Interpreting Lens V2: Will ERC-6551 Bring the iPhone Moment for Web3?
Interpreting Lens V2: Will ERC-6551 Bring the iPhone Moment for Web3?
The social protocol Lens Protocol officially launched in May last year. After over a year of growth, Lens has established its own ecosystem, with more than a hundred projects built on the Lens platform. The number of users holding Lens Profiles has exceeded 110,000, making it a leading social project.
During the recent Ethereum ETHCC event in Paris, Lens founder Stani unveiled Lens Protocol V2, a significant step towards achieving an open and decentralized social networking layer.
In this article, we will first introduce several key changes in Lens V2 upgrades and then delve into the real protagonist—the changes that ERC-6551 brings to Lens.
Upgrade of Lens V2
Upgrade of Lens V2 Several key changes in Lens V2 are as follows:
- Open Actions: Smart contracts will now be embedded into Lens posts, enhancing interactivity. In simple terms, Lens is no longer just an information feed platform; it can directly integrate various Dapps, allowing users to interact with external smart contracts within their published posts.
For instance, you can directly click "Mint" on a Lens post and use the OpenSea contract to create an NFT on Lens.
Alternatively, when you discover favorable lending rates for the GHO stablecoin, you can insert the interface from AAVE's GHO lending contract into your posted content. This enables other users to one-click borrow through the interface. This integration could even support cross-chain operations, with plans to leverage oracle support for expansion to Ethereum and other layer-2 networks in the future.
Collective Value Share
Within the creator-driven economic chain of Lens, creators serve as the originators of creative content across various Lens applications.
This content is propagated to target audiences through algorithmic recommendations, which can include end-users or suitable curators. Content can also gain greater exposure through curators' resharing, thus attracting more attention.
Ultimately, end-users have the opportunity to financially support valuable creative content through various collection methods.
Throughout the entire chain of value transmission within the creator economy, each step plays a crucial role. A robust creator economy system should strike a balance in considering the interests of each role.
Creators can share revenue to incentivize those who contribute throughout the value chain, thus enhancing the value chain itself and reinforcing the business model of ecosystem partners.
Illustrating this process with an example: a creator posts an article on Orb, a user comments on it, and then another user discovers the article through a different application (such as Buttrfly) due to the comment and finds it meaningful enough to pay to collect the article.
In this journey, algorithms and curators alike now have the opportunity to share in the revenue, fostering more interactions and engagement.
Profiles V2
The introduction of ERC-6551 enables each Lens Profile to create a smart contract wallet account, thereby gaining full Ethereum account functionality, including the ability to hold NFT and token assets and interact with Dapps.
With this enhancement, Lens Profiles acquire programmability and interoperability. The account, acting as a wallet, can possess and control assets, while also being able to log in and initiate interactions. This empowers Lens Profiles to establish new systems of engagement.
Through these changes, the social asset framework shifts from the original NFT to Wallet concept to NFT to Profile. Consequently, the inherent value of the Profile is significantly augmented. The value of all social network relationships is directly attached to the Lens Profile.
Profile Manager
The account management feature of Lens V2 offers users more flexible choices. Now, Lens Profiles can be hosted in a secure cold wallet, while social functionalities like posting and commenting can be delegated to other wallets for operation. This further decouples the association between Profile and wallet addresses, enhancing security.
Lens V2 supports more association modes. A single Profile can now be linked to multiple wallet addresses, delegating different actions to different wallets for management. Conversely, a single wallet address can manage multiple Profiles.
Users can also delegate wallet functions to certain dApps, allowing for a decentralized social experience without the need for gas or signatures.
Furthermore, V2 introduces support for abstract addresses as Profile Managers, enabling users to explore a wider range of application scenarios and use cases.
Trust and Security
In Lens V2, the following features have been introduced to safeguard users' social environment and account security.
Firstly, there is an on-chain blocking feature where users can add other users to a blacklist, preventing any interaction such as following, commenting, or reposting with these users.
Additionally, the Profile Guardian mechanism from LIP-4 has been incorporated, enhancing the security of Lens Profiles and minimizing the risk of phishing and theft of Lens Profiles.
Now, users need to wait for a 7-day cooldown period before transferring a Lens Profile, allowing more time to protect assets.
The introduction of these security features makes Lens V2 a more reliable and secure platform.
In the context of Lens V2's feature updates, it's foreseeable that more open actions will bring about an enhanced user experience, enabling users to perform interactions with the external world within Lens. The creator economy has long been a focus of Lens, and the sharing of revenue in the social chain is not a sudden realization.
However, among these upgrades, what truly has a profound impact on Lens is the account system upgrade, specifically the introduction of ERC-6551 to Lens Profiles. Understanding the changes brought about by ERC-6551 is essential to grasp the evolution of the Lens account system.
ERC-6551
ERC-6551 was first proposed in the Ethereum community just this February, but it rapidly became one of the highlights of this year. During the ETHGlobal Waterloo hackathon, out of 11 projects, 4 were related to it.
