It’s finally time to release NOVA, the first Hydranet Web3 Wallet release on testnet! Hydranet’s Web3 Wallet is a multi-currency wallet with off-chain capabilities. Apart from ticking every box of what you would expect from an ordinary on-chain wallet, the Hydranet Web3 Wallet also allows you to engage in off-chain transactions for a scalable crypto future! Check out this Youtube series summarizing the wallet’s features and access the wallet yourself via Hydranet’s website!
The Hydranet Web3 Wallet runs on any device of your choice, simply open your favorite browser and login, whether it’s on desktop, mobile, or tablet. There is no need to download any client or external software and a single seed phrase will backup all your assets, Bitcoin and EVM tokens alike. The Hydranet Web3 Wallet is first of its kind, running off-chain nodes directly in the browser. It grants you full control over your assets wherever you are!
This public release also conclude 20 days of closed testing activities during which a group of ca 10 participants laid their hands on the wallet for the first time. Their participation has led to a ton of valuable feedback to the team and we are thankful for your dedication! Our devs are working tirelessly with your reported feedback, some of which may still be present when the testnet phase now enters the public release.
Before we take a quick look at what the Hydranet Web3 Wallet has to offer, we want to highlight some important and useful information related to the testing itself. Our Discord has some newly created channels dedicated for testing of the wallet — public-beta-access, web-wallet-support, and discussion. Please keep discussions regarding potential issues and/or proposed features within these channels. If you find an issue, please open a ticket and follow the template when doing so. This way, it will be easier for our developers/team to recreate the issue(s) and to find a fix for it. The Hydranet Web3 Wallet is running on Bitcoin testnet and Ethereum Holesky testnet. You can get testnet funds using the faucet bot on our Discord. Importantly, do not send any real funds to your wallet as these will get lost immediately!
Happy testing everyone!
Opening for the first time!
Opening the Hydranet Web3 Wallet will give you the options to either import an already existing wallet using a seed phrase or to create a new wallet with a 12 or 24 word seed phrase. Make sure to backup your seed phrase as this window will open every time you access the wallet, unless you tick the “Save my seed phrase for next time” box. This way you will not have to enter your seed phrase every time you access it.
Future editions will of course entail a welcome screen and be password protected. But currently, having the option to create a new wallet with every opening of the Hydranet Web3 Wallet has proven to be better suited for testing purposes. Future editions will also entail external signers, meaning sensitive information such as private keys will be stored outside the actual web application (similar to how wallets such as MetaMask operate). This will make sure users will never have to enter sensitive information into a website and further strengthen the security aspects of the Hydranet Web3 Wallet.
After creating/importing your wallet a new dialogue box will open indicating the off-chain node(s) are being synced. With the implementation of the Rapid Gossip Sync Protocol from Lightning Dev Kit, this dialogue box will disappear within a couple of seconds and leave you with fully synced off-chain nodes. The Rapid Gossic Sync Protocol is crucial when it comes to user experience as it decreases the state channel sync times from minutes to seconds, allowing you to quickly access all your state channels whenever you want.
You are now set-up to use your wallet, as simple as that. The left hand side will show three pages — Wallet, Channels, Transactions — and at the bottom you will see the connectivity status for Lightning and Lithium. Lithium is currently disabled as we are working on upgrading the Lithium off-chain node after the latest Lithium smart contract optimizations. The upgrade of the off-chain node is progressing well and we will see it being added to the wallet in the near future.
Multi-currency wallet — one seed phrase
Similarly to the Hydranet Core DEX, the Hydranet Web3 Wallet is a multi-currency wallet. With it you can store all your funds, including Bitcoin and EVM assets, under a single seed phrase. The currently supported assets during testing are BTC, ETH, and USDC. You can sort among these assets using free text or based on blockchain networks.
For each asset there are options for sending and receiving assets on-chain and off-chain as well as transferring assets to or from off-chain state channels. The Transfer option for ETH and USDC are temporarily disabled since the Lithium network is disabled. Clicking any of the options will open new dialogue boxes (modals) with further instructions on how to Send, Receive, and Transfer your assets.
Manage your channels
Managing your state channels can be done from the Channels page. This page will give you an overview over all your open state channels and allow you to search and sort among them based on free text, blockchain networks and status. You can also access detailed information about your channels, such as its channel id and connected peer, by clicking the three dots to the furthest right.
Sort among all transactions
The Transactions page will show you all your previously made transactions. You can sort among them based on free text, type, status, blockchain network, and blockchain layer. Clicking on any transaction will open a new dialogue box with even more information, including a link to the network-corresponding block explorer.
Mobile support
With Hydranet’s mobile device support, you can now enjoy the same seamless experience and minimalist design wherever you are. Whether you’re on the go or lounging at home, you’ll have full access to your assets and full control over your off-chain nodes, all securely managed within your mobile browser as would on your desktop or laptop browser.
Future improvements
The NOVA release marks an important milestone in the development of the Hydranet Web3 Wallet (and also Web DEX) and with all the valuable feedback we are getting from our testers we are improving with each passing week! The near future holds the following implementations for the Hydranet Web3 Wallet:
- Lithium — The Lithium off-chain node is currently being prepared and added support for multi-node transaction routing and unilateral state channel closure. These are two important features for both the Hydranet Web3 Wallet as a standalone product and the Hydranet Web DEX. Multi-node transaction routing will allow users to reach virtually any peer in the Lithium off-chain network and furthermore facilitate decentralization of the Hydranet Web DEX. Unilateral state channel closure will ensure users can always withdraw funds and close state channels without the other peer being online.
- StorJ channel backups — StorJ is a decentralized system for digital file storage. It is being implemented in the Hydranet Web3 Wallet to backup state channel information to automatically retrieve it after restoring a wallet using a seed phrase.
- Welcome screen — A welcome screen with password protection is being designed and will replace the wallet initialization window.
- Channel rental manager — The channel rental manager is used for managing your inbound capacity (can receive) of your state channels. Having inbound capacity is a prerequisite for receiving funds using state channels, which makes the manager a key feature for the Hydranet Web3 Wallet and Web DEX alike.
- External signer — An external signer refers to a method of generating cryptographic signatures outside of the system where the signature is being used. This means that the transaction signing process takes place outside, for instance, the Lightning Network node itself, which enhances security as sensitive information used during the process (private keys) can be kept outside the on-chain and off-chain nodes. The Hydranet Web3 Wallet will see external signers being added in the near future.
Into the future
After this small introduction of what the Hydranet Web3 Wallet has in store, it’s time for you to try it out yourself. Every bit of feedback is valuable as it will shape the future of Hydranet. Create as many wallets as you want, try different browsers, share seed phrases among multiple devices, send and receive assets using both on-chain and off-chain transactions. Be creative in your testing and share your results with the team. We look forward to shaping the future of decentralized trading with you!
To stay updated or ask any questions you have: Join us on Discord and follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date with our latest news and developments.
Make sure to check out our website: https://hydranet.ai
