Why is NEAR the pioneer in the "chain abstraction" track?
Author: Haotian
Recently, the emergence of ZetaChain has made the concept of "chain abstraction" a hot topic. However, upon deeper research, I found that
@NEARProtocol is the true pioneer of "chain abstraction." The BOS front-end operating system it proposed, along with account aggregation and super wallets, at first glance, all feel reminiscent of Web2, but to lower the technical barriers of Web3 and enhance the user onboarding experience, a thorough system overhaul is indeed necessary. Why? Next, I will share my observations.
First, the evolution of public chain tracks has two main development lines: "modularization" and "chain abstraction."
"Modularization" is already well-known, with developers leaning towards lightweight and low-cost component development; various DA layers, execution VM layers, settlement layers, etc., have diverse combinability; and the booming Stack stack extensible AS A Service one-click chain launch strategic alliance narrative, among others, have made the idea of modularization the main theme.
In contrast, "chain abstraction" is still in its infancy, with the overall market still stuck in the "account abstraction" bug-fixing phase, and even deeply mired in the dilemma of abstraction making ordinary users feel increasingly "abstract."
There are two main reasons:
- The goal of the abstraction track is to solve the problem of lowering user participation barriers, paving the way for Mass Adoption. However, currently, "account abstraction" is still adept at solving compatibility issues between homogeneous chains through contract standards like ERC4337, but challenges arise when it comes to heterogeneous chains. Originally, adaptation development was done through wallet interfaces, but the emergence of various wallets undoubtedly increases the user selection barrier.
- The abstraction track, centered on "engineering implementation," is far from enough; the ultimate goal should be centered on "user-centric" principles. For example: using social features, fingerprint, and other biometric logins to lower usage barriers; using MPC technology to eliminate private key security obstacles; enabling back-end protocols and liquidity to achieve seamless cross-chain integration, thereby lowering user operation barriers.
In summary, the past market efforts on "account abstraction" have not been sufficient; "chain abstraction" is needed to further erode the barriers of inter-chain communication and liquidity until all complex back-end protocol interactions can be "hidden," achieving an enhancement in user experience.
However, most Web3 native developers are accustomed to "engineering implementation" innovation. Allowing Web2 development forces to impact the scene might bring about a catalytic effect.
And the seemingly quiet NEAR chain has done a lot of front-end and back-end innovative development, perhaps aiming to make a significant impact in the new narrative of "chain abstraction." So, what has NEAR done in the past?
BOS Blockchain Operating System
Now, when you log onto the NEAR website, it is no longer a monotonous asset listing page, but rather a dazzling array that gives the illusion of opening a Facebook social site.
Its Featured Components recommendation allows users to click the Open button to directly access a protocol's liquidity staking page, and selecting the NFT Marketplace will directly jump to various NFT purchase pages. Additionally, there is a feed information stream, user recommendations, and news recommendations. During my first-time experience, I couldn't believe this was a Web3 project; it felt purely like a Web2 portal website.
This is NEAR's launch of the all-new blockchain operating system, BOS, a public layer for browsing and discovering network experiences, compatible with all blockchains as a "front-end" system. (The actual protocols that can be seamlessly integrated are still limited.)
It is not hard to see that NEAR is trying to become an "interface entry" similar to an OS system, and users can even customize and create their own front-end portals. This is getting closer to a Web2 product usage experience.
If you only look at this unfamiliar and flashy front-end, you might feel that these developers are not focused on their work. However, from the strategic height of "chain abstraction," it might not be difficult to understand;
Account Aggregation
With the BOS front-end system, how can NEAR's back-end cooperate to achieve seamless integration of all on-chain accounts?
- NEAR Account Abstraction: As I recall, NEAR's email login and private key recovery abstraction features have always been quite good, especially with the full-chain implementation of short domain name operations. Based on Fast Auth, implementing fingerprint and FaceID biometric logins is also not difficult, which lowers the user onboarding barrier.
- Chain Signing: NEAR has built an MPC Nodes full-chain joint signing system. When users interact across different chains, the NEAR network can act as a common signing party to jointly sign transactions, thus enabling inter-chain interaction. Essentially, this is consistent with the interoperability logic of other relay chain types, allowing the standardized unified contract layer to replace users in cross-chain communication. NEAR has not focused too much on the decentralized characteristics of chain signing; it is evident that with its strong sharding capabilities, it possesses a high level of self-confidence.
- Intent Relayers: With the foundation of MPC joint chain signing, chain contracts can help users handle certain "intentions." After a user initiates a transaction intention on the NEAR chain, NEAR contracts can remotely control heterogeneous chain contracts to carry out the next steps, akin to the proxy responsibilities of a PayMaster. Theoretically, the more complex the logic of inter-chain interaction that can be achieved, the richer the user's intentions and usage experience will be.
Super Wallet
Previously, NEAR connected with MetaMask based on Snap functionality, allowing users to sign transactions in MetaMask and connect to NEAR. Is that all?
Not at all. According to NEAR's chain abstraction strategy, a super wallet should encompass all Web3 applications, while gas consumption, asset bridging, network switching, and other functions should be hidden. It seems that NEAR is also trying to abstract the wallet paradigm. Since there is already a Facebook portal at the chain level, it should also be equipped with a WeChat mini-program application entry. The @SenderLabs wallet on the NEAR chain seems to be working towards this direction.
It is also understandable that after NEAR achieves "chain abstraction," the first beneficiaries should be wallet applications.
Under normal circumstances, for a wallet to operate smoothly and reduce user "churn rates," it usually needs to enhance development to adapt to various heterogeneous chains and diverse assets. However, in the context of NEAR's chain abstraction, the wallet only needs to smoothly adapt to the NEAR chain. Compatibility with other chains, cross-chain asset interoperability, network self-switching, etc., can all be hidden.
For example, when a user browses a certain application in the wallet's Discover section and clicks a button to interact, the wallet will automatically configure the network and handle asset state switching, making the user experience indistinguishable from browsing an e-commerce website. Imagine if such a super wallet project is implemented, how many current wallet products would tremble in fear.
That's all.
In the past six months, I have reviewed what NEAR has done in terms of chain abstraction. As for what visions of chain abstraction have been realized? Can it be fully achieved? What will the final implementation look like? These are still unknowns. If you approach it with curiosity, you might end up feeling greatly disappointed. But this is the answer NEAR's chain abstraction wants to deliver; do you believe it?