The objective of ERC-6551 is to create a smart contract wallet for every ERC-721 type NFT. This wallet possesses all the functionalities of an Ethereum wallet account, allowing it to connect and log in to various dApps, interact with other smart contracts, hold different tokens and NFT assets, and is forward-compatible with all ERC-721 NFTs. This signifies that all existing NFTs on the market will be able to have their own smart contract wallet accounts!
As illustrated above, the NFT holder (User Account) possesses NFT A and NFT B. Each of these NFTs can generate one or multiple smart contract wallet accounts (Account A/B/C) through the ERC-6551 compliant Registry, or in other words, they can be bound to accounts.
The owner of the generated NFT-bound accounts is the NFT itself, not the NFT holder. However, the operational control over the NFT-bound accounts is effectively managed by the NFT holder.
In other words, the accounts are tied to the NFTs. If an NFT holds tokens or NFT assets, these assets will be transferred collectively when the NFT is transferred. The control over the NFT-bound account will be transferred entirely to the next holder's possession.
Account System in Lens V1
Ethereum Accounts as Primary, Lens Profiles as Supplementary
After grasping ERC-6551's implications, let's revisit Lens' original account system. NFTs are one of the pivotal elements within Lens' account framework:
Individual accounts Lens Profiles themselves are NFTs. Actions on Lens, such as following and collecting, are also executed through minting NFTs in corresponding forms. These NFTs are then sent to the Ethereum address of the holder.
Evidently, in this account system, Ethereum wallets remain the central entity. Profile NFTs function like membership cards, enabling holders to deeply engage within the Lens ecosystem, while filtering out wallets lacking Lens Profile NFTs.
Account System in Lens V2
Lens Profiles as Primary, Ethereum Accounts as Supplementary
With ERC-6551 enabling each Lens account to generate a smart contract wallet, the binding wallets generated by Lens Profiles now possess the full functionality of Ethereum wallets. This includes interactions with dApps, asset holdings, and more. This equilibrium has effectively decoupled Lens accounts from Ethereum wallets.
Consequently, Lens Profile accounts are naturally elevated within the Lens ecosystem, achieving an independent status separate from Ethereum wallets. This shift brings about changes in the following systems: the follower ecosystem and the collection ecosystem.
For instance, the follower NFTs generated when a fan follows a profile or the NFTs minted through collection mechanisms no longer belong to Ethereum wallet assets. Instead, they are assets within the Lens account. Even revenue earned through creative monetization is directly distributed to the Lens account.
Through this transformation, all interaction records and creative endeavors tied to a Profile become part of the Lens account's value. This imbues accounts with uniqueness and growth potential. Attaching the value of social network relationships entirely to Lens Profiles significantly amplifies their worth.
When users contemplate trading Lens Profiles on OpenSea, it's no longer just about trading NFTs. The implicit account value needs consideration. For instance, an artist's Lens account might continually receive royalties, and acquiring their account equates to obtaining future royalty income.
Beyond added value, ERC-6551 has also unlocked numerous new scenarios for Lens accounts:
Gaming Accounts
A focal point of Lens is the gaming domain, as games inherently carry social attributes. Following the V2 upgrade, users can directly log into games using their Lens Profile. Any equipment and earnings acquired in the game are attributed to their Lens account.
This facilitates one-click sale of gaming accounts, encompassing comprehensive gaming records and assets rather than disparate NFTs.
DAO Management
Lens-based DAOs can distribute contribution records of all members in the form of SBTs (Social Blockchain Tokens) directly to their corresponding Lens accounts, rather than the Ethereum addresses of the holders.
Consequently, richer credentials within a Lens account correlate with greater contributions, facilitating member contribution management within the DAO.
Account Operations
Presently, project teams need to fully entrust account passwords to operational personnel while managing Twitter accounts. This inherently carries the risk of being compromised.
In contrast, if account operations were conducted on Lens, official account Profiles could securely reside in cold wallets, with operational permissions delegated to designated personnel. This approach minimizes the risk of official Twitter accounts being hacked or used to spread phishing and false information.
NFT Communities Built on Lens
Lens accounts can possess other assets, and likewise, other NFTs can possess Lens accounts. This functionality provides NFTs with their social relationships and voices. Holders of NFTs from the same series can establish follower chains on Lens, form communities, and reinforce consensus.
For instance, a CryptoKitty can possess a Lens Profile, follow other CryptoKitties, create and share content, thus constructing its own value chain on Lens.
Summary
The most significant change brought by Lens V2 is the introduction of ERC-6551, which upgrades the account system by evolving Profiles from NFTs into smart contract wallet accounts. This enhancement greatly augments composability and operability across the platform.
The shift is from interactions centered around Ethereum accounts to interactions centered around Lens Profiles. ERC-6551 has the potential to bring forth a multitude of new application scenarios for Lens, while the open development environment will serve as fertile ground for the emergence of more refined, small-scale products.
Please specify source if reproducedInterpreting Lens V2: Will ERC-6551 Bring the iPhone Moment for Web3? | CoinNav- Blockchain Trading Starts Here
Related posts
