Keystone And UniPass Merge To Form Account Labs
In a groundbreaking move, Keystone and UniPass, two prominent players in the blockchain industry, have announced their merger to form a new entity called Account Labs. The merger brings together the expertise of both teams to tackle the challenges surrounding Web3 account abstraction and aims to revolutionize the way users interact with decentralized accounts.
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As the crypto industry grapples with frequent digital asset losses, the Web3 world is in dire need of comprehensive technical solutions to restore market confidence.
Account Labs is poised to take on this challenge, promising to safeguard Web3 account security and promote…
— UniPass|ERC-4337 (@UniPassID) May 20, 2023
Keystone and UniPass Merger
Under the leadership of Liu Lixin, the CEO and founder of Keystone, Account Labs will focus on various aspects of the Web3 Account Abstraction (AA) sector. This includes cryptographic research, software engineering, product design, and security measures. By combining their strengths, the newly formed company seeks to create seamless solutions that empower millions of users to effortlessly manage and control their decentralized accounts.
The adoption of Web3 accounts has been a significant hurdle for many individuals seeking to enter the Web3 space. The complex processes, unfamiliar concepts, and security threats associated with decentralized accounts have deterred potential users. Account Labs aims to eliminate these barriers and facilitate the transition into the Web3 era for a wider audience.
Account Abstraction
Account Abstraction, or AA, is at the core of Account Labs’ vision. In simple terms, AA can be likened to the transition from manual transmission cars to automatic vehicles. While External Owned Accounts (EOAs) represent the manual transmission cars of the blockchain world, AA transforms these accounts into functionally superior entities. AA enables programmability, batch transactions, flexible payment methods for transaction fees, and varying signature permissions, among other features. This programmability enhances the user experience and expands the capabilities of Web3 accounts.
Account Labs Roadmap
Account Labs has devised a comprehensive roadmap to realize its vision of introducing hundreds of millions of users to the Web3 world. The initial phase involves infiltrating existing markets and validating AA through practical applications, thoroughly testing technical architecture, contract security, and business models. In the subsequent stage, AA technology will be employed to onboard Web2 users to various projects, such as decentralized versions of popular platforms, leading consumer brands, and traditional game makers’ Web3.0 initiatives.
In the final phase, Account Labs plans to integrate AA as a critical infrastructure component in three specific applications. These include establishing a fresh international economic system through cryptocurrency payments, aiding developing nations in constructing robust identity systems using Decentralized Identity (DID), and tokenizing large-scale scenarios like online education. Simultaneously, UniPass will transition from an SDK (Account as a Service) to a standalone application, serving as a primary gateway for users to manage their crypto assets and digital identities.
As Account Abstraction gains prominence, the Keystone hardware wallet is expected to play a crucial role. Capital influx into the AA system during the later stages will require a more secure signature process. AA can facilitate the use of seedless hardware wallets, mitigating risks associated with improper seed phrase storage and making hardware wallet usage more accessible and secure.