The decentralized future just took a major leap forward. On August 9, 2024, NEAR announced the mainnet launch of Chain Signatures, a groundbreaking solution that redefines what’s possible in multi-chain Web3 development. This innovation ushers in true chain abstraction, enabling seamless, user-friendly experiences across all blockchains—without compromising security or decentralization.
Chain Signatures leverages a decentralized multi-party computation (MPC) network to allow NEAR-based accounts to sign transactions on any blockchain protocol. Unlike traditional bridges or cross-chain messaging systems, Chain Signatures doesn’t rely on native integrations for each chain. Instead, it operates universally—supporting Ethereum, Bitcoin, Cosmos, and soon Solana—making it the only MPC solution capable of empowering smart contracts to sign transactions across chains on behalf of users.
How Chain Signatures Work: The Core Innovation
At the heart of Chain Signatures is NEAR’s unique account model: every NEAR account is, by default, a smart contract. This foundational design enables smart contracts to act as signers across blockchains through an MPC network. In practice, this means developers can build dApps on NEAR that interact with any chain—without writing separate logic for each protocol.
This eliminates the complexity traditionally associated with multi-chain development. Instead of managing multiple wallets, gas tokens, and bridging steps, users experience a unified interface where assets and interactions flow freely across ecosystems.
For developers, this reduces multi-chain integration from a multi-layered challenge to a single layer: the NEAR smart contract. The result? Faster development cycles, broader reach, and a significantly improved user journey.
Real-World Adoption: 6M+ Users Already Onboard
As of launch, over 6 million users are already engaging with Chain Signature-powered applications. More than 15 additional projects are actively building on the protocol, signaling strong momentum in the ecosystem.
Here are some of the first dApps leveraging Chain Signatures on mainnet:
- Sweat Wallet: With 2.5 million active users on NEAR, Sweat Wallet now enables seamless asset bridging between chains like BNB and Base. Users can pay gas fees using $SWEAT, abstracting away the need for native gas tokens.
- Allstake: Live on NEAR, Solana, and Ethereum, Allstake supports top Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) and Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRTs), including LiNEAR, Marinade, Jito, Renzo, and EtherFi.
- HERE Wallet: Available on mobile, web, and Telegram, HERE Wallet supports transactions across any chain. Its intuitive interface showcases the power of chain abstraction in action.
- Bitte Wallet: A keyless wallet supporting even Bitcoin. It integrates with Ethereum-based dApps via WalletConnect, offering a unified access point across ecosystems.
- Defuse: A true multi-chain spot DEX that enables instant trades between assets on any chain—no wrapping or bridging required.
These applications exemplify the shift toward universal access and frictionless interaction—core tenets of next-gen Web3 UX.
The Role of Multi-Chain Gas Relayer
A critical component enhancing Chain Signatures is the Multi-Chain Gas Relayer. Traditionally, users must acquire native gas tokens (like ETH or MATIC) to transact on new chains—an often confusing and costly barrier.
With the gas relayer, users pay only in assets they already hold—such as USDC, USDT, or NEAR—while the system automatically covers gas fees on the target chain. This gas abstraction layer removes one of the biggest pain points in cross-chain activity.
Imagine swapping tokens on Solana without owning SOL or staking on Ethereum without holding ETH. That’s the reality Chain Signatures enables today.
👉 See how developers are building seamless dApps without gas friction—explore real use cases now.
Expert Insights: Why This Changes Everything
Kendall Cole of Proximity Labs, a key contributor to Chain Signatures, emphasized its transformative potential:
“Chain Signatures are essential for replacing today’s fragmented Web3 landscape with a single user and developer layer. This innovation solves current interoperability challenges, unlocks DeFi functionality on non-smart contract chains like Bitcoin, and allows developers to support all blockchains seamlessly. By eliminating bridges, we dramatically increase liquidity mobility and utility across ecosystems.”
Illia Polosukhin, Co-Founder of NEAR Protocol and CEO of the NEAR Foundation, added:
“Chain Signatures bring chain abstraction into reality. No more juggling dozens of wallets, manual bridging, or paying gas in unfamiliar tokens. Now, all DeFi can be accessed from wherever the user is. Smart contracts can sign transactions even on Bitcoin—opening a new design space for financial applications and welcoming a broader audience into Web3.”
Security & Decentralization: Built to Scale
Security is paramount. At mainnet launch, Chain Signatures’ MPC network is secured by eight reputable validators:
- Pagoda
- Luganodes
- The Lifted Initiative
- InfStones
- Staking4All
- Node.Monster
- Black Sand Technologies
- Aurora
The roadmap includes expanding to 40+ independent nodes, with each signature requiring consensus from at least 27. This ensures robust fault tolerance and resistance to centralization.
An initial audit was conducted by Kudelski Security, with the final report soon to be published on Chain Signatures’ GitHub repository.
Technical Roadmap: Expanding Capabilities by Year-End
Chain Signatures already supports all blockchains using the ECDSA elliptic curve, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and NEAR itself.
Upcoming enhancements include:
- EDDSA support (Q4 2024): To enable signing on Solana, TON, and other EDDSA-based chains.
- Throughput increase: Targeting 300 transactions per second by year-end to match NEAR’s sharding capacity.
- Validator expansion: Gradually increasing node count to over 40 for greater decentralization and resilience.
By the end of 2024, Chain Signatures aims to support every known blockchain, making it the universal signing layer for Web3.
FAQ: Your Questions Answered
Q: What is chain abstraction?
A: Chain abstraction hides the complexity of interacting with multiple blockchains. Users experience a single, unified interface regardless of which chain they’re using.
Q: Can Chain Signatures work with Bitcoin?
A: Yes. Chain Signatures enables smart contracts to sign Bitcoin transactions via MPC—unlocking DeFi capabilities on Bitcoin for the first time.
Q: Do users need to trust a centralized party?
A: No. The MPC network is decentralized and permissionless. No single entity controls signing authority.
Q: How does gas abstraction work?
A: Users pay in any supported token (e.g., USDC), and the system automatically converts it to cover gas fees on the target chain—no need to hold native tokens.
Q: Is Chain Signatures secure?
A: Yes. It has undergone rigorous auditing by Kudelski Security and relies on a distributed validator set to prevent single points of failure.
Q: Can I build with Chain Signatures today?
A: Absolutely. Developers can access documentation and tools at near.org/chain-abstraction to start building full-chain dApps immediately.
👉 Start building the next generation of universal dApps—access developer resources today.
Final Thoughts: A Unified Web3 Is Here
Chain Signatures mark a pivotal moment in blockchain evolution. By enabling smart contracts to sign across chains—including Bitcoin—it dissolves the barriers that have long fragmented Web3.
For developers, it’s a powerful toolkit for building truly universal applications. For users, it’s freedom from complexity—accessing any chain with one wallet, one token, and one seamless flow.
This isn’t just an upgrade. It’s a reimagining of what decentralized applications can be.
Core Keywords: Chain Signatures, chain abstraction, multi-chain dApp, MPC network, gas abstraction, NEAR protocol, cross-chain interoperability