Why Granular Consent on Blockchain is Non-Negotiable

Public mempools broadcast intent, creating a multi-billion dollar MEV industry. Granular, pre-signed approvals are the only defense.

• UniswapX uses signed intents to shield users from sandwich attacks.
• CowSwap leverages batch auctions via signed orders, eliminating front-running.
• Flashbots SUAVE aims to decentralize MEV by processing encrypted intents off-chain.

Bridge hacks account for ~70% of all crypto theft. The root cause: monolithic contracts with unlimited spending power.

• LayerZero's pre-crime and Axelar's interchain token service require granular, function-specific approvals.
• Across uses optimistic verification with single-transaction intents, reducing the attack surface.
• Principle: Approve only the specific action (e.g., 'swap 1 ETH for USDC on Arbitrum'), not infinite balance access.

TradFi and regulated entities cannot operate with binary, irrevocable smart contract permissions. Granularity enables audit trails and control.

• Fireblocks and MPC wallets enforce policy engines that require transaction-specific signatures.
• Enables role-based access control (RBAC) for DAO treasuries (e.g., Gnosis Safe with Zodiac modules).
• Future-proofs protocols for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, where legal frameworks demand revocable, conditional approvals.

ERC-20 approve() is a legacy vulnerability. Users grant infinite spending power, leading to catastrophic losses from a single exploit. This is the root cause of most wallet-draining attacks.

• Key Risk: Single malicious contract can drain all approved assets.
• User Burden: Manual, per-token approvals create friction and false security.
• Industry Impact: Erodes mainstream trust; a primary UX failure of Web3.

This standard enables fine-grained session keys and policy engines natively within smart accounts (like Safe). It's the foundational spec for intent-based, conditional permissions.

• Core Innovation: Session keys with spend limits, time locks, and allow-lists.
• Developer Primitive: Unlocks batched, gasless transactions for seamless dApp UX.
• Ecosystem Play: Directly enables projects like Rhinestone, ZeroDev, and Biconomy.

A modular toolkit that lets developers embed security policies (e.g., 'only swap on Uniswap', 'max 1 ETH per day') directly into user smart accounts. It separates policy logic from wallet core.

• Key Benefit: Runtime security that adapts to user behavior and threat models.
• Composability: Policies work across Safe, ZeroDev, and other ERC-7579 accounts.
• VC Signal: Backed by 1kx and Breed VC, validating the infrastructure thesis.

Granular consent's killer app. Users sign an intent ('I want 1 ETH for 3000 USDC') not a transaction. Solvers compete to fulfill it, removing the need for token approvals entirely.

• User Win: No more signing blind transactions; better prices via solver competition.
• Protocol Win: UniswapX and CowSwap demonstrate ~20% better prices for users.
• Paradigm Shift: Moves risk from user to solver network, aligning incentives.

These SDKs abstract gas and key management, making ERC-7579-powered accounts accessible to any dApp. They are the distribution layer for granular consent.

• Key Benefit: Social logins & gas sponsorship built on session key primitives.
• Adoption Driver: Reduces onboarding friction from minutes to seconds.
• Scale: Powers thousands of dApps; critical for mainstream adoption curves.

Granular consent must be portable. The next frontier is cross-chain session keys and intent-based bridging, where a user's policy ('bridge max 100 USDC per week') travels with them.

• Key Innovation: Programmable security that persists across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base.
• Protocols Leading: LayerZero's Omnichain Fungible Tokens (OFT) and Across's intent-based bridge are early models.
• Ultimate Goal: A unified security model for a multichain identity.

Users sign transactions granting unlimited, permanent spending power to dApps like Uniswap or Aave. This creates systemic risk and stifles innovation in DeFi and SocialFi.

• Attack Surface: A single compromised frontend can drain all approved assets.
• Innovation Tax: Developers can't build complex, multi-step intents without asking for dangerous blanket approvals.

Granular consent protocols like ERC-7579 and ERC-5805 enable temporary, limited-scope permissions. This is the key infrastructure for intent-based architectures championed by UniswapX and Across.

• User Safety: Approve a specific swap route for 5 minutes, not infinite USDC spending.
• Builder Enablement: Design complex cross-chain flows (e.g., via LayerZero) where users pre-approve logic, not assets.

Granular consent isn't a feature—it's the plumbing for the next wave of adoption. The winners will be infrastructure layers that abstract this complexity.

• Wallet Primitive: The next MetaMask must bake this in. Wallets without it are obsolete.
• Protocol Capture: Standards-setters and first-mover dApps (e.g., CowSwap with solvers) will capture disproportionate value by offering superior UX and security.