Introducing Intent-Centric Interface

TL;DR

• User-Centric Design: Mycel redefines blockchain interaction with an Intent-Centric Interface, focusing on user intents rather than the complexities of the technology.
• ID-Based, Cross-Chain, Gas-Free Transactions: Mycel introduces ID-based transfers, enabling seamless, cross-chain asset movement without the need for managing native tokens for gas fees.

Introduction

Despite rapid technological advancements in Web3, the user experience of navigating the blockchain remains complex. Current blockchain interfaces demand a high-level of technical know-how from users, from understanding gas fees and network congestion to managing private keys and navigating multiple protocols. This complexity has posed a significant barrier to widespread adoption, confining blockchain’s revolutionary potential to a niche audience.

Enter the concept of ‘Intent-centric Architecture’. Spotlighted by Paradigm, a leading venture capital firm in the Web3 industry, this design philosophy rethinks how users interact with the blockchain. At its core, intent-centric architecture is about simplifying the blockchain user experience by focusing on what the user wants to achieve rather than how to achieve it. This makes user interactions on the blockchain as simple as ordering a meal through a delivery app. The user simply states what they want, and the system takes care of the rest, from payment processing to delivery.

Despite the innovative strides made by projects such as UniswapX, CowSwap, and 1inch in exploring the intent-centric landscape, challenges persist. The diversity of these projects highlights an evolving but still fragmented approach towards a unified user experience in blockchain interactions. Complexities in user interfaces, transactions, and wallet management underline the need for further simplification and user-centric innovation.

Our advocacy for intent-centric architecture is grounded in a vision where the complexities of the blockchain — whether it is wallet management, bridging or cross-chain swapping — are all abstracted away for the end user. This not only radically simplifies the blockchain user experience but also opens up blockchain technology to a wider audience, paving the way for future widespread adoption.

The Problem with Current Blockchain Interfaces

Imagine trying to order a cake for delivery using the current blockchain interfaces. Similar to a transaction-based approach, you would have to select the bakery (network), choose the cake (transaction details), specify delivery details (gas fees and wallet address), and finally, make the payment (sign the transaction). This process, while straightforward on the conventional web, can quickly become complex and daunting on the blockchain.

Users are required to manage multiple steps, each with its own set of complexities and potential for errors. This not only makes blockchain interactions cumbersome but also limits its accessibility to those who are willing to navigate its intricacies.The challenge compounds when trying to execute actions across different blockchains, where the lack of interoperability and varying protocols add layers of complexity, hindering seamless user experience.

Let’s break down the process of ordering a cake for delivery using current blockchain interfaces into steps, similar to how you might navigate a transaction-based approach:

1. Select the Bakery (Choose the Network): Just as you’d choose a bakery for the cake, in blockchain terms, this means selecting the right network for your transaction.
2. Choose the Cake (Specify Transaction Details): Here, you decide on the type of cake you want, akin to specifying the details of your blockchain transaction, like the amount and type of cryptocurrency.
3. Specify Delivery Details (Gas Fees and Wallet Address): Just as you’d provide your address and choose a delivery time, in the blockchain world, you need to set the gas fees and provide the recipient’s wallet address.
4. Make the Payment (Sign the Transaction): Finally, just as you’d pay for your cake, in blockchain transactions, you sign off the transaction, authorizing the payment from your wallet.

Each of these steps requires a significant understanding of blockchain mechanics and is fraught with potential for errors, making the entire process cumbersome and limiting its accessibility.

In contrast, an intent-based approach simplifies this process dramatically, focusing on the user’s end goal, or “intent,” rather than the convoluted steps needed to achieve it. Consider the same scenario of ordering a cake, but this time, through an intent-centric interface. Here, you would simply state your intent: “I want a chocolate cake delivered to my house tomorrow afternoon.” The system then interprets this intent, automatically selecting the best bakery, placing the order according to your preferences, arranging delivery, and processing payment without you having to micromanage each step.

