What Is XION?

XION is a walletless Layer 1 blockchain focused on improving Web3 user experience through Chain Abstraction, simplifying complexities such as private keys, gas fees, and more. By removing common Web3 friction points, XION accelerates the mainstream adoption of Web3 by making blockchain technology more accessible to users and developers.

Key Takeaways

• XION is the first user-focused Layer 1 designed to provide web3 developers with the infrastructure to simplify blockchain operations, enabling them to build, launch, and scale user-friendly applications for non-crypto native users through complete abstraction.
• XION is walletless and abstracts across the entire technological stack, removing barriers to entry like technical knowledge of how blockchains work and the concept of gas, making it easy for new users to enjoy the benefits of web3.
• Beyond improving the user experience of Web3 apps, XION also aims to improve interoperability, solving both distribution and fragmentation issues to enable mainstream adoption.
• XION is built by the core contributing team Burnt, which is led by the infamous Burnt Banksy, who made history and global headlines by burning a Banksy painting and selling it as an NFT.
• XION is growing an ecosystem of decentralized applications and blockchain networks utilizing the network’s Chain Abstraction technology.

Compared to traditional alternatives, the blockchain provides a more secure and flexible platform for building applications in almost any sector. The importance of this edge is evident in the rapid growth in the sector and the expanding adoption across mainstream sectors. While there’s a growing interest in web3 solutions, interacting with a blockchain network requires some technical understanding – from seed phrases on wallets to gas fees for token transfers. With this complexity, users still default to web2 solutions despite their flaws.

If the blockchain is to be used by everyone, it should be as accessible as web2 systems while retaining the flexibility, immutability, security, and cost-effectiveness it is known for. This is the idea behind XION – making Web3 accessible to all users. XION is focused on expanding the user coverage of blockchain technology by providing a platform and tools that power blockchain applications with significantly improved user experience (UX).

Introducing XION

XION is a walletless Layer 1 blockchain that aims to simplify web3’s complexities and steep learning curve through chain abstraction, thus improving the user experience around interacting with web3 protocols. Through chain abstraction, which removes the complexities and technicalities associated with blockchain-based applications, users will be able to enjoy the benefits of web3 without needing to interact with the blockchain directly, including wallet keys, transaction signing, and gas fees. At the same time, it overcomes challenges like fragmentation by extending its solution to connected ecosystems to create a highly interoperable L1.

XION’s chain abstraction solution seamlessly integrates blockchain functionalities at the protocol level, making it easy for new users to purchase and interact with crypto without having to undergo the hassle of creating a wallet and storing the seed phrase, on-ramping their fiat to crypto, bridging funds, swapping to the right cryptocurrency, and ensuring they have sufficient gas fees. By abstracting away the complexities and technicalities of blockchain, XION makes it easy for users and businesses to interact with blockchain technology by making it as accessible as web2 applications.

XION network has gained significant traction since the launch of its public testnet in 2024. According to data from the project, the network has recorded over 3.6 million users and has registered over 200+ integrations, deployments, and partnerships to date. XION has also raised over $36 million in multiple funding rounds from the likes of Multicoin, Animoca, Circle, Spartan, and more to pursue the development of its solutions.

Here’s what we know about the XION founding team:

The Team Behind XION

XION was founded by Burnt Banksy. The project founder’s name stems from the event which brought them to the limelight. Burnt Banksy burnt a piece of art named ‘The Morons’ by Banksy. He proceeded to create an NFT representation of the art and reportedly sold the digital art for $380,000 – which is over 4 times the cost of the art itself.

Burnt Banksy demonstrated the concept of digital scarcity through this event and what can be achieved using blockchain technology. However, on realizing the difficulty faced by the regular blockchain user due to the poor UX caused by the complexity of the technology, he founded XION and set out to build a blockchain that made digital ownership accessible to everyone through dApps easy enough to be used by anyone.

How Does XION Work?

XION aims to improve user experience by abstracting away all technical complexities from the end users to reduce known complications of using web3 systems. It covers areas like protocol level account abstraction, fee handling, and interchain communication (interoperability).

As a generalized abstraction layer, XION has developed advanced chain abstraction technologies to handle account management, gas fee payment, interoperability, and accessibility.

