"NEAR did unprecedented work on chain signatures"
"unprecedented" is doing a lot of work here, threshold ECDSA, one key, sign on any chain, no bridge, shipped on internet-computer:native protocol-native, subnet-level DKG, asynchronous & byzantine-robust, with formal security proofs.
NEAR's chain signatures shipped in 2024 and it's not even onchain, but an 8-node, appointed, permissioned side MPC network.
So the "unprecedented engineering" is really "we shipped what ICP shipped protocol native, as offchain MPC."
@NEARProtocol even cites
@dfinity math for their offchain MPC bolt-on.😉
Don't believe me? Check the official
$NEAR docs:
docs.near.org/chain-abstract…
In the "Derivation Paths: One Account, Multiple Chains" section, click the Additive Key Derivation link. It takes you to a
@dfinity paper (click the PDF icon on the site).
The funny part is, put the signer contract on any another blockchain (ETH, SOL, SUI... any smart-contract one), attach the MPC bolt-on, and it'll be "unprecedented engineering" for that chain too, without needing
$NEAR at all.
btw
@LitProtocol already runs the same type, offchain, permissioned MPC, live on Ethereum today. 😉