Now, let’s reimagine ordering a cake using an intent-based approach, broken down step by step:

1. Express Your Intent: Simply state, “I want a chocolate cake delivered to my house tomorrow afternoon.” This is akin to expressing a desire to send 5 ETH to Alice in blockchain terms.
2. System Interprets the Intent: The system automatically understands your request and starts orchestrating the necessary actions to fulfill it.
   For the Cake: It selects the best bakery, places the order based on your preferences, arranges for delivery, and processes the payment.
   For Blockchain: It chooses the appropriate network, calculates the necessary gas fees, and prepares the transaction details.
3. Automatic Execution: The system autonomously carries out the actions required to fulfill your intent.
   For the Cake: Ensures the cake is baked, paid for, and scheduled for delivery without you managing each step.
   For Blockchain: Executes the transaction, sending 5 ETH to Alice, without you manually navigating the complexities of the blockchain.

The intent-based approach abstracts away the intricate details and complexities inherent in traditional blockchain interactions. By focusing solely on the outcome or “intent” users wish to achieve, it dramatically simplifies the user experience. This method not only makes blockchain more accessible but also more intuitive, akin to using any other modern web application, thereby broadening the technology’s appeal and potential for widespread adoption.

Projects with Known Intent-Centric Implementations

The exploration of intent within the blockchain ecosystem, as demonstrated by projects like UniswapX, CowSwap, 1inch, Anoma, and Mantis, has introduced innovative approaches to simplifying blockchain interactions. These projects represent a diverse array of solutions aimed at reducing transaction costs, enhancing privacy, and facilitating cross-chain user intents, each tackling different aspects of the blockchain experience from infrastructure and application perspectives.

• UniswapX and CowSwap: These platforms utilize off-chain extension programs to capture and fulfill user intents, such as swapping tokens, without requiring direct on-chain transactions for each step. This approach aims to reduce network congestion and transaction costs by aggregating and optimizing trades off-chain before settling on the blockchain.
• 1inch Fusion: Known as a Multi-DEX Aggregator, 1inch incorporates a fusion order matching system that operates off-chain. This system collects user intents to swap tokens and finds the most efficient routes across multipl decentralized exchanges (DEXs) to execute these swaps, ultimately reducing costs and improving execution prices for users.
• Anoma: Anoma represents a novel framework for building intent-centric applications, focusing on privacy and functionality. With its dual components — Typhon and Taiga — Anoma provides a comprehensive environment for secure, private transactions. Typhon handles the network’s infrastructure, while Taiga offers a stateless execution environment that leverages recursive zero-knowledge proofs for data privacy. Importantly, Anoma distinguishes itself by not being a blockchain but rather a framework supporting intent-centric applications.
• Mantis (Multichain Agnostic Normalized Trust-minimized Intent Settlement): Developed by Composable, Mantis is an ecosystem-agnostic framework designed to facilitate the settlement of cross-chain user intents. It operates by optimizing the supply chain of transactions to deliver a user-centric, ecosystem-agnostic DeFi experience. Mantis integrates solvers, oracles, and collators to efficiently fulfill user intents, ensuring that cross-chain operations are settled in a trust-minimized manner. Currently, Mantis is undergoing testing on mainnet, demonstrating its capability to handle real-world user intents with the support of a robust validator network.

While these initiatives have made significant strides towards an intent-centric blockchain ecosystem, the challenge of creating a universally intuitive user interface remains. The complexity of navigating blockchain transactions, managing wallets, and understanding the underlying technology often poses barriers to wider adoption.

In this context, our approach seeks to complement these existing advancements by focusing on the user interface aspect of blockchain interactions. We believe that by enhancing the interface through which users interact with blockchain applications, we can further simplify the experience, making it more accessible to a broader audience. Our goal is to bridge the gap between the technical intricacies of blockchain operations and the user’s desire for simplicity, enabling interactions that are as straightforward as using a conventional web application.

This perspective does not diminish the importance of the foundational work done by projects focusing on the infrastructure and application layers. Instead, it highlights the need for a multi-faceted approach to addressing the challenges of blockchain usability. By integrating these technological advancements with a user-centric interface design, we aim to contribute to a more cohesive and inclusive blockchain ecosystem that welcomes users of all technical backgrounds.

