Web3 UX Optimization: Account Abstraction, Intents, CCA(I)

Abstract

There has been a number of debates regarding the most meaningful ways to onboard more users into the world of web3. In my mind, I prefer to compare the nuances of web3 to any good product. Users are attracted because they presume the product will serve their immediate or long term interests/needs. While there is no alternative they will choose to settle with the product as it is. The depth of the need, their overarching interest , the ease of use when leveraging the product, how soon until a better alternative arises, & other minute factors will ultimately determine whether they continue to use the product. With humans being creatures of habit, a good product that serves its target audience well will inevitably have high retention which is a key metric for scale.

The User Experience Quantified

With this in mind, I've come to find the "big 3" that will ultimately become a standard amongst projects & protocols are; Account Abstraction, Intents, & Cross Chain Atomic Interoperability ( abbreviated as CCA(I) ). Please do keep in mind that this is solely in reference to optimizing the UX which has ultimately been plagued with the fragmentation of liquidity, complicated currency swapping experiences, losses in funds, & onboarding complications. While users who have been able to navigate the space up until now were resilient enough to deal with all of the complications & create meaningful systems, the user of the future will not want to experience this. The level of tolerance for mishaps, especially in relation to a user's finances significantly decreases along the adoption curve.

These are precursors to technostress. A term coined by Craig Brod in his 1984 book - Technostress: The Human Cost of the Computer Revolution, technostress references the inability of an individual to cope with a technology that leads to distress. This in my opinion is much quicker to manifest when that technology is directly tied the finances of said user. This inability to cope with the stressors of the technology will reduce adoption.

In the above representation, the idea is to better understand & encapsulate the key elements in which the big3 overlap.

Intents (Blue Circle):

Definition: Users specify high-level goals (intents) that the system translates into specific actions on the blockchain, simplifying user interaction.

Intersections:

With Account Abstraction: Facilitates transaction batching.

With Capital Efficacy: Improves the effectiveness of capital usage by aligning user intents with optimal financial strategies.

With CCA(I): Ensures that user intents are executed across different blockchain networks seamlessly.

CCA(I) - Cross-Chain Atomic Interoperability (Yellow Circle):

Definition: Allows for transactions and operations to be executed across different blockchain networks atomically, ensuring that all parts of a transaction either complete successfully or not at all.

Intersections:

With Intents: Aligns user intents to be fulfilled across multiple blockchains efficiently.

With Unified Liquidity: Enhances liquidity management, enabling seamless access to liquidity across different blockchain networks.

With Capital Efficacy: Ensures that capital is used most effectively across various blockchain networks and actions.

Account Abstraction (Pink Circle):

Definition: Simplifies user interactions with blockchain by abstracting away the complexities of account management. Users don’t need to manage private keys directly, and smart contracts can manage accounts.

Intersections:

With Intents: Leads to transaction batching, allowing multiple transactions to be grouped together, improving efficiency.

With Unified Liquidity: Contributes to UX optimization by streamlining interactions across different liquidity sources.

With Capital Efficacy: Enhances capital efficacy by optimizing how capital is utilized and managed.

Summary

The core goal is a unified & highly optimized user experience. As I mention here -> https://x.com/VontariusF/status/1791159381221839102… The ideal web3 user of the future will know little of the underlying mechanisms & nuanced processes involved. The same way the average vehicle driver has no idea how all of the inner workings of their vehicle operate, they just handle the standard upkeep & usage while a specialist does all of the complex work when its needed. Right now I consider most users within web3 to reside within the area between innovators & early adopters since we haven't reached upwards of 10% mass crypto adoption.

Despite this, this leaves plenty of time & room for "working out the kinks". Having an optimized UX is part of the catalyst for onboarding & arguably the " make or break" element for most people within the first few usage attempts. Small nuances such as these will be key bricks in the foundation for a strong web3 future!

Sidenote: ZK technology is an immense necessity to this as well. Its Zero Knowledge as a safety element or there will nearly be " Zero Scale ".