MetaMask is testing a ‘transaction routing’ feature that could turn the largest Ethereum wallet into an ‘intent-centric’ protocol – meaning users can rely on third parties to find the best path for their transactions.
The goal of the technology will be to provide optimal execution and an improved user experience.
The routing technology was built by Special Mechanism Group, which bought MetaMask owner Consensys last year. It will eventually be available to third parties.
MetaMask joins a growing field of intent-centric protocols like Uniswap
MetaMask, the most popular crypto wallet on Ethereum, is testing a new “transaction routing” technology that is likely to have a major impact on the way value flows through the second-largest blockchain network.
CoinDesk learned of the new technology from developers briefed on the plan, and key details were subsequently confirmed by officials from MetaMask’s parent company, Consensys.
The effort uses a concept known in blockchain circles as “intentions” that are quickly gaining momentum, potentially leading to a radical shift in the way people interact with blockchains: instead of specifying how they want to get something done (e.g. “sell X tokens on Y exchange for Z price”), blockchain users may only need to specify what they want the outcome to be (e.g., “I want the best price for my tokens”).
The “what” versus “how” distinction may seem subtle, but it is a stark departure from how MetaMask and other crypto wallets originally worked – as neutral, relatively simple pieces of software to connect users to blockchains. The goal of the new technology is to allow users to better execute their transactions and improve ease of use, but intent-based programs ultimately represent a major shift in where – and to whom – value flows on blockchains.
Read more: ‘Intents’ are Blockchain’s big new buzzword. What are they and what are the risks?
The new technology is being built by Special Mechanism Group (SMG), a blockchain infrastructure company that MetaMask owner Consensys bought last year.
According to Consensys, which confirmed details of the project but would only discuss them at a high level, an early version of SMG’s new routing technology is already being used to power ‘Smart Swaps’, a feature in the MetaMask browser extension that helps users swap between tokens .
In the past, a MetaMask user wanting to sell tokens would have had to submit a transaction specifying exactly how, where, and at what price they wanted their tokens sold. With Smart Swaps, an “opt-in” feature based on intent, a user can simply request that MetaMask sell their tokens for the best price they can find.
Once MetaMask fully transitions Smart Swaps to its new architecture, it will be powered by an underground ecosystem of third-party blockchain operators. These third parties will find the optimal route for a given exchange and then execute the required trades on behalf of the user.
Compared to a simple exchange aggregator that finds the best price for an asset by comparing different exchanges, Smart Swaps, with its new routing technology, will have complete freedom over the path needed to fulfill a user’s request.
Consensys says it plans to expand its routing feature beyond Smart Swaps to other transaction types in the coming months, and will also make it available to third parties who want to use it themselves. On MetaMask, the technology will always be ‘optional’, meaning users don’t have to use it if they don’t want to.
Still, there are some risks. MetaMask, as the largest player in the wallet world, could set a precedent for other wallet builders. Considering that the new feature represents a radical rethinking of the way crypto wallets work, the new technology will likely gain some attention as its design becomes clearer.
Intent-centric protocols
With so many apps on Ethereum today, there are endless paths you can take to accomplish a given task, and some will be much more lucrative (or cost less) than others.
With its new transaction routing technology, MetaMask joins a growing field of intent-centric protocols such as Anoma, Uniswap Users provide targeted “intents” to the protocols (e.g. “Give me the best price for my tokens”) rather than step-by-step transaction instructions.
The third parties behind the scenes typically compete with each other to fulfill user requests for the best price, and in return receive transaction fees or other economic incentives.
In addition to improving Ethereum’s user experience, these programs are typically designed to help users avoid the plague of maximum extractable value (MEV), where bots preview Ethereum’s transaction queue to find profitable trading opportunities so they can make marginal profits from end users – sometimes compared to the unsavory practice of front-running.
However, there may be risks to the new intent-based programs, including regulatory considerations and concerns that some routing systems might anchor new power players at key points in a chain’s transaction pipeline. The risks become even greater with the involvement of a player like MetaMask, the first point of contact for a large portion of the transactions hitting Ethereum.
What we know so far
Consensys says it deliberately designed its new routing mechanism to circumvent certain key risks and shift power from the validators proposing blocks (to earn fees and MEV) to the users submitting transactions.
In response to questions from CoinDesk, Consensys provided emailed comments from SMG CEO Jason Linehan indicating that SMG’s technology is different from some other intent-based projects in that “it is not a centralized solution, and it is not a vertical integration.”
When a user makes a request to an intent-centric program, it usually ends up in some sort of private mempool – a waiting area for yet-to-be-processed transactions that is closed off from the standard, “public” Ethereum mempool (a big part of how the protocols protect their users from MEV bots). From there, the intent is picked up by a third-party blockchain operator, known as a “filler,” who bids against other operators to fulfill the user’s intent for the best possible price.
Linehan wouldn’t divulge the details of the SMG mechanism, but he did confirm that it’s some sort of… “auction-based optimization method.” He opposed the idea that SMG a private mempool however.
“We have taken such a unique approach to this technology that it doesn’t quite make sense to call it a private mempool anymore,” Linehan wrote. “People tend to think that it’s a public mempool if every node sees every message, and a private mempool if only some nodes see every message, but why would a node see every message at all?”
MetaMask’s “mechanism is a new design created by SMG and differs significantly from existing solutions,” Linehan told CoinDesk.
Linehan said MetaMask’s transaction router would be completely permissionless, meaning anyone could theoretically participate in the order flow auctions. “There is a role for every seeker, builder and solver, no matter how big or small,” Linehan said.
Linehan also said SMG’s intention would be open to other protocols. “At this stage it’s too early to talk about licensing, but we love open source, so that will play a role,” he said.
“We are currently focused on ensuring that we have built the best system of its kind in terms of security, features, performance and control,” he wrote. “Once we’re happy, everyone in the industry will have the opportunity to use it for themselves, and be free to use it however they want.”