Talisman & EIP-6963: A Leap Towards Harmonious Wallet Interactions
A Brief Overview of EIP-6963
EIP-6963 is a massive step forward for the wallet ecosystem. Addressing a significant pain point of many Ethereum users, it allows for all wallet extensions (for the first time ever!) to be displayed in a clearly organized list.
If you’re a user who has ever had multiple wallet extensions installed while trying to interact with dapps, you’re probably very familiar with this problem. Gone are the days of a flurry of wallet pop-ups flying at you all at once, with no clear options over how to manage them. Users can now easily choose the wallet extension they wish to use for a particular dapp, without messy wallet interactions.
This paves the way for a UX where different wallet extensions can reasonably coexist, removing one major obstacle towards user adoption. Talisman is proud to be one of the first adopters and drivers of this new paradigm in wallet connectivity.
The Problem at Hand
It might come as a shock to some that the existing system has been in place since 2015. It all began with a clunker of a method known as EIP-1193. Developed in the early days of Ethereum, EIP-1193 created a connection mechanism for different wallet types to work within browsers. Regrettably, it lacked a standardized method for detecting installed browser wallets in any sort of organized fashion. This was a method where, in technical terms, it was only ever possible to inject a wallet provider into one instance of a JavaScript object known as ‘window.ethereum’. Simply put: window.ethereum is the interface that web applications use to interact with user wallets.
Until very recently, all wallet extensions were fighting to inject into this object, overriding each other with a “winner-takes-all” approach. With increasingly more wallets adopting ‘EVM-mode’, clashes are inevitable, leading to an unpredictable user experience. Not only is this extremely inconvenient for wallet users, but also deters users from exploring multiple wallets. This is of course a major hurdle for innovation, and also a hurdle on the path towards universal Web3 adoption.
The EIP-6963 Solution
EIP-6963 fixes this. By allowing for the seamless discovery of multiple wallet providers, it facilitates a UX in which multiple wallet extensions can operate together without friction. This isn’t just a technical overhaul — it’s a huge step towards enhancing the user’s journey.
Browsers can now obtain detailed wallet information, like wallet name, logo, UUID, and RDNS. The effect of which is that all wallet extensions activated by any given user will now be presented in an organized and much more readable fashion when signing in and interacting with dapps. This gives the user a clear list of choices, and leads to more clarity, stability, and predictability in the wallet environment. Which frankly, we think is pretty cool (and we hope you do too).
Who’s Onboard with EIP-6963?
EIP-6963 has been driven by the dedicated coordination and development between multiple players in the wallet ecosystem like Enkrypt, WalletConnect (who also published a very detailed article on EIP-6963 here), and a host of other developers.
To date, several wallets have either integrated or are planning to adopt EIP-6963 in the near future. These include:
- Talisman
- Enkrypt
- WalletConnect
- Brave
- Coinbase Wallet
- MetaMask
- Zerion
- Phantom
- xDEFI
- OKX
- TokenPocket
- Bitski
- Rainbow
- Frontier
- Spot
- Trust Wallet
Implementing this has been an obvious move for the heavy hitters in the wallet industry, including Talisman. EIP-6963 works to the benefit of all parties, most importantly the end-user.
The Road Ahead for EIP-6963 and Talisman
EIP-6963’s approval sets up an environment in which the market forces that drive wallet adoption will now be much more focused around product integrity and usability, rather than by confusing browser mechanics. As the community continues to innovate, EIP-6963 is a great example of what can be achieved when we come together to tackle pressing challenges. Talisman promises to always remain at the forefront of those efforts.
Besides recent support for EIP-6963, Talisman has recently released features that give users better control of their wallet, and a better wallet experience. For example: implementation of SIWE (Sign-in with Ethereum), ENS (Ethereum Name Service), support for custom derivation paths, and management of multiple recovery phrases. Collectively, these serve to deliver another massive step forward towards simplifying and improving the onboarding experience for all users.
About Talisman
Talisman is a web3 wallet that unlocks a universe of applications in Ethereum and Polkadot. The Talisman browser extension allows you to safely store, send, receive assets, and connect to applications.
Talisman is non-custodial, audited, supports Ledger devices and is also Ethereum compatible, letting users store, manage and transact with Ethereum and Polkadot dapps.
