, but on web3.

Particle Network

Particle is a Layer 1 blockchain that offers three core services: Universal Liquidity, Universal Accounts, and Universal Gas Token. While they employ the term "Universal" for each service, the underlying concept remains quite similar. A Universal Account serves as a singular access point, or wallet if you prefer, for every network. In simpler terms, users no longer need to manage different wallets for various chains but has one address and one balance. The Universal Liquidity concept facilitates seamless and efficient transactions across different chains. As for the Universal Gas Token, its purpose is self-explanatory, isn't it? Ultimately, the goal is the same: eliminating the frictions caused by the multitude of live chains.

You've grasped it—chain abstraction is likely the key to onboarding not only your dad and sisters but also all your friends. While modularity has insanely improved scalability, it has also resulted in thousands of fragmented chains. Chain abstraction solves this fragmentation, ultimately leading to what we've all been dreaming of: a better user experience. 🫶

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