Account Labs CEO Lixin Liu
Account Lab was formed in 2023 following the merger of Keystone and UniPass to democratise access to Web3 through wallet innovations.
Based in Singapore, Account Labs is developing next-gen Web3 Account Abstraction solutions, making decentralised account ownership and management a good experience for individual users and accelerating the adoption of blockchain.
The firm recently raised US$7.7 million in a funding round from Amber Group, MixMarvel DAO Ventures, and Qiming Ventures as it prepared to launch its consumer-focused UniPass wallet app on Polygon.
e27 spoke with Account Labs CEO Lixin Liu to learn more about the company’s offerings, goals, account abstraction, and the entry of Grab into the Web3 space.
Excerpts:
How do you plan to utilise this investment to further your goals in Web3 adoption?
Account Labs is utilising the funds to drive the upcoming wave of mass crypto adoption through peer-to-peer (P2P) stablecoin transfers. This is what the UniPass wallet app offers. The funding will also help with the go-to-market plans for the wallet, starting with the Philippines.
What sets UniPass apart from other wallets in the market?
Most Web3 wallets still have high barriers to entry, requiring users to have a deep understanding of the Web3 world. Most need complex seed phrases to even access and only work within a narrow range of compatibility. Also, many wallets from centralised providers are exposed to high risks, as users can lose their assets, as we have seen with FTX and many other examples.
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Account Labs aims to take Web3 to the mainstream by removing the major bottlenecks to onboarding users to Web3 wallets. With UniPass Wallet, users require no Web3 experience at all, yet can confidently access and manage a secure, self-custody, and easy-to-use Web3 wallet. The user experience feels similar to Web2 transfer apps, and users can recover their accounts with a Google account, massively reducing barriers to entry.
As a smart contract wallet app, UniPass provides gasless stablecoin transactions via account abstraction. This allows users to execute transactions seamlessly without directly paying the high gas fees traditionally associated with these transactions. With the UniPass wallet app, users can manage their own self-custody crypto wallet without remembering recovery phrases, thanks to email or social media-based social recovery.
Could you explain the concept of account abstraction and how it plays a pivotal role in Web3 mass adoption?
Essentially, account abstraction develops smart contracts into wallets; users don’t have to understand or manage what happens in the background when they execute transactions. Instead, it’s similar to when users Venmo cash to a friend.
Furthermore, the brilliance of UniPass Wallet lies in its ability to ensure uninterrupted access to your smart contract wallet, even when transitioning to a new device. With UniPass, users can effortlessly regain access to their smart contract wallet on a new device by logging in with their trusted Google Account. This streamlines and eliminates the cumbersome account recovery procedures.
Stablecoins are becoming increasingly important in the crypto space. How do you see them contributing to the broader Web3 adoption?
Account Labs believes stablecoins are the best way to onboard the next billion users into crypto, from cab drivers in Turkey to gig workers in the Philippines. They are key to unlocking crypto mass adoption. By removing the speculative trading aspect of cryptocurrencies, fiat-backed stablecoins eliminate risks associated with price volatility and are easier for non-web3-natives to grasp and trust.
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As traditional financial institutions begin dipping their toes into the crypto finance industry, stablecoins are an inoffensive, neutral ground everyone’s happy to work with. We’re also seeing more non-USD-backed stablecoins coming to market, which is a fantastic development, offering more diversity. I hope to see stablecoins for all fiat currencies one day.
GameFi (Web3 gaming) laid the groundwork in Southeast Asia among young early adopters; next, stablecoins are how we get the ball rolling on true mass adoption. UniPass wallet specifically supports stablecoins on Polygon and massively improves the user experience via account abstraction so that users don’t need any Web3 experience at all.
Can you elaborate on UniPass Wallet’s user experience, especially for those new to Web3 and cryptocurrency?
As a smart contract wallet, UniPass wallet does away with complex 12-word seed phrases to log in. Wallet owners can simply use their Google account to set up and log into their Web3 wallet, with no Web3 familiarity required. This massively lowers the barrier to entry. Plus, users can top up their UniPass wallet directly with cards or Apple Pay. Users can then send stablecoins directly to other Web3 wallets.
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The UniPass team also spent much time optimising the UI/UX, for example, minimising the clicks required to execute transactions.
What is the significance of UniPass wallet’s ultra-low fees and the reimbursement of three transfers per day per user?
Gas fees are a major barrier to Web3 adoption, as no one likes to pay high fees. If we can’t reduce fees compared to traditional finance options, then we aren’t being innovative enough.
With UniPass, we’re leveraging account abstraction so that users pay transaction fees in stablecoins, rather than any blockchain’s native token, which helps to lower the overall cost. We are also reimbursing the fees for up to three daily transactions per user to encourage users to try out the wallet and discover this next-level financial service.
Grab recently launched a Web3 wallet. What does this mean for the web3 vertical?
Grab’s wallet uses NFTs to power a loyalty programme, which is a great example of how Web3 can align with existing marketing programmes in the Web2 world. It’s a step in the right direction, but users cannot pay for taxis or take-out with their stablecoins through Grab, for example. With UniPass wallet, they can.
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Image Credit: Account Labs
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