Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has called for significant improvements in the security and privacy features of Web3 wallets.
In a detailed blog post published on December 3, Buterin outlined the shortcomings of current wallet designs and proposed enhancements to address these issues.
Highlighting wallets as a critical layer of Ethereum’s infrastructure, Buterin emphasized that a user’s access to decentralization, security, and privacy depends heavily on the wallet's own properties. He expressed concern over the lack of attention wallets receive from Layer 1 (L1) researchers and developers compared to other aspects of Ethereum's ecosystem.
Buterin advocated for the adoption of social recovery and multi-signature (multisig) wallets to protect users from both external threats and their own errors. His proposed model includes a primary key for low-value operations and a network of guardians—trusted individuals, devices, or services—responsible for authorizing high-value transactions or account recovery.
The Ethereum co-founder also suggested integrating advanced privacy-preserving tools like zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-SNARKs) for identity management. These tools could allow users to prove their identity without exposing sensitive information, making wallets more secure for everyday and high-value use cases.
In addition to security, Buterin stressed the need for wallets to integrate privacy features directly. He proposed using privacy pools and stealth addresses to anonymize transactions, along with generating unique addresses for different decentralized applications (dApps) to reduce data linkage.
Buterin argued that the current reliance on specialized privacy wallets, such as Umbra or Railway, creates barriers for users. Instead, privacy features should be native to all wallets to enhance adoption and simplify user experience.
To improve usability, Buterin called for wallets to facilitate cross-chain transactions seamlessly. He proposed implementing built-in chain-specific addresses and payment requests that simplify sending assets across Layer 2 (L2) networks and beyond.
Buterin concluded by envisioning wallets as not just tools for managing assets but as repositories for private data and active protectors against scams and other threats. He urged wallet developers to explore advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and cryptographic protocols, to future-proof their designs.