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Chain Abstraction Architecture

Estimated time to read: 4 minutes

Before we get into the details of Arcana's Chain Abstraction (CA) architecture, let's first understand some key concepts.

What is CA?

For Web3 app users, managing multiple chains, tokens, and accounts often leads to liquidity fragmentation in their wallets. Even with sufficient overall token asset balance, users struggle to transact because funds are scattered across several chains. To transact, users must convert assets from two or more source chains into those accepted on the target chain. This is a complex, time-consuming process not everyone can navigate.

Chain Abstraction lets users view and access a unified balance across chains associated with their wallet account, enabling them to transact on any chain. It shifts the focus from having to bootstrap funds to transact on the destination chain to specifying a clear intent for the transaction. This simplifies the transaction process and makes it accessible to a wider audience.

With CA
Arcana's Chain Abstraction

Arcana CA Offerings

Arcana has two CA offerings, one targeted at the Web3 Users and the other for Web3 builders and developers.

  • Arcana CA SDK: Web3 Developers
  • Arcana Wallet (standalone): Web3 Users

**Arcana CA SDK **

The Arcana CA SDK is meant for Web3 builders and app developers. It unifies user balance in the wallet account spread across chains and tokens.

Web3 app builders can integrate Arcana's Chain Abstraction feature via the SDK and let users spend on any chain, as long as they have sufficient funds across chains to cover for the transaction amount and the required gas fee.

Arcana CA SDK Overview
Arcana CA SDK Architecture Overview

Arcana CA Wallet (Standalone)

Web3 users can enjoy unified balance by logging into an app that is integrated with Arcana Chain Abstraction SDK and supports any third-party browser-based wallet. For demonstrating the chain abstraction solution and unified balance feature in the context of some of the popular Web3 apps, Arcana also offers a standalone CA Wallet. This wallet is available for download as a browser extension. Users can install it to try it out and unify user balance spread across many chains and tokens. See wallet Help and FAQ resources for details. Learn more...

CA Benefits

Chain abstraction and unified balances offer the following benefits to Web3 app users and developers:

  • Lower Complexity: Users specify their desired outcome and maximum price. Behind the scenes, solvers handle swaps, conversions, and routing securely and transparently.
  • Unified Liquidity: Users see a consolidated view of their assets across all chains without needing manual bridges or swaps.
  • Simplified UX: It eliminates the technical and time-consuming multi-step hurdles, creating a seamless experience for both experts and casual users by eliminating the clutter between user expectation and reality of blockchain ecosystem.
  • Streamlined DX: Developers can enable unified balances in dApps without altering existing stacks. With the Arcana Chain Abstraction SDK, they can integrate seamlesslyโ€”no need to write smart contracts or manage chain switching for transactions on new chains.

Architecture

Arcana's Chain Abstraction (CA) protocol manages balances across multiple chains and tokens in Web3 apps. It solves liquidity fragmentation by enabling a unified balance across supported chains. The Arcana Vault smart contracts on each supported chain and the solver ecosystem are two key parts of the Arcana CA protocol. Thereโ€™s no auction; itโ€™s a first-come, first-served system where the first solver to accept an intent gets to fulfill it.

The user's EoA state and intents are managed across multiple chains. Approved intents are published for 'solvers' to fulfill. Solvers compete to fulfill these intents and provide liquidity on the destination chain. The protocol handles state transitions and settles solver payments using transaction netting.

How Arcana CA works
How Arcana CA Works

CA Protocol

  1. Developer sets up Arcana Chain Abstraction settings enabling cross chain transactions on selected chain types and required allowances.
  2. App users are required to permit the allowance values or reconfigure them if the app allows. Allowances enable Arcana Vault to collect required funds from the EoA account on one or more source chains, as per the user's intent.
  3. User submits an intent to spend n tokens on a destination chain Y and transact via a Web3 app.
  4. Arcana verifies that user has sufficient funds across the source chains in the user's EoA account and adequate allowances are pre-configured to enable chain abstraction, pay gas fees.
  5. Funds are moved to the Arcana Vault and user's intent is announced to all listening solvers.
  6. The assumption is that one of the available solvers in the system will agree to service the user's intent. As of today, only Arcana solver is supported. We are working with partners to onboard trusted third-party solvers into the ecosystem.
  7. Once the solver services the intent and provides the necessary liquidity on the desired destination chain into the user's EoA, the user can instantly spend it.
  8. Arcana takes care of managing the settlement at the agreed upon periodicity with the successful solvers. The settlement does not happen after every user transaction but after netting and verification process.
  9. In case a transaction fails, or times out waiting for a solver, user's funds deposited from the source chain are refunded within a stipulated time period after verification.

Last update: February 12, 2025 by shaloo, shaloo