Squads Labs is set to revolutionize the Solana ecosystem with groundbreaking upgrades to smart account technology and the introduction of a crypto-powered Visa card, paving the way for mainstream adoption of decentralized finance.

Summary

Stepan Simkin, co-founder and CEO of Squads Labs, delivered a keynote at Breakpoint 2024, unveiling major developments aimed at accelerating the onchain economy. The presentation focused on three key areas: Squads Protocol, Squads App, and a consumer smart wallet.

Squads Labs announced the development of Squads Protocol V5, a significant upgrade to their smart account standard. This new version introduces features like hooks, synchronous transaction execution, and enhanced permissions, all designed to improve security, usability, and flexibility for developers and users alike.

In a surprise announcement, Simkin introduced Fuse Pay, a virtual Visa prepaid card that enables users to spend stablecoins directly from their Fuse wallet for real-world purchases. This innovative product, developed in partnership with Bridge, promises to bridge the gap between cryptocurrency and everyday transactions.

These advancements represent a major step forward in making blockchain technology more accessible and practical for both businesses and individual users, potentially catalyzing wider adoption of Solana and decentralized finance.

Key Points:

Squads Protocol V5 Development

Squads Labs has officially begun development on Squads Protocol V5, a major upgrade to their smart account standard. This new version is designed to take full advantage of upcoming Solana runtime feature activations, which will increase CPI (Cross-Program Invocation) limits to match those of top-level transactions. This enhancement will allow smart accounts to emerge as first-class citizens within the Solana ecosystem, paving the way for broader adoption of account abstraction.

The V5 upgrade focuses on empowering developers who are building wallets, DeFi applications, and payment solutions. It aims to provide seamless importing, robust security, and an enhanced user experience for their customers. Some of the key features include hooks, which are separate programs enabling programmatic tightening of consensus, allowing developers to set granular spending limits or introduce program whitelists. Additionally, V5 will support synchronous transaction execution, expanding functionality for single-player use cases and enabling real-time execution of transactions with multiple synchronous top-level signatures.

Fuse Pay Introduction

In a major announcement, Squads Labs introduced Fuse Pay, a virtual global Visa prepaid card that enables users to spend stablecoins directly from their Fuse wallet for real-world purchases. This innovative product is being launched in partnership with Bridge, a new payments platform built specifically for stablecoins to simplify global money movement.

Fuse Pay is designed to eliminate the need for direct interaction with traditional banking rails, offering seamless operations for users. The system is powered by Squads Protocol smart accounts, ensuring that the card remains fully self-custodial. When a card account is created, a separate smart account is deployed with the main Fuse account acting as the sole signer, and a daily spending limit is set for Bridge to use in real-time as payments are made.

This solution offers flexibility, allowing users to withdraw from their card account back to their main account at any time, subject to a short time lock. The unique capabilities of Fuse Pay are made possible by the programmability provided by Squads Protocol smart accounts.

Consumer Smart Wallet Enhancements

Squads Labs is also focusing on improving their consumer smart wallet offering. This wallet is designed to provide enterprise-level security for personal custody, powered by features such as two-factor authentication (2FA), spending limits, recovery options, and native integrations for swaps, staking, and stablecoin yield.

These enhancements aim to make the wallet more user-friendly and secure, addressing some of the key concerns that have historically prevented wider adoption of cryptocurrency wallets among mainstream users. By combining robust security features with intuitive functionality, Squads Labs is working to create a wallet solution that can appeal to both crypto enthusiasts and newcomers to the space.

Facts + Figures

• Squads Protocol is currently securing over $10 billion in value on the Solana blockchain
• Squads App is trusted by over 200,000 users
• More than 50 enterprises are currently using Squads App for their operations
• Squads Protocol V5 is expected to launch on Solana mainnet later this year
• Fuse Pay will initially be available in the US, with more countries to follow
• Fuse Pay is powered by Squads Protocol smart accounts, ensuring full self-custody
• The Squads consumer smart wallet features 2FA, spending limits, recovery options, and native integrations for various DeFi activities
• Squads Protocol V5 will be formally verified before its release
• Fuse Pay is being launched in partnership with Bridge, a new stablecoin-focused payments platform

Top quotes

1. "Squads Labs' mission is to grow the onchain economy."
2. "We're designing V5 to fully empower developers, building wallets, DeFi applications, and payment solutions."
3. "Fuse Pay eliminates the need to directly interact with traditional banking rails and seamless operations."
4. "Fuse Pay is powered by Squads Protocol smart accounts which ensures that the card is fully self-custodial."
5. "Download Fuse today, set up your first smart accounts and be amongst the first people to have access to Fuse Pay when it goes live."

Questions Answered

What is Squads Protocol V5?

Squads Protocol V5 is the latest upgrade to Squads Labs' smart account standard for Solana. It introduces new features like hooks, synchronous transaction execution, and enhanced permissions. These improvements are designed to make smart accounts more flexible, secure, and user-friendly for developers building wallets, DeFi applications, and payment solutions on Solana.

How will Squads Protocol V5 benefit developers?

Squads Protocol V5 will provide developers with more tools and flexibility when building on Solana. It allows for granular spending limits, program whitelists, and real-time transaction execution. These features enable developers to create more sophisticated and secure applications, potentially leading to broader adoption of account abstraction across the Solana ecosystem.

What is Fuse Pay?

Fuse Pay is a new virtual Visa prepaid card that allows users to spend stablecoins directly from their Fuse wallet for real-world purchases. It's powered by Squads Protocol smart accounts, ensuring full self-custody of funds. Fuse Pay aims to bridge the gap between cryptocurrency and everyday transactions, making it easier for users to utilize their digital assets in the real world.

How does Fuse Pay work?

When a Fuse Pay card account is created, a separate smart account is deployed with the main Fuse account as the sole signer. A daily spending limit is set for Bridge (Squads Labs' partner) to use in real-time as payments are made. Users can withdraw from their card account back to their main account at any time, subject to a short time lock. This setup ensures security and flexibility for users.

When and where will Fuse Pay be available?

Fuse Pay will initially be available in the United States, with plans to expand to more countries in the future. It is set to go live later this year (2024). Users can download the Fuse wallet and set up their smart accounts now to be among the first to access Fuse Pay when it launches.

How is Squads Labs improving its consumer smart wallet?

Squads Labs is enhancing its consumer smart wallet with enterprise-level security features for personal custody. These include two-factor authentication (2FA), spending limits, recovery options, and native integrations for swaps, staking, and stablecoin yield. These improvements aim to make the wallet more secure and user-friendly, potentially attracting more mainstream users to the Solana ecosystem.

What is the significance of Squads Protocol V5 for the Solana ecosystem?

Squads Protocol V5 represents a significant advancement for Solana, as it will allow smart accounts to become first-class citizens on the network. This upgrade, combined with upcoming Solana runtime feature activations, will increase the capabilities of smart accounts to match those of top-level transactions. This paves the way for broader adoption of account abstraction, potentially leading to more innovative and user-friendly applications on Solana.