I have been using defi.app for over half a month, and today I want to share my usage experience and discuss my views on the keyless wallet space.

First, let me throw out a bold statement:

Every change in private key management methods will give rise to new asset trading and management paradigms.

Start of the main text:

Firstly, defi app is trying to create a Web3 product with a Web2 experience. According to the official statement, it aims to build a Web3 product that even my grandmother can use. So far, it has basically achieved the first half of this goal, which is to lower the entry barrier.

When starting to use defi app, there is indeed no need to write down a seed phrase; you can activate it with just a Google email, which is quite similar to the experience of Web2 products. The first step of entry is crucial, and it needs to be extremely simple and convenient. Defi app has achieved this in its first step.

The second step is actually not directly using the wallet, but rather alleviating security concerns about this keyless wallet, which all Web3 users will consider. (Web2 users might not consider this issue, so I will later mention that the largest current users of keyless wallets may actually be in Web2.)

To alleviate this issue, some educational work is needed; otherwise, the wallet may only hold a small amount of funds. This article does not detail how smart contract wallets based on account abstraction can achieve a keyless experience while ensuring private key security. In brief, the previous EOA wallets required users to manage their own private keys, while smart contract wallets do not directly let users manage private keys. Instead, they use contract-defined verification logic (such as biometrics, social recovery) for authorization operations. The private keys are then split, with part encrypted and stored locally by the user. The private key shards are dynamically reassembled only when used, maximizing private key security. In summary, you can register for a keyless wallet using your email, while your private key is still controlled by you, maintaining the same level of security as EOA wallets.

In fact, the smart contract account space has developed well in the past two years, with two well-known smart contract wallet technology service providers: one is Turnkey, and the other is Zerodev. Turnkey was founded by core employees from the original Coinbase wallet custody service; it raised $15 million in April 2024 and primarily focuses on private key management and transaction signing solutions, supporting account abstraction. Zerodev is a platform focused on smart account development, aiming to provide a gas-free, approval-free, keyless, and bridging-free experience for Web3 applications; many of Zerodev's development tools are built on Turnkey's private key and signing technology, and they have also received investment support from YC.

Defi app is built on the core technologies of Turnkey and Zerodev, with the main goal of building a popular defi platform based on user-friendly private key management technology.

In fact, in the Web3 field, private keys are assets. The quicker and more convenient you can allow users to utilize private keys, the more users you can attract, ultimately providing them with friendly asset management tools. Therefore, every iteration of private key management technology will spawn new asset trading and management paradigms.

Essentially, CEX represented by Binance is a custodial private key management solution + a CeFi asset trading and management paradigm.

EOA wallets like Metamask are a non-custodial private key management solution + a DeFi asset trading and management paradigm.

Products like defi app are a management solution for keyless experience + a hybrid asset trading and management paradigm of D/Cefi.

Products like defi app pursue the equation of CeFi experience + DeFi security = a larger Web3 market.

Indeed, the biggest blue ocean for defi app is actually the incremental market among a broad Web2 user base.


Currently, defi app's business expansion is mainly focused on the native crypto user circle, including activities like airdrops, which is understandable. However, I believe that if defi app integrates sufficiently robust yield-type products, such as those offering an APY of 15-20%, to expand into traditional financial users, this could represent a massive market. After all, compared to traditional EOA wallets, defi app has already lowered the entry barrier for Web2 users, solved the entry problem, and has good yield products. If they can identify target users and establish a strong market incentive mechanism, they won't have to worry about a lack of funds and users flowing in. This is also a differentiated strategic approach compared to EOA wallets.


Above is my experience after trying out the defi app, along with some personal thoughts. Finally, here is my defi.app invitation link, welcome to experience it: https://app.defi.app/join/0BjlgZ