Thoughts on wallets - a critical infrastructure to drive adoption.

This post is a summary of a recent thread I posted on twitter and reflects our thoughts on wallets. You can check it out here:

https://twitter.com/katerinastro/status/1546479421850263552

Contrary to popular belief, wallets are not browsers or apps. A wallet is a software that stores your private keys, keeping your crypto safe so you can easily access it. But here is the paradox; The industry has focused more on creating pretty interfaces than working on standardizing onboarding and security. And here is what we got as an onboarding experience…

Each of these wallets has their customized functionality. One wallet can have build-in swaps while another can offer multi-chain support by default. One has a 12-word recovery seed phrase, while another one provides face recognition. Let alone that the majority of the wallets don't work on Safari browser or iPads. If the onboarding experience is fragmented, how do we expect to drive user adoption?

Security and onboarding as an MVP

We need a set of protocols/frameworks through which the functionality of every dapp will be implemented. Then, if the app violates the rules, it simply doesn't render (similar to HTML for webpages). This will raise the standards in terms of security and create a universal user experience. There won't be surprises on security, and every wallet will function on every dapp the same way every website works on every browser.

Usability

Wallets need to create a better onboarding UX. The 12-24 phrases are too complicated and risky. See solutions like https://zengo.com and https://www.argent.xyz

Open source

Open source should be the standard. The promise of being non-custodial has to be auditable or it remains a claim if it can't be verified. Only a few wallets deliver on this promise today, see https://tally.cash

Interoperability

https://liquality.io is a great example. Users can hold their native tokens, swap from one place, hold different NFT’s and connect to dapps on different chains, solving the technical interoperability and users' problem of having to switch between wallets.

Identity layer

A middle layer like https://walletconnect.com for example - needs to act as the way you identify yourself. It does not need to be limited between blockchain and web2 the way it is now. You should be able to connect to other non-web platforms (mobile apps, for example).

Interfaces

The "creativity" layer on top is limitless. This is where the unbundle starts. Founders will be able to unbundle the experiences (verticalized interfaces) without worrying about the security and onboarding layer (the MVP).

As https://twitter.com/gaby_goldberg says, “Stop calling it a wallet” https://t.co/Jyhn3i4djt

A great example is https://multis.com which uses the https://gnosis-safe.io secured wallet, and the team focused on creating an amazing experience for businesses on top of it.

A new platform (?)

A new platform/device could be also created to utilize the underlying technology better. Something that is purposely built for blockchain. But also open enough to be expandable like the web standard.

Thank you https://twitter.com/ThessyMehrain and https://twitter.com/mhluongo for your input and comments on the above :)