Over the past 12 months, the Aura core development team has been working tirelessly to build what we think is one of the most important technologies in Web3 today: Account Abstraction.
Account abstraction, which creates smart accounts and abstracts fees, enables users to utilize smart contracts as their accounts.
This allows developers to change the logic of wallets, creating major security and privacy benefits. This extends the potential of wallets and makes crypto-native wallets as easy to use as financial or payment apps which billions of users rely on every day.
Most crypto users are web-based users, relying on browser-based wallets including MetaMask, Phantom, and Coin98. For new entrants in the space, browser wallets can be difficult to use. Account Abstraction can change the landscape of crypto users by breaking down the barriers between retail and web3.
Account abstraction removes seed phrase reliance, human error with smart contract wallets, and shared accounts, significantly improving the ease of accessibility.
Fully Developed and Deployable Account Abstraction Module
We have fully developed and deployed the Smart Account Module (SAM), the native account abstraction module that enables programmable accounts on Aura.
This makes Aura Network the only blockchain within Cosmos to have built-in modularity, and one among the few blockchain who supports native account abstraction such as ZkSync, Polkadot and Near.
Within the Smart Account Module, each smart account represents a user account on the blockchain. SAM accepts transactions from a client, determines if it is interacting with his smart account, then forwards the transaction to the contract.
This process is plugged into the normal transaction flow of Cosmos so that the account can also perform other normal transactions without creating a separated logic flow.
Aura’s Account Abstraction is composed of three main components:
- Smart account native Module (SAM): https://github.com/aura-nw/aura/tree/main/x/smartaccount
- Pyxis Smart Account Suite: https://github.com/aura-nw/pyxis-smart-account
- Aura Client SDK
The SAM, Pyxis Smart Account Suite, and the SDK interact with one another to enable smart account transactions, while allowing developers to customize the logic of the Account Abstraction to fit their needs.
How Aura’s Account Abstraction Differs From ZkSync and Near, and is Truly Unique
Account Abstraction on Aura is unique because we allow developers to build and make new modules on top of the Pyxis suite.
SAM is on the chain to filter transactions to be forwarded to Pyxis Suite if it detects that the transactions are interacting with a smart account. Then, the Pyxis Suite handles all logic.
Pyxis Suite allows developers to create new plugins for the smart account, such as multi-sig plugin, threshold plugin, and expiration date.
This means that Aura’s Account Abstraction technology is the first fully customizable and modular smart account layer in web3.
Account Abstraction is Crucial For Developers
Ethereum, or any EVM chain without built-in Account Abstraction, requires every transaction to be bundled into a transaction from a wallet that owns a keypair, called an Externally Owned Account, or EOAs.
This limited process restricts innovation as everything that the developer creates needs to be tied to the keypair. And if the user loses it, then it cannot be recovered.
Account Abstraction changes this behavior. Transactions can be sent from another smart contract, rather than relying on EOS. This way, developers can programmatically change the logic of the transaction that wasn’t previously possible.
Next-Gen DApps are Coming to Cosmos
Through Account Abstraction, all developers and chains within Cosmos can already start developing next-generation DApps and create massive improvements in user experience.
At Aura, our thesis is that modularity combined with Account Abstraction will lead to true mass adoption.
Modularity allows developers to build products with significant flexibility, and Account Abstraction creates major privacy, security, and UX benefits.
We are calling for all developers in Cosmos to build with our Smart Account Module.
