Vitalik Buterin Flags Wallet UX Gaps With Multisig Walkaway Test

TheNewsCryptoPublished on 2026-01-29Last updated on 2026-01-29

Abstract

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, identified significant usability issues in multisig wallets after performing a walkaway test. He discovered that many wallets fail basic usability standards when front-end applications are unavailable. Buterin was able to bypass the need for a specific Safe app by using Etherscan’s "read contract" feature to access multisig information directly, highlighting the advantage of open infrastructure. He emphasized that users should be able to access core functions through neutral tools like block explorers even if an application’s interface becomes inaccessible. Buterin proposed a "viewing key" solution to enhance privacy while acknowledging the inherent risks of handling sensitive data in URLs. Developers suggested alternatives, including open-source tools and zero-knowledge proof systems for authorization. This discussion occurs amid structural changes in Ethereum trading following the launch of U.S. spot ETH ETFs.

The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, is using a mundane multisig check and found that a lot of wallets do not pass basic usability and the walkaway test.

The co-founder revealed that, “This morning I thought to check the addresses of those who were signers on my multisig and on my phone; I hadn’t installed any Safe app.” He further mentioned that instead of reinstalling Safe, he realised that he could just look up the address on Etherscan and use the ‘read contract’ feature to get directly what he wants.

He described the loophole as a quiet yet critical win for open infrastructure. These are some kinds of extra UX benefits you get if your wallet or application is open source and clears the walkaway test.

Simply put, if the front end vanishes, users must still access core functions through neutral tools such as block explorers. Buterin alerted that this same plan will somehow have to break due to privacy.

Co-founder’s suggestion

His suggested direction is a viewing key... an extended version of their address and also comprises extra private info, having block explorers read that client-side through URL hash fields.

He admits the trade-off and informs people that pasting any kinds of secrets into URLs or web pages is risky, and in the end, you’ll just be capable of doing more things via your wallets directly.

Developers swiftly came up with alternatives. One reply highlighted an open-source tool, SwissKnifeXYZ, as one more open-source alternative, while Microchain Labs underlined microchain zk signers displacing explicit multisig signatures having a zk proof of authorisation, securing only a state root on-chain.

The experiments now sit against a distinct backdrop: the appearance of U.S. spot ETH ETFs, where structural flows have initiated to redesign how Ethereum trades. The initial weeks of trading witnessed ETH ETF inflows concentrate liquidity at the front of the curve, reflecting patterns once linked with BTC products.

Highlighted Crypto News Today:

Kalshi Traders are Bearish on Bitcoin, Will BTC Price Stand the Test?

TagsETHETHEREUMvitalik Buterin

Trending Cryptos

ctr
CitreaCTR
wstusdt
wrapped stUSDTWSTUSDT
apr
aPrioriAPR
ctx
Cryptex FinanceCTX
audio
AudiusAUDIO
comp
CompoundCOMP
mantra
MantraMANTRA
xvs
VenusXVS
waxl
AxelarWAXL
bill
Billions NetworkBILL
pyth
PYTH (Pyth)PYTH
rune
THORChainRUNE
velodrome
Velodrome FinanceVELODROME
brev
BrevisBREV
zrx
ZRX（0X）ZRX

Related Questions

QWhat did Vitalik Buterin discover when checking his multisig addresses without the Safe app installed?

AHe discovered that he could use Etherscan's 'read contract' feature to access the information directly, highlighting a usability gap in many wallets that fail the basic walkaway test.

QAccording to Buterin, what is a critical benefit of open-source wallets or applications that pass the walkaway test?

AThey provide extra UX benefits, allowing users to access core functions through neutral tools like block explorers even if the front end vanishes.

QWhat solution did Vitalik Buterin suggest to address the privacy concerns with his initial plan?

AHe suggested using a viewing key, which is an extended version of an address containing extra private information, readable by block explorers client-side through URL hash fields.

QWhat trade-off did Buterin acknowledge with his suggested solution involving URLs?

AHe admitted that pasting any kinds of secrets into URLs or web pages is risky, and ultimately, users will need to perform more actions directly through their wallets.

QWhat alternative tool was mentioned by developers in response to Buterin's findings?

ADevelopers highlighted an open-source tool called SwissKnifeXYZ as an alternative, and Microchain Labs mentioned using microchain zk signers with zk proofs of authorization to replace explicit multisig signatures.

Related Reads

The Verdict in Choi Tae-won's Divorce Case: Revealing the Inheritance Undercurrent Behind SK Hynix's Trillion-Won Empire

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's high-profile divorce case, involving a record 1.38 trillion won settlement, has drawn attention to the succession plans for Korea's second-largest conglomerate, especially its crown jewel, SK hynix. Unlike traditional chaebol scripts centered on the eldest son, Chey's three children from his marriage to former President Roh Tae-woo's daughter, Roh Soh-yeong, are carving distinct, non-traditional paths. Eldest daughter Chey Yun-jung (b. 1989) is seen as the most evident successor. With a scientific and consulting background, she holds executive roles at SK bioscience and SK Inc.'s growth support department, focusing on future strategy and biopharma. Her marriage is to an AI infrastructure entrepreneur, not a traditional business alliance. Second daughter Chey Min-jung (b. 1991) took a unique route, voluntarily serving as a South Korean naval officer, including an anti-piracy deployment. She later worked on policy and strategy for SK hynix in Washington D.C. before co-founding an AI-driven healthcare startup. She married a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, connecting her to U.S. defense and policy circles—networks crucial for a global semiconductor giant. The only son, Chey In-geun (b. 1995), who studied physics like his father, worked briefly at SK E&S before joining McKinsey. Despite fitting the traditional "heir" profile as the eldest son, he remains silent and holds no public position or shares in SK, suggesting the old succession playbook is obsolete. As SK hynix's valuation soars, becoming a geopolitical asset in the AI era, the heirs' legitimacy is no longer automatic. They must prove themselves in fields like AI biotech, global policy, and strategic consulting. Their marriages also reflect new elite networks in tech and defense, not old political alliances. Their inheritance is the complex challenge of navigating a globalized, tech-driven world, not just a corporate throne.

marsbitYesterday 09:06

The Verdict in Choi Tae-won's Divorce Case: Revealing the Inheritance Undercurrent Behind SK Hynix's Trillion-Won Empire

marsbitYesterday 09:06

Banks oppose stablecoin yield deal – Can CLARITY Act find 60 votes?

