Announcing Openfort Identity

When Openfort started a little more than a year ago, we were one of the first to build a compatible ERC4337 implementation of a smart account for web3 games. Our solution helped many get started onchain with much simpler transaction signing, gasless transactions, support for native game frameworks, and more.

To support developers in onboarding more people into their products, we're thrilled to introduce Openfort Identity. This new solution combines authentication, embedded signing, and smart accounts to create a seamless, user-friendly experience for web3 applications and games.

In the coming weeks, we'll start to roll out Openfort Identity to customers. If you're interested in early access, we'd love to talk with you.

The crypto-enabled stack

We're observing widespread adoption of tools designed to streamline on-chain interactions, integrating various technologies to bridge the gap between the visibility and usability of blockchain.

We talk to developers every day, and while people are excited, we also see that making sense of the current crypto stack is harder than ever. Let's break it down with a simple mental model: the crypto-enabled stack.

At a high level, making onchain actions mainstream involves three layers:

1. Authentication: Who is executing the onchain actions
2. Embedded Signer: How the actions are authorized and controlled
3. Smart Account: Where those actions are "recorded" and how they affect the state

Openfort Identity combines all three layers to create a comprehensive solution that addresses the challenges and limitations of traditional blockchain systems.

The Authentication Layer

Who makes the onchain actions

Openfort Identity challenges the traditional approach of equating users directly with their wallet addresses. Instead, we implement a more nuanced, accessible approach to user authentication.

This layer allows users to log in using conventional methods such as email, social media accounts, or even existing wallet credentials, seamlessly integrating web3 with everyday web experiences. This approach ensures that users, regardless of their familiarity with blockchain technology, can engage with blockchain-based applications more naturally and securely.

The Openfort Auth architecture allows you to combine existing auth providers tailored for games (e.g., Unity Gaming Services) and connect them with multiple accounts. This helps you have richer data about your users and manage those players more effectively.

The Embedded Signer Layer

How onchain actions are made

The Embedded Signer Layer represents the mechanism through which users authorize blockchain transactions. Traditionally, this process has been cumbersome, requiring users to manage private keys and understand complex blockchain concepts.

By decoupling the signer from the user's identity, Openfort enables a more flexible and secure approach to transaction authorization. This layer is crucial for maintaining the security and integrity of transactions while providing a user-friendly interface that abstracts away the complexities of key management.

In Openfort's embedded signer, this layer works seamlessly with the Authentication Layer, ensuring that users can safely and easily authorize transactions without needing to understand the underlying mechanisms.

The Smart Account Layer

Where the onchain actions are executed

The Smart Account Layer is where the on-chain activities and user assets reside. Openfort's approach separates the user's account from their signing capabilities, offering enhanced flexibility and control.

This layer utilizes smart accounts, leveraging ERC-4337 standards, to create a more dynamic and user-friendly experience. Users benefit from features such as gasless transactions, automated batch transactions, and enhanced security measures, all while maintaining control over their assets.

Openfort's Smart Account Layer is designed to work smoothly with the Authentication and Embedded Signer Layers, creating a cohesive system that enhances user experiences and security.

Putting it all together: Openfort Identity

By integrating these three layers - Authentication, Embedded Signer, and Smart Account - Openfort Identity provides a comprehensive solution that addresses the challenges and limitations of traditional blockchain systems. In the diagram above, you can see how Openfort Identity can be used in various ways, depending on your architecture and target user base.

Games have different needs than web-based applications, with varying platforms, architectures, and user bases. With Openfort Identity, you can plug and play various combinations and configure the setup beyond any wallet extension.

The Road Ahead

With Openfort Identity establishing a solid foundation for the crypto stack, we're now focusing on seamless account interoperability. This journey demands meticulous attention to security and developer impact across multiple applications. Interoperability unlocks deep benefits for users and developers alike, including:

• Easier on-ramps: No need to onramp assets again after doing it once.
• Simple asset visibility: Enable developers to view assets across all apps used.
• Secure asset composability: Enable users to act on their assets across apps.

Today, our current offerings include batched transactions to transfer assets from EOA wallets and communication protocols like WalletConnect or SeaPort. The team is also exploring solutions like linking/unlinking signers and integrations with identity hubs to enable the next generation of connectivity. Stay tuned for more exciting developments in Openfort!