Ability to sign smart contracts' transactions (dApp interaction)

[mvaivre]

The main goal of this task is to open up the wallet to dApps interaction, the first of which being our voting demo app (PoC), followed by the future swap service.

The main "basic" feature needed is a signer: a way to validate and sign smart contract transactions.

In order to do that, we first wanted to "duplicate" the desktop wallet into a new browser extension, but other solutions exist and need to be discussed. Ideally, we would like to make our Desktop Wallet the go-to solution in order to keep our ecosystem accessible.

Let's use this issue to talk about the different approaches we can follow and their respective pros and cons.

cc/ @nop33 @lf94

[nop33]

The main goal of this task is to open up the wallet to dApps interaction

I started some research, trying to understand what the above statement means. I found out that people refer to wallets that can interact with dApps as Smart Contract Wallets or DeFi Wallets.

Mobile wallets

with dApp browser

I also noticed that some DeFi wallets (ie Metamask, Trust wallet, ...) include a "dApp browser" within the app. This browser allows the user to enter any URL. If the website the user goes to is a web dApp, the user can connect their wallet to the web app, so that the web app can have access to the funds of the wallet.

Click to see Metamask screenshots

Wallet menu	dApp browser homepage	Entering new URL	Open tabs

without dApp browser

OTOH, other wallets (ie Argent) do not include a dApp browser and instead have dedicated interfaces to dApps the wallet can interact with.

Click to see Argent screenshots

Invest tab	Eth2 staking	Aave V2 Intro	Aave V2	Compound

Connecting web dApp with wallet

I checked the following apps and they all have a "connect wallet" button on the top right corner. These are the methods that each of these apps allow the user to connect:

Click to see screenshots

Balancer	Aave	Compound	Curve

[mvaivre]

Thanks @nop33! Just to clarify: our "Smart Contract Wallet" (don't rly like it, too technical) or "DeFi Wallet" (don't rly like it, too restricted) - dApps enabled wallet 🙃 - will be on the desktop first. On mobile, we will start by focusing on funds management only (check your assets per addresses, send and receive transactions). Mobile dApps integration (swap, marketplace) may come once the ecosystem grow bigger.

[polto]

Just to mention, additionally to well integrated dapps, Argent also support WalletConnect to interact with many other not yet integrated dapps. In this case you can browse them on PC or on the same mobile and connect via WalletConnect.

[mvaivre]

Summary of our last discussion :

• We're going to investigate how hard it would be to implement WalletConnect. WalletConnect would be awesome, as it would allow us to keep a simple product line (desktop + mobile app), easy to understand, with a focus on security (no need to play with the mnemonic too much) and UX.

• If the WalletConnect integration looks too complex (would take too much time to implement), we will create a new browser extension, focused on dApp interactions. This would require a specific UI, focused on signing and probably on sending / receiving funds. No advanced features to avoid usage complexity. Details TBD (need proper product design / mgmt).

[lf94]

Update: WalletConnect integration went well and @polarker is currently working on it further.

[nop33]

I guess this task is finished, since the 🚾 integration is there. Maybe we can create other issues for 🚾 related things and archive this one?

[nop33]

I am closing this issue due to inactivity. I believe it has been implemented.