The account abstraction, also known as "smart accounts," could eventually bring 1 billion users from the Asia region to Web3, according to an executive at Ethereum software solutions provider ConsenSys.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, ConsenSys director of strategic initiatives Laura Shi noted that the Ethereum and Web3 ecosystem has seen strong expansion in Asia this year.
โMore dApps are improving UX for the Asian market, including introducing support for Asian languages,โ he said.
Shi added that this expansion is primarily driven by the introduction of zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) stacks and the mass adoption of optimistic stacks.
The two cumulative packs are Layer 2 scaling solutions with zkEVM offering developers security, scalability and direct compatibility with Ethereum smart contracts.
Shi believes that the development of account abstractionoffering greater programmable functionality and more โbank-likeโ features than a normal crypto wallet, would increase adoption in the region.
โThe development of account abstraction will make it easier to bring billions of APAC users to Web3โ
Account abstraction was proposed by Vitalik Buterin and other developers in EIP-4337 to โavoid consensus layer protocol changes altogether, relying instead on a higher layer infrastructure,โ in September 2021. However, the concept goes much further back in the Ethereum timeline.
According to Chainalysis' 2022 Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index, the two main countries that adopted cryptocurrencies in the world were in Asia: Vietnam and the Philippines. Thailand, China, and India all made the top 10 despite anti-crypto sentiments from their respective governments.
Shi believes that mass adoption in Asia is also being driven by social gaming and web3 gamesciting South Korea and China as examples.
"South Korean game publishers continuously focus on publishing RPG Web3 games, trying to optimize the sustainability of the chain economic model," Shi said.
โMeanwhile, the Chinese-speaking developer ecosystem is focusing on bringing Web2 users into Web3 games by adopting account abstraction solutions.โ
Both use cases will rely heavily on zkEVM builds and account abstraction development, he added.
โFrom a use case perspective, we see that Web3 gaming and social content has the most potential in the coming years. It is powered by [a] zkEVM cumulative solution and [an] account abstraction solution that allows the subsidy of the gas rate and social recoveryโ.
Related: The current dominance of games in Asia is 'crucial' for Web3 games
When asked if the current crackdown on the US industry could be driving the growth of the Ethereum and Web3 ecosystem in Asia, Shi said he did not see any correlation.
"So far we have not observed any direct correlation between these and the regulatory dynamics in the United States."
The shift to Asia has been a hot topic recently, as US cryptocurrency and Web3 companies look for friendlier jurisdictions in the Far East.
However, the Ethereum ecosystem in Asia seems to be doing just fine on its own without Uncle Sam's catalyst. war against cryptocurrencies.
Magazine: Crypto City: Guide to Osaka, the second largest city in Japan