Let’s look at some of the key features of XION and how they enable a better user experience:

Implementation of Meta Accounts

XION draws on Smart Contract Accounts (SCAs) and account abstraction to overcome the limitations of traditional wallets by allowing for multi-factor authentication, account recovery, and other custom authentication logic.

SCAs are usually designed to work with Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) that use public/private key cryptography. EOAs are blockchain user accounts, where users are able to sign transactions with their private keys, which are then verified through the public key. However, there are limitations around these, most notably the risk for users if their private keys are lost or compromised.

On the other hand, SCAs are used to automate transactions but are unable to initiate transactions as they are not designed to manage private keys. In the normal smart contract transaction sequence, the EOA initiates the transaction and the SCA handles the rest of the operation.

XION’s Meta Accounts draw on SCAs and protocol-level changes aimed at improving the user experience. This lets users interact with their on-chain accounts through methods like email or biometric authentication, allowing them to maintain non-custodial control while simplifying access and offering account recovery options. By removing the need for users to manage their private keys, XION also offers users a device-agnostic approach that allows them to access their account across multiple devices.

Gas and Pricing Abstraction With USDC

XION adopts stablecoins at the network level, offering its users a familiar fiat-based value and pricing system. To improve user experience, XION uses USDC as a main transactional currency, where all costs can be presented in stablecoin. From the user’s perspective, they only need USDC to transact on XION given XION’s fee abstraction mechanisms. Also, by enabling USDC as a main transactional currency, this also makes for a more stable financial system and reduces speculation and pricing volatility for products built on the chain.

Unlike other blockchain networks, gas fee payment on XION is also handled by the network, so users don’t need to go through the hassle of acquiring the required gas tokens of different chains in order to transact. Behind the hood, XION will automatically swap USDC to any required gas tokens through its parameterized fee layer, allowing users to use both XION and various networks without having to purchase tokens to pay for gas.

Besides using USDC for transactions, applications on XION will also display prices in USDC to improve accessibility for new users, as they can easily understand the costs without needing to convert between multiple assets.

Payment Abstraction

XION’s gas abstraction removes one layer of complexity around acquiring the needed native tokens. With payment abstraction, the process is further streamlined as it removes the traditional purchasing complexities through its unique fee abstraction, where any supported tokens can be used to pay fees, allowing users to easily transact on chain without having to worry about the technicalities around fee payment. XION powered applications also enable users to pay in debit and credit card, creating a purchasing process that rivals the ease of making purchases on web2 applications.

Abstracted Interoperability

Blockchain networks generally operate in silos, where users need multiple accounts to interact with different blockchains. With XION’s abstracted interoperability, users can perform actions on any connected chain from a central Meta Account.

To promote interoperability with other blockchain networks, XION features advanced cross-chain communication technology that handles interaction with other blockchain networks and while retaining a seamless user experience. Cross-chain interactions via the XION network are made possible through the combination of smart contract accounts on both the host chain (XION Meta Accounts) and the destination chain. These smart contracts then communicate through the use of trust-minimized communication protocols, as zero-knowledge state compression proofs are created via on-chain light clients and passed permissionlessly via decentralized relayers to the destination chain. This creates a streamlined, protocol-level interface for smooth cross-chain interactions, allowing users to perform actions on any host chain via XION.

What Is the XION token?

XION is the native token used to power the XION ecosystem. XION is used for network security through Proof-of-Stake, where XION holders can stake their tokens to support the network’s security. As in other Proof-of-Stake chains, holders of XION can also propose and vote on network changes. The token can also be used as a medium of exchange as well as for collateral within the ecosystem.

As mentioned above, while XION lets users pay transaction fees in multiple currencies, these fees will be converted to XION. To manage token inflation and for long-term sustainability, XION will use accumulated fees to offset inflation, and token inflation is also only calculated against staked tokens instead of all tokens, further reducing inflation.

XION’s Ecosystem

Through its technological advances, XION is enabling a variety of different dApp use-cases to be built on its blockchain. By abstracting away all the user complexities traditionally associated with blockchain interactions, it is enabling developers to build products use-able by everyday users. As we see a shift towards the importance of the application layer, XION offers a unique solution for developers looking to expand their reach outside of the current crypto audience.