The Bank Policy Institute (BPI) has opposed the latest draft of the CLARITY Act, criticizing its provisions on stablecoin yield and illicit finance. The banking industry sought a total ban on stablecoin yield, but the bill's compromise only prohibits passive yield on idle balances. This opposition has influenced lawmakers, reducing tentative Republican Senate support to potentially 49 votes. With the 60-vote threshold needed, securing sufficient Democratic support appears difficult as some pro-crypto Democrats also oppose the bill due to ethics and illicit finance concerns. Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed doubt the bill can pass before the August recess. Market odds for the bill's passage in 2026 have fallen, leaving its future uncertain.

ambcryptoYesterday 09:02

Banks oppose stablecoin yield deal – Can CLARITY Act find 60 votes?

ambcryptoYesterday 09:02

2 Months, Valuation Soars from $8.8B to $68B! The Largest AI Model Hub OpenRouter May Be Acquired

Stripe is reportedly in talks to acquire AI model marketplace OpenRouter for a price nearing $10 billion, a dramatic increase from its $1.3 billion valuation just two months prior. The deal, which could be announced within a month, would see the payment giant absorb a key "router" or aggregation layer in the AI infrastructure stack. OpenRouter provides developers with a single API to access over 400 large language models (LLMs), automatically routing queries to the most suitable model based on cost, capability, and speed. This allows AI applications to optimize expenses while maintaining user experience. Founded in 2023 by ex-OpenSea co-founder Alex Atallah and Louis Vichy, OpenRouter has grown rapidly, reaching $50 million in annualized revenue by April and serving over one million developers. For Stripe, the acquisition of OpenRouter follows its late-2025 purchase of usage-based billing platform Metronome. The combined strategy aims to create an integrated suite for the AI economy: OpenRouter would handle model selection and routing, Metronome would manage granular usage-based billing, and Stripe's core platform would process payments. This positions Stripe to control a critical part of the AI application value chain, influencing which models get used while simplifying cost management for enterprise customers.

链捕手Yesterday 08:59

2 Months, Valuation Soars from $8.8B to $68B! The Largest AI Model Hub OpenRouter May Be Acquired

链捕手Yesterday 08:59

From OpenSea to OpenRouter: Is Alex Atallah Repeating His 'Exit at the Peak' Playbook?

From OpenSea to OpenRouter: Is Alex Atallah Repeating His "Exit at the Peak" Playbook? According to the Wall Street Journal, payments giant Stripe is in talks to acquire the AI model aggregation platform OpenRouter in a potential deal valuing the company near $100 billion. This would mark founder Alex Atallah's second creation of a company reaching a $100 billion valuation, following his co-founding of NFT marketplace OpenSea. OpenRouter, founded just over three years ago, has grown rapidly by acting as a unified gateway for developers to access over 400 AI models. It currently has about 10 million users and processes over 200 trillion tokens monthly. While the platform's annualized revenue is around $50 million, its valuation has skyrocketed from $1.3 billion in March 2026. The potential acquisition by Stripe, a company OpenRouter's founder once likened it to, represents a major expansion into AI infrastructure for the payments leader. This move echoes Atallah's previous timing with OpenSea, where he departed before the NFT market's significant downturn. For OpenRouter, selling now may be strategic. Despite its scale, its business model—charging a 5-5.5% fee on AI inference calls—faces pressure from competition, open-source models, and potential price wars among model providers, limiting its profitability narrative for an IPO. A key asset for potential acquirers like Stripe is OpenRouter's vast repository of real-world AI usage data, which offers unique insights into model performance and developer preferences that are difficult to replicate. Whether this potential deal signifies a new valuation benchmark for AI infrastructure or another market peak signal remains to be seen.

链捕手Yesterday 08:42

From OpenSea to OpenRouter: Is Alex Atallah Repeating His 'Exit at the Peak' Playbook?

链捕手Yesterday 08:42

Pons V2 brings RWA trading pairs as Robinhood Chain broadens its ambitions

Pons, a key launchpad on Robinhood Chain, has launched its V2 upgrade. The update aims to boost liquidity, remove trading restrictions for most users via an ETH-denominated bonding curve, and introduces support for custom tokenized real-world asset (RWA) trading pairs. This aligns with Robinhood Chain's broader RWA focus. The upgrade also allows creators to collect fees in ETH by default. The network itself is growing rapidly, surpassing $300 million in Total Value Locked. Its cumulative DEX volume has exceeded $9 billion, with about 80% coming from speculative memecoin trading. However, data shows 63% of traders are at a loss, with profits concentrated in a small number of wallets. The introduction of RWAs could help drive more organic adoption for the chain, which is positioning itself as a major player for speculative trading, challenging networks like Base and Solana.

ambcryptoYesterday 08:26

Pons V2 brings RWA trading pairs as Robinhood Chain broadens its ambitions

ambcryptoYesterday 08:26

Trading

Spot

Hot Articles

Discussions

Welcome to the HTX Community. Here, you can stay informed about the latest platform developments and gain access to professional market insights. Users' opinions on the price of ETH (ETH) are presented below.

活动图片

Top Questions