Squads

TLDR

Squads is a leading multisig solution on Solana that enables crypto teams and organizations to securely manage their on-chain assets like treasuries and programs. Built on the Squads Protocol, a formally verified smart contract wallet infrastructure, Squads offers an intuitive platform for users to create multi-signature wallets, manage permissions, set spending limits, and seamlessly perform on-chain operations. By simplifying the self-custody of digital assets, Squads is helping to power the growing on-chain economy on Solana.

What is Squads?

Squads is a Solana-based multisig solution that seeks to simplify the secure management of developer and treasury assets for on-chain organizations. The platform offers multi-signature wallets, requiring multiple digital signatures to approve transactions, ensuring the security of users' assets.

At its core, Squads is built on the Squads Protocol - an open-source, immutable, and formally verified smart contract wallet standard for Solana. This protocol enables developers to leverage program-level account abstraction and build a variety of products such as multisigs and treasury management tools.

Squads aims to provide crypto-native teams and institutions with a user-friendly experience for managing their on-chain assets. The platform transforms traditional asset management processes into intuitive user flows, addressing core issues related to user experience, security, and transparency.

How to Use Squads

Using Squads is straightforward. Teams can visit the Squads app and connect their wallet to create a new Squad (multisig). They can then add members to the multisig, specifying roles and permissions for each.

Once set up, the Squad can be used to manage various on-chain assets:

• Treasuries: Teams can store and manage their SOL, SPL tokens, and NFTs in their Squad. They can easily view balances, transaction history, and perform actions like swaps and transfers.

• Programs: Squads allows teams to secure their Solana program upgrade authorities in a multisig. This eliminates single points of failure and ensures upgrades require approval from multiple team members.

• Validators: Teams running Solana validators can use Squads to manage their validator's withdraw authority and commission.

Squads also integrates with popular Solana DeFi protocols, enabling users to seamlessly interact with DApps directly from their multisig via the SquadsX browser extension.

What Makes Squads Unique

Squads stands out in the Solana ecosystem due to its focus on user experience and security. The platform abstracts away much of the complexity typically associated with multisigs, making it accessible to users of all technical levels.

Under the hood, the Squads Protocol has undergone rigorous security measures. It is the first formally verified program on Solana and has been audited multiple times by leading firms like OtterSec, Neodyme, and Bramah Systems. The protocol is also open-source and immutable, providing users with a high degree of transparency and certainty.

Squads has seen rapid adoption by major Solana projects like Pyth, Drift, Orca, and Mango who use it to manage their on-chain operations. Over 100 teams currently rely on Squads to secure over $600 million in assets.

In addition to its core multisig functionality, Squads also offers unique features like:

• Roles and Permissions: Teams can assign granular roles (Proposer, Approver, Executor) to each multisig member, reflecting real-world organizational structures.

• Spending Limits: Squads enables the creation of "petty cash" accounts with pre-approved spending limits, eliminating the need for multi-sig approvals on small transactions.

• Gasless Transactions: Squads can cover transaction fees for users, providing a gasless experience similar to web2 applications.

The Squads Team

Squads was founded in 2021 by Stepan Simkin and Danny Gorelik. Stepan previously worked as a lawyer specializing in corporate restructuring and M&A, while Danny has a background in product design and DeFi.

The team has grown to over 20 members with experience from companies like Google, Microsoft, Uber, and leading crypto projects. Squads is backed by top investors including Placeholder, Multicoin Capital, and Solana Ventures.

What's Next for Squads

Looking ahead, Squads plans to continue enhancing its platform with new features and integrations. The team is working on Squads v4, which will introduce time-locks, sub-accounts, and a developer SDK.

Squads is also incubating a mobile-first smart wallet called Fuse that will bring the security of multi-sigs to individual users. With Fuse, users can benefit from social recovery, spending limits, and 2FA without having to manage private keys.

Longer-term, Squads aims to build a "consensus layer for onchain operations" that will enable organizations to seamlessly manage assets across multiple blockchains.

To support this growth, Squads recently raised a $5.7M round led by Placeholder VC and has begun distributing the SQDS governance token to reward its early adopters and contributors.

Conclusion

As more organizations turn to blockchains to conduct their business, the need for secure and user-friendly asset management solutions has never been greater. On Solana, Squads has emerged as the go-to platform for crypto-native teams looking to safeguard their treasuries and streamline their on-chain operations.

By combining rigorous security standards with an intuitive user experience, Squads is helping to onboard the next wave of users and organizations to Solana DeFi. As the project continues to innovate and expand its suite of products, it is well-positioned to become a critical piece of infrastructure powering the on-chain economy.