Introduction
One of the most important parts of any ecosystem within cryptocurrency or Web3 is the onboarding experience. Creating a friction-less experience for new users to be able to access the ecosystem is extremely important. When we started working on VSC, this was at the forefront of our vision because we want it to be very easy and friction-less to get started.
The typical process for getting started with any new blockchain or cryptocurrency ecosystem would be something like this… Download a wallet, write down your secret recovery phrase, save your private key, and then you are ready to go. The Hive onboarding experience can be very high-friction for a new user, and even for an experienced blockchain user. We wanted to completely re-imagine this experience. It should all happen automatically, and make the process completely seam-less. You should be able to sign in with whatever method you prefer - a social account, an EVM wallet, or Hive sign in options like Hive Keychain. We are bringing this vision of super-simple DeFi onboarding to life, powered by VSC.
The current Hive onboarding flow
Before VSC was in development, there were just a few different ways to get a Hive account. Different front-ends for Hive have their own sign-up methods, which typically involve some sort of payment (around $3) to create the account. You could also get an account from an existing user if they had enough Resource Credits, or if they were willing to burn 3 HIVE. You can think of this as an invitation from someone that already has a Hive account and plenty of Resource Credits, or 3 Hive to create your account.
There are a couple different applications that allow users to sign up for free, and the application covers the cost (3 HIVE or Resource Credits) to create your account. When an account is created in this manner, you will typically need to provide more information such as an email address or a social login to prove you are human. Requiring this information prevents bots from creating accounts and taking advantage of the free service.
Creating an account this way gives you access to a “Hive Account”, which means you have a Hive wallet that you own and can perform any operation on the blockchain. These operations may be anything from creating a long-form blog post, staking HIVE as Hive Power, or even uploading videos to decentralized applications such as 3Speak. With a brand new Hive Account you will have enough Resource Credits to do some transactions and get started. You are also able to set up a Recovery Account, in case you lose access to the account or the account is somehow compromised.
As you can see, in order to create a Hive Account you either had to pay, get help from someone with an existing Hive Account, or prove you are human to create a free one. This creates a very high-friction onboarding experience for users that wanted to quickly get a Hive account. Regular blockchain users are not familiar with this type of onboarding flow and it can be a jarring experience. That is one of the reasons have been creating a way for any user to interact with our DeFi products, or any service on VSC Network, without the need for a Hive Account.
The VSC onboarding flow
The onboarding flow of any blockchain or cryptocurrency ecosystem is extremely important. This should be easy, seamless, and fast. If you think about connecting to something like X, for example, you will be able to create an account and start in a few seconds. We should have a similar experience for users that want to interact with the VSC Network, as well.
VSC Accounts are not actual accounts, per se, but are actually any compatible wallets we add to our ecosystem that allow users to sign in. You can think of a VSC Account as any wallet we support on a different blockchain, instead of a separate account. VSC will enable anyone to sign in using a social login, key DIDs (part of the Decentralized Identities standard), or EVM wallet to quickly create an account. Signing in with a VSC Account in any way comes with some limitations, but this makes it much easier to get started. With VSC, there is no need to pay for an account, or provide additional information to prove you’re human. Simply sign in with your preferred method and VSC handles the rest.
Using a social login works a little different than using an EVM wallet. When you use a social login on our DeFi frontend for the first time, an EVM wallet will be generated in the background and you will be able to export it whenever you want. With your new VSC Account, you can use it just like any other wallet. In the future, more login methods might be added like BTC and Solana wallets as we see the demand for more options.
Operations such as sending, receiving, and even trading within our DeFi frontend are supported with any of the login methods mentioned. As you can see, compared to Hive Accounts, VSC Accounts have limited types of operations that can be performed at this moment, like any type of DeFi operation. For now, we wanted to give non-Hive users an easy way to start getting familiar with our ecosystem, without having to learn everything about Hive from the beginning. As our ecosystem grows, we will be adding more types of operations, such as posting content or commenting on blog posts.
VSC Accounts are just as secure as the user’s initial sign-in method. This means that as long as you have access to the wallet used to sign in, you will have access to your VSC Account. This removes the need for any sort of custody of keys, or complex account recovery method set up. In simple words, you are in charge of the security of your account. We do not and will not have the custody of your private keys.
Conclusion
Both Hive Accounts and VSC Accounts have their unique use-cases, and we’re extremely excited to bring this new account-ownership class to life. We aim to cater to all sorts of users, and this is just another way that we are able to offer our services to the world. Whether you want to stick to just trading on a DEX, or you want to use Hive social media apps at the same time, VSC has you covered. Just choose your favorite sign in method and your are ready to get started!