Intent-Centric Interface: A Downstream Approach for a User-Centric Future

Our dedication to a downstream approach in developing the Intent-Centric Interface represents a deliberate shift towards a more user-centric blockchain ecosystem. Our Intent-Centric Interface endeavors to bridge the existing gap between the technical potential of blockchain and its practical accessibility for users. By concentrating on the ID-based mechanism, we offer a solution that aligns with the everyday experiences of web users, making blockchain interactions as straightforward as any web2 application. This downstream approach directly tackles the usability challenges by:

• Simplifying User Interactions: By abstracting the technical details behind user-friendly IDs, we reduce the cognitive load on users, making blockchain technology more approachable and easier to use.
• Empowering Users with ID-Based, Cross-Chain, Gas-Free Transactions: Through the innovative use of ID-based transfers, we not only simplify the transaction process across various blockchains but also ensurre a seamless cross-chain experience without the hassle of managing native tokens for gas fees.The Intent-Centric Interface automatically handles the conversion and payment of gas fees using the transferred tokens, providing a streamlined and cost-effective solution for cross-chain asset movement.

The Intent-Centric Interface is designed to seamlessly bridge user intents with the underlying blockchain functionalities. By prioritizing the user’s desired outcomes over the complexities of blockchain operations, we aim to demystify blockchain interactions, making them accessible and straightforward for a diverse audience. This approach is not merely about simplifying existing processes; it’s about reimagining the user experience from the ground up, ensuring that anyone can leverage blockchain technology with ease.

Practical Application: ID-Based Transfer within an Intent-Centric Interface

A vivid example of our intent-centric, cross-chain philosophy in action is the ID-based transfer system. This innovation is at the heart of our approach, showcasing how we’re not only simplifying blockchain interactions but also making these interactions inherently Cross-chain.

ID-Based Transfer: Facilitating Cross-Chain Asset Movement Without Wallet Hassles

Our system allows for the sending and receiving of tokens across different blockchains using merely an ID, effectively eliminating the traditional reliance on wallet addresses and network specifics.

• User Expresses Intent Across Chains: For instance, Alice decides to send USDC from Ethereum to Bob on Solana. Rather than dealing with the intricacies of cross-chain bridges or the hassle of managing different wallets and native tokens, Alice states her intent to transfer assets to “bob.cel.” Network fees are handled in USDC, eliminating the need for Alice or Bob to worry about acquiring native tokens like ETH or SOL.
• Recipient Can Claim Without Immediate Wallet Preparation: A standout feature of this system is the flexibility it offers recipients like Bob. Upon Alice’s successful transfer, Bob, identified through “bob.cel,” can claim the transferred assets without having previously set up a specific wallet for reception. This mirrors the convenience seen in centralized exchange (CEX) withdrawals, where assets can be allocated and withdrawn at the recipient’s discretion, at any time, and without the upfront requirement of a wallet.
• Intent-Centric, Cross-Chain Orchestration: Seamlessly, the system executes Alice’s intent, leveraging sophisticated cross-chain infrastructure to ensure a smooth transition of tokens from Ethereum to Solana. This orchestration covers everything from selecting the most efficient transfer routes and managing cross-chain communication to validating transaction integrity — all while remaining invisible to both Alice and Bob.

This practical implementation of our Intent-Centric Interface underscores not only the feasibility of simplifying blockchain interactions but also our vision of a blockchain ecosystem where cross-chain operations are as straightforward as single-chain transactions. Our dedication to this vision signifies our belief in the power of blockchain to be universally accessible, empowering users with the freedom to interact across any blockchain with ease and confidence.

Conclusion

Mycel’s development of an Intent-Centric Interface represents a transformative step in making blockchain technology accessible and straightforward for everyone. By focusing on the user’s intentions and removing the complexities of wallets and transactions, Mycel is pioneering a future where blockchain interactions are as simple and intuitive as using any web application. The introduction of ID-Based Transfers further exemplifies this commitment, allowing users to engage with blockchain seamlessly, without the need to navigate the technical intricacies traditionally associated with it. Mycel’s approach not only simplifies the blockchain experience but also opens up a world of possibilities for users of all technical backgrounds, ensuring that the revolutionary potential of blockchain can be fully realized by a global audience.