Recently, Coinbase Wallet's official Twitter account released a video explaining that Coinbase Wallet has integrated with the open-source communication network XMTP and has partnered to enable instant messaging between wallet addresses.

According to understanding, XMTP not only cooperates with Coinbase Wallet, but also helps Lens Protocol, a decentralized social media protocol that was just released as version 2 this week, to enable instant messaging module. In addition, applications within the XMTP network ecosystem can communicate with each other.

In the current Web 3 social competition, many social projects are making big claims about decentralization as their core selling point, targeting Twitter. However, most of these projects have little substance. XMTP seems to be taking a unique approach by exploring the real demand in native encrypted scenarios, such as NFT markets, wallets, and DeFi.

So what is the current status of the project's technical development, what partnerships have been established, and how will instant messaging change the design of Web 3 projects? Odaily has experienced this product and shares an overview of the project, as well as evaluation insights and some speculation below.

XMTP Project Overview

XMTP is positioned as a foundational communication infrastructure for transmitting Web 3 messages more securely and privately. It includes features such as identity verification, end-to-end encryption, interoperable inboxes, and message relays.

The overall structure of XMTP is divided into three layers: network layer, client layer, and application layer.

1. Network Layer

The XMTP network layer is built by peer-to-peer node operators, with nodes providing message APIs that allow client applications to exchange messages through the XMTP network.

Nodes store envelopes (packaging styles of messages, containing senders and receivers) in topics (transmitters involved in the messages) and forward them to other nodes, allowing envelopes to be retrieved by client applications. In simple terms, node operations are similar to other projects, mainly responsible for message synchronization, packaging, and delivery.

The XMTP network layer is currently operated by the project itself and will be decentralized through open node registration and incentive policies in the future.

2. Client Layer

The client layer is composed of clients built using XMTP SDK. Clients are responsible for creating XMTP identities, encrypting and decrypting data, and communicating with the XMTP network. In simple terms, the XMTP SDK is built and used by the respective project teams and has little to do with users.

3. Application Layer

The application layer consists of projects within the XMTP ecosystem. XMTP takes the B2B route and does not directly acquire users from the C end. Instead, it collaborates with other Web 3 protocols or products to facilitate message exchange between blockchain accounts at the application layer, enriching its own ecosystem and creating network effects. Currently, participants in the XMTP ecosystem include CyberConnect, Lens, Coinbase, Converse, ENS, Unstoppable d.

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In terms of XMTP technology, XMTP wants to build a basic communication infrastructure network that can break through communication barriers for projects that are connected to this network. For example, in Web 2.0, WeChat and Alipay cannot communicate with each other because they each have their own social communication networks and cannot cross the communication barriers. However, in the XMTP ecosystem, users can connect with each other in the XMTP network using wallet addresses as unique identifiers to achieve effective message delivery.

It is worth noting that in August 2021, XMTP completed a Series A financing round of $20 million, led by a16z, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, StarkWare, and other institutions and individuals. Therefore, it is not surprising that XMTP can cooperate with Coinbase Wallet and others.

Instant Messaging Experience

Due to the integration of XMTP with Coinbase Wallet and collaboration with Lens, Odaily tested this functionality using two products.

1. The following image shows the instant messaging between Coinbase Wallet wallets, which is relatively smooth and has good timeliness in the sending and receiving of information.

The above figure shows the interface of Coinbase Wallet from left to right: the initial interface, the message sending and receiving interface, the contact searching interface, and the chat content interface. Due to the integration of XMTP and ENS, the experience of finding specific users is relatively good.

However, the subjects of the experiment in the above figure were randomly selected, and chatting can be done without the consent of the other party, which raises concerns about privacy (how is it different from spam messages), but it is more convenient and accurate for the implementer.

2. The following figure shows the interoperability communication between Coinbase Wallet and Lens, both of which are in the XMTP communication ecosystem and can communicate in real time.

The left picture is the Lens interface, and the right picture is the Coinbase Wallet interface. Currently, the real-time messaging between the two is strong. As can be seen from the red circle at the bottom of the left picture, in addition to message delivery, pictures, files, etc. can also be sent. However, Coinbase Wallet does not currently support functions other than text.

What can XMTP bring to Web 3?

SocialFi, as a not very hot sub-sector, often faces doubts about whether decentralization and token economy are pseudo-demands of social media. Indeed, most users also tend to choose functionality over decentralization. Web 3 social applications, in terms of telling a "mass adoption" story, are clearly lagging behind, and "small and beautiful" products are difficult to sustain network effects and contribute to ecosystem construction.

In the face of such challenges, XMTP provides its own answer—focus on the needs of the crypto-native scene.

In its official v 2 documentation, it envisions some scenarios:

Decentralized social networking: Like using WeChat. Discover new friends, create groups, share emojis, send group files.

Project marketing: When promoting a new project, the project party can choose to send marketing messages to corresponding NFT and Token holders, which is more helpful for cold-starting a project.

Custom client functions: Help B-side services with specific needs, such as conducting financial transactions, AI customer service, streamlining DAO operations, etc., in chats.