Vitalik Buterin Outlines Vision For Ideal Crypto Wallet

According to BlockBeats, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has published a new blog post on December 3, detailing his vision for an ideal cryptocurrency wallet. Buterin emphasizes that wallets are a crucial layer of the Ethereum infrastructure stack, often underestimated by core Layer 1 researchers and developers. He argues that wallets serve as the gateway between users and the Ethereum ecosystem, enabling users to benefit from the decentralized, censorship-resistant, secure, and private attributes of Ethereum and its applications, provided the wallets themselves embody these characteristics. In terms of cross-Layer 2 transactions, Buterin suggests adopting a chain-specific address format, such as [email protected], and recommends that wallets automatically handle cross-chain exchanges and transfers. For account security, he advocates for the use of social recovery and multi-signature mechanisms, proposing a 2-of-3 protection scheme for new users that includes zk-email, local keys, and service provider backup keys. Regarding privacy protection, the article stresses the need to integrate features like privacy pools and stealth addresses directly into mainstream wallets to ensure default privacy. On the topic of data storage, Buterin envisions wallets evolving into personal data storage tools, utilizing an M-of-N key sharing mechanism to safeguard user data. Looking ahead, he predicts that emerging technologies such as AI and brain-computer interfaces will fundamentally transform wallet interaction methods. In the realm of decentralized application (Dapp) security, the ideal scenario involves transitioning the ecosystem to on-chain content version control. Users would access Dapps through their ENS names, which would contain the IPFS hash of the interface. Updates to the interface would require on-chain transactions from multi-signatures or DAOs. Wallets would inform users whether they are interacting with a more secure on-chain interface or a less secure web2 interface. Additionally, wallets could indicate whether users are engaging with a secure chain, such as Phase 1+ with multiple security audits.