Today, it becomes quite obvious that the situation with web3 technology is becoming similar to the situation with programmatic advertising 10-12 years ago. When programmatic-ads just started, the major market players were not very optimistic - it was much easier for them to follow the well-known paths with chains of publishers and agencies. However, once programmatic got rid of the «childhood diseases» and became simple in use, effective in attracting customers, it has taken a dominant position in the modern advertising market - providing precise targeting and cost reduction. The situation with web3 is similar - all publishers ideally want to have systems for lifetime tracking of customer achievements (that is, Soul Bound tokens in web3), theoretically stable decentralized data storage systems that cannot be broken through a simple server attack, real users’ ownership for his content, as well as simple cross-border payment systems that have built-in algorithms for calculating all duties and taxes. Sounds like a perfect world, but even Amazon doesn't do that yet. Why?
The problem is the web3 entry point, which is difficult for users. As soon as they start talking about opening a crypto wallet, about 12 phrases as a backup, most users interrupt the onboarding process and immediately leave the site. This is obvious - over the decades of the development of the digital market, users have become accustomed to facilitating and simplifying systems for interacting with the site. One-click registration, effective convenient UI, visibility and the «metro principle», where the client is led by the hand – this is modern digital progress. And here some 12 phrases are offered, incomprehensible tokens - and, most importantly, why? So, it turns out that a self-sufficient audience of geeks or really advanced users revolves around web3, which is growing weakly.
However, there is a solution for today - and this is Account Abstraction. The Argent wallet has the most famous (but not only) and simplest solution in the field - if you try to register in it, you will see that the system is no different (and even looks easier in some places) than registering on any web2 site. No 12 phrases and other nonsense. «Only mail» and that’s it is. Yes, having plunged into the system, you will already see the need for payment for activation and other protection systems - somehow the appointment of a responsible person who, together with you, must confirm the transaction. And even the appointment of a time window for its confirmation. This is one example of Account Abstraction - a system that should move web3 into the realm of a real competitor to web2 and help web3 enter the mass market.
Account Abstraction is based on two principles. EOA (Externally Owned Accounts) - external account management from the owner of the private key; and CA (Contract Accounts) - the smart contract itself on the network that manages the code. As a result, the system executes the transaction not when it receives a request for its execution, but only after checking the keys and matching the request from both the account owner and his authorized representative. Is it possible to do it easier and shift all the activities of managing a private key to a system with Account Abstraction? Yes, and here we turn to the most interesting.
If a user chooses not a car on the marketplace, but cheap headphones, or, say, a set of napkins for cleaning optics, he is guaranteed not to be interested in either managing 12-phrase keys or appointing responsible persons to confirm the transaction. We are all used to eBay, Amazon and similar systems - added to the cart, paid, received and that's it! So, using Account Abstraction, we can do the same on the web3 marketplace. The system itself will manage all private keys, and users will use the marketplace in their usual format - the entry threshold will be radically reduced. At the same time, the site will be based on a full-fledged web3 system - with Soul Bound tokens for lifelong tracking of the reputation of both sellers and buyers. With decentralized data storage and distribution of information ownership by the users themselves. And with all the features that DAO provides. Like this:
A lot of market players are currently working on Account Abstraction blocks, and the light has not converged on Agrent. And this is very cool - it seems that in the near future web3 technology is waiting for the same breakthrough as web2 at one time, after the fashion for social networks.
Stas Ustenko