{"id":"Gv8bzbHEXU8","title":"NEAR Rabbit Hole Ep. 4: The Chain Abstraction Engine Connecting All Blockchains","description":"Episode 4 of the NEAR Rabbit Hole goes deep on one of the most powerful shifts happening in crypto right now: chain abstraction. NEAR is rapidly becoming the universal liquidity layer and the engine that makes cross-chain interactions feel invisible, instant, and effortless.\n\nThis episode explains why chain abstraction is doing to crypto what money did to barter. NEAR Intents is already transforming how people move value across chains, powering everything from shielded Zcash to Solana stablecoin payments, and integrating with wallets and apps across 22+ ecosystems. The numbers back it up: billions in recent volume, millions of intent-based swaps, hundreds of