Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has advocated for the implementation of transaction simulations to improve security and user experience in Ethereum wallets and smart contracts. In a recent post on X, Buterin emphasized that enhancing security and user experience should not be seen as separate goals but rather interconnected through user intent.

Buterin outlined that users should be able to specify their desired actions and then confirm them after viewing a simulated transaction. He also mentioned that additional methods, such as spending limits and multi-signature approvals, could further align user intent with expected outcomes, making it easier to carry out low-risk transactions while complicating dangerous one.

User Intent Complexity

Buterin acknowledged the challenges in defining user intent, describing it as ’extremely complicated.’ He remarked:

“[It’s not] because machines are ‘flawed’, or even because humans designing the machines are ‘flawed’, but because ‘the user’s intent’ is fundamentally an extremely complex object that the user themselves does not have easy access to.”

He proposed that a robust solution would involve users expressing their intentions in various overlapping forms so that actions could only be taken when all specifications align.

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Security is a vital component of the blockchain trilemma, along with decentralization and scalability, theorized by Buterin, indicating that blockchains can optimize two of these elements but must make compromises on the third. The Ethereum ecosystem has been predominantly focusing on scalability, especially as its mainnet has struggled compared to competing layer 1 solutions.