Chain Abstraction: Simplifying Interaction in The Fragmented Crypto World

Unifying User Experience Across Numerous Blockchains and Emerging Layer 2 Solutions

Several hundred blockchains and L2s now fragment the landscape, making user interaction complex. Chain abstraction simplifies this by providing a unified interface for seamless multi-blockchain access.

Great Complexity

According to DeFiLlama, approximately 45 blockchains have TVL greater than $100 million. L2BEAT reports that there are nearly 100 L2 solutions in operation, with a similar number poised to launch.

In the crypto ecosystem, users begin by creating a wallet and securing a seed phrase. They then move assets to the blockchain, often using bridges for networks that are not directly supported. Users interact with decentralized applications (dApps) via their wallets, managing transactions across multiple blockchains. This process involves navigating various interfaces and managing separate balances with multiple wallets.

This setup is challenging even for seasoned users, and for newcomers, it can become an overwhelming barrier. In today's internet era, it represents one of the industries with the poorest user experience.

What Is Chain Abstraction?

The term “abstraction” is commonly used in many technical fields. It refers to the process of distilling complex technical details into simple user actions. For example, when sending an email or searching the internet, users do not need to understand how email protocols operate or the structure of the OSI model. Abstraction layers are fundamental at every level of computing and networking, not just in blockchain technology. They allow systems like the internet to remain straightforward for users while managing immense underlying complexity.

Even a simple action like sending an email involves multiple complex processes and protocols. To simplify user interactions, these processes are abstracted, allowing users to simply open an application, compose their message, add a recipient, and click “send.”

Chain Abstraction, or shortly ChA, seeks to address similar complexities by providing a unified user interface. This method enables users to engage with multiple blockchains and dApps without grappling with the underlying complexity. It simplifies the blockchain experience by masking the intricate crypto world. All complex interactions are concealed.

This approach facilitates broader blockchain adoption by making the technology more accessible. Chain Abstraction involves seamless cross-chain asset transfers that function inconspicuously, enabling users to concentrate on the application's functionality rather than its infrastructure.

In an ideal scenario, chain abstraction would offer users a convenient and straightforward experience. Users could interact with a crypto application as easily as they use any familiar app, unaware that it operates on blockchain technology and smart contracts, thanks to its simple and intuitive functions.

How Chain Abstraction Works

Frontier Research has presented a clear model to explain chain abstraction, termed CAKE (Chain Abstraction Key Elements). They categorized the structure into three infrastructure layers: the Permission layer, the Solver layer, and the Settlement layer, each tasked with specific functions.

• Permission Layer: This is the level where users connect their wallets to carry out actions, such as token exchanges or transfers. Here, users indicate their intentions to perform operations.

• Solver Layer: At this stage, the costs of the operations are assessed, and decisions are made about how and who will execute these actions. It deals with the complexities of asynchronous cross-chain transactions, where sub-transactions may fail. This necessitates the use of intermediaries or solvers to efficiently estimate and manage these variables.

• Settlement Layer: This is where the user's requests are finalized, and all required transactions are executed. It may involve interactions with final dApps and transferring assets across different chains.

The orchestration of these three layers is crucial for achieving effective chain abstraction, facilitating a seamless and user-friendly experience.

In this model, users interact only at the top level with the blockchain without needing to understand the underlying mechanics of how their requests are processed.

Key Benefits of Chain Abstraction

The development of such an approach leads to several advantages:

• Enhanced UX: Chain abstraction simplifies the user experience by eliminating the need to manage multiple wallets or understand various blockchain protocols, offering seamless interaction through a single interface.

• Security: By simplifying the interaction processes, chain abstraction reduces the risk of user errors, thereby enhancing the security of blockchain transactions.

• Interoperability: This technology supports cross-chain interactions, enabling the free movement of assets and data across different blockchain networks, thus improving interoperability.

• Unified Liquidity and Community: Abstraction removes obstacles that hinder the flow of capital and user migration between different blockchains, contributing to the unification of liquidity and fostering a global Web3 community.

• Scalability: Abstraction allows developers to create scalable applications by leveraging the strengths of multiple blockchains, which ensures efficient and robust performance.

• Developer Freedom: Through defragmentation, product creators are not constrained by the user base or capital volume of any specific blockchain and can select infrastructure based on technical requirements.

• Web2 and Web3 Integration: One facet of abstraction is to ensure a smooth transition and interaction between Web2 and Web3 platforms, enhancing user experience across different technological spaces.

Projects

Implementing the chain abstraction approach demands substantial technical efforts at multiple levels. It requires collaboration among different infrastructure projects. It's challenging to envision a single project achieving this independently. Instead, it will likely involve cooperative interactions between various project groups.

Many established and large projects are now adopting this direction, and numerous new projects are also emerging. In the future, we can anticipate that Chain Abstraction will not only be an emerging narrative but will evolve into a dominant trend, leading to an increase in projects and notable successes.

Conclusion

Chain Abstraction is transforming the blockchain industry by tackling the fragmentation that impedes user experience and operational efficiency. By offering a unified interface for engaging with multiple blockchains, it makes blockchain technology more accessible for users and developers alike.

As this method progresses, it holds the potential to improve the scalability, interoperability, and security of blockchain applications, thereby facilitating wider adoption and fostering innovative solutions in the decentralized landscape.