While researching about ERC 4337 protocol in the Proof of Concept phase of the BLOK Capital protocol, we were keen to explore paymasters to identify the possibilities of simplifying the user experience in blockchain and DeFi.
BLOK Capital is a decentralised wealth management platform that is powered by account abstraction and ERC-4337. One of the key benefits of BLOK Capital is that it makes it easy and affordable for users to transact on the blockchain. This is thanks to the BLOK Capital Paymaster.
What is a Paymaster?
A Paymaster is a smart contract that can pay for the gas fees associated with transactions executed by other users. This is useful for applications that want to make it easier and more affordable for their users to interact with the blockchain.
How does the BLOK Capital Paymaster work?
When a user initiates a transaction on the BLOK Capital platform, the BLOK Capital Paymaster will automatically pay for the gas fees associated with that transaction. This means that users do not need to worry about having enough ETH in their wallets to cover gas fees.
In addition to making transactions easier and more affordable, the BLOK Capital Paymaster also offers a number of other benefits, such as:
How to use the BLOK Capital Paymaster
To use the BLOK Capital Paymaster, simply connect to the BLOK Capital platform using your Web3 wallet. Once you are connected, you can start initiating transactions without having to worry about gas fees.
For example, if you want to swap one token for another on the BLOK Capital platform, simply select the tokens you want to swap and the amount you want to swap. The BLOK Capital Paymaster will automatically calculate the gas fees associated with the transaction and pay them on your behalf.
Benefits of the BLOK Capital Paymaster for users
The BLOK Capital Paymaster offers a number of benefits for users, including:
Technical Architecture of the BLOK Capital Paymaster
The BLOK Capital Paymaster is implemented as a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain. It has a number of public functions that can be used to interact with it, such as:
deposit(): This function allows users to deposit ETH into the paymaster contract. This ETH will be used to pay for gas fees on behalf of users.withdraw(): This function allows users to withdraw ETH from the paymaster contract.execute(): This function allows users to execute a transaction on their behalf. The paymaster contract will pay for the gas fees associated with the transaction.The BLOK Capital Paymaster uses a number of internal functions to implement its logic. For example, it uses a bundler to batch multiple transactions together and a gas estimator to estimate the gas costs associated with a transaction.
Simplest Example Code
The following code shows an simplest example of how to use the BLOK Capital Paymaster execute a transaction on the Ethereum blockchain. The detailed and complex architecture will be updated with V1 launch.
// Importing the BLOK Capital Paymaster contract import { BLOKCapitalPaymaster } from "@blokcapital/paymaster/contracts/BLOKCapitalPaymaster.sol"; // Creating a BLOK Capital Paymaster object const paymaster = new BLOKCapitalPaymaster(); // Deposit ETH into the paymaster contract paymaster.deposit({ value: ethers.utils.parseEther("1") }); // Execute a transaction on behalf of the user paymaster.execute( // The transaction to be executed { to: ethers.utils.parseAddress("0x1234567890ABCDEF"), value: ethers.utils.parseEther("1"), data: "0x123", }, // The address of the user on whose behalf the transaction is being executed { from: "0xABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKL" } );
The Future of Blockchain Transactions with BLOK Capital Paymaster:
BLOK Capital Paymaster is a significant step forward in making blockchain transactions more user-friendly, secure, and cost-effective. By handling gas fees and simplifying the transaction process, it empowers users to engage with cryptocurrencies and decentralized wealth management without the worries that often deter newcomers.
As BLOK Capital continues to evolve and improve its protocol, the Paymaster will play a crucial role in providing a seamless experience for users, ensuring that the platform remains at the forefront of the decentralized finance (DeFi) revolution.
This article only represents overview of the Paymaster. Microscopic analysis & information about each aspects of paymaster will be updated in upcoming launch of Version 1.0.0.
*Above information is subject to change with protocol & technology improvement.
During August — November 2022, the idea was born whilst I was deep diving into Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) and ultimately what it takes for them to be successful.
I was extremely fascinated by the concept of an organization being run autonomously and governed by the people, by the community.
No middleman between you and your assets.
I was keen that the whole world could participate in the use of blockchain technology and to be able to confidently invest in Crypto.
With the collapse of FTX, it was clear it was time for a change and to work purely on a solution that was fully decentralised, including the projects governance.
To achieve this, it became abundantly clear the Web3 User Experience (Web3 UX) was simply not capable of delivering the projects requirements, namely, pure decentralisation and self custody unless a user was extremely experienced in Crypto.
It also was clear that the protocol needed to be able to pay gas fees on behalf of a user to simplify the user experience and enable novice users, the billions of web2 users, to be able to start using Web3.
I began to deep dive into Web3 UX and found improvements in Smart Contract Wallet Accounts, but felt it still was not enough progress to onboard the billions of people, the novice users, onto the Blockchain.
On further deep diving, I came across the Ethereum Foundations, ERC 4337 protocol in development as a document, which was formally released 6 months later in May 2023.
I was convinced ERC 4337 and account abstraction was the answer to solve the issues that concerned me with the current problems with the Web3 UX and also came across another feature of ERC4337 in Session Keys. I was now aware that another party could be given a cryptographic key to a specific function on a user’s Smart Contract Account. This opened up more opportunities in the types of applications that could be deployed on the blockchain.
In Late 2022, With a thorough understanding of DAOs, ERC 4337, Paymasters, Bundlers and Sessions keys on one whiteboard session while trying to improve governance smart contracts, the idea suddenly appeared.
All the dots were connected, and very quickly, further deep diving was underway that it was now possible to revolutionise the entire Wealth Management or Fund Industry.
I believe our protocol uses every square inch of ERC 4337 and that we are one of the worlds first protocols to be doing so, if not the first.
why should we send our money to fund managers when all we want them to do is grow it?
The concept of Gardens and Gardeners came forth almost immediately as an analogy and the Vision was written the same day which is the same as today in the Whitepaper.
Our Vision:
To create a DeFi protocol that enables decentralised wealth management for all walks of life, to reduce the wealth gap and drive financial inclusion.