This can be seen in the XION ecosystem’s tremendous growth in a short period of time, housing over 200 applications and integrations. The ecosystem has attracted close to 4 million users and boasts a global community spanning more than 150 countries. XION is aiming to solve both the distribution (UX) and the fragmentation (interoperability) hurdles that developers and users currently face by simplifying and unifying user experiences both on its blockchain as well as connected ecosystems.

The wide range of use-cases built on XION range from consumer, to gaming, to social-fi, to crowdfunding, to payments, as well as new use-cases not previously possible before. One notable example is the EarnOS application built on XION, which is disrupting a $1 trillion advertisement market through blockchain rails. Having launched its beta in Q2 2024, EarnOS has secured more than $12 million in committed spend, onboarded over 500 creators, and is working with more than 40 global brands and agencies. They launched their beta product with globally recognized brands, including UberEats, Baskin Robbins, Sunglass Hut, and The North Face and received more than 950,000 mission completions.

In addition, XION’s efforts to expand its Chain Abstraction solution to other networks have also seen the L1 integrating with prominent blockchain networks including Solana, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Injective, Sei, and more. XION’s solution allows it to serve as an extension to all major blockchain networks, reshaping the historically competitive nature of L1s, which typically compete for users, liquidity, and developers, to enable true mainstream adoption. These integrations will unify fragmentation across ecosystems, allowing users to utilize their XION Meta Account across connected ecosystems by controlling smart contract accounts on destination chains. In addition, the integrations will enable more seamless flows of users and liquidity across ecosystems, in addition to enabling developers to build apps composable across them.

Sei

On September 26, 2024, XION announced its integration of the Sei network into the XION ecosystem, leveraging its Chain Abstraction technology. Sei is a high-speed Layer 1 blockchain, optimized for trading applications, known for its speed and scalability. The integration enables seamless cross-chain interoperability via IBC, allowing assets and users to move effortlessly between networks. This collaboration not only expands Sei’s reach but also brings XION’s user-first infrastructure to a broader developer and user base, aiming to enhance the Web3 experience and accelerate mainstream adoption​

Solana

On June 11, 2024, the XION announced the integration of the Solana network into the XION ecosystem via the Picasso network. Solana is one of the most used blockchain networks and the fourth largest blockchain ecosystem. Solana’s integration opens up opportunities for both networks, allowing the flow of users and liquidity as well as enabling users seamless cross-chain interactions with a single account.

Avalanche

The integration of the Avalanche network to XION was announced on May 16, 2024 via Landslide. Avalanche is a network of multiple subnets leveraging the Avalanche network as a principal network. Avalanche is designed for blockchain interoperability and houses an ecosystem of single and multi-purpose subnetworks. The integration between XION and Landslide brings chain abstraction to Avalanche and enables native asset flow between Avalanche and the Cosmos ecosystem, offering opportunities for innovation and increased liquidity.

BNB Chain

In partnership with TOKI, XION announced that it is bringing its chain abstraction to the BNB Smart Chain (BSC), a Layer 1 EVM-compatible network, on May 02, 2024. This integration enables seamless cross-chain communication between Cosmos and the BNB chain, by combining XION’s chain abstraction with TOKI’s IBC capabilities.

Injective

Injective was the first blockchain network to be integrated into the XION ecosystem. XION announced the integration on May 25, 2024. Injective is a purpose-built blockchain network for decentralized finance and the integration allows native asset flows in addition to enabling users to more easily transact without needing to bother with the complexities typically associated with blockchain dApps.

Final Thoughts

XION hopes to play a key role in ushering in an era of mass adoption by improving user experience through its Chain Abstraction. While blockchains currently work at an impressive level of efficiency, accuracy, and security; they do not provide users with a great user experience due to technicalities such as private keys, gas fees, and more which has stifled industry growth and adoption.

As the project progresses, we could see interesting use cases from XION and projects in its ecosystem that are capable of reaching new user audiences. It has shown very rapid growth in both users and developers across the ecosystem, as well as a very strong community. However, always remember to do your own research before interacting with any protocol, and note that this article only discusses XION for educational purposes and is not financial advice.

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