DEPRECATED: A New Wallet/Onboarding Paradigm: Silk Explained
✨ Reimagining web3 onboarding and even everyday usage
Last updated
✨ Reimagining web3 onboarding and even everyday usage
Last updated
Wallets-as-a-Service (WaaS) and Account Abstraction (AA) you can wallets for your users quickly and easily. However, the current ways of using WaaS and AA leaves outstanding issues that significantly challenge dApp growth and user security:
Innovations in WaaS have come with a cost:
Expensive SaaS fees
When you login to a dApp via embedded, the wallet is isolated only to that specific dApp; However, typically you want to use the same wallet across every dApp.
Security issues due to trust in frontends
Arguable definitions of self-custody
Is there a way to do one-click sign-in without these issues?
At it's core, Silk:
Does not trust the browser, or even the user, with key storage
Allows universal composability, i.e. usage of same embedded wallet across multiple dapps, by removing trust of any particular dapp
Combines cryptography with policies to eliminate the tradeoff between security and easy UX
Assumes the user always could be compromised (or dumb)
By combining 2PC with policies, Silk allows easy onboarding with self-custody and intelligent risk detection. Silk uses 2PC for noncollusive yet distributed control over the wallet. Silk will support 2PC-MPC as well to reduce dependency on any company to host the infrastructure.
Silk never gives a full private key to the embedded iframe and prevents dApps from signing transactions without user consent. This allows secure use across multiple dApps without having to generate separate keys for each dApp.
Silk is more than just an embedded wallet - it’s a universal account that works across dApps, platforms, and blockchains and redefines how we access and secure our digital lives. By combining the simplicity of traditional web accounts with the advanced security of decentralized cryptographic systems, Silk creates a seamless onboarding experience for users and a powerful tool for developers.
Silk has the intuitive UI of a Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS) but avoids the pitfalls:
Web3-Native Business Model: Silk is free to embed as it doesn’t rely on SaaS fees. Revenue is tied to activity on the Mishti Network and to user actions such swapping, bridging, gas tank, etc.
No Custodial Dependencies: Silk uses 2PC Computation, eliminating single points of failure and ensuring users maintain control of their assets.
Multi-Factor Authorizations: Silk marries the ease-of-use of a web2 login with enclave-enforced security policies that can involve simple rules or even 2FA confirmations on other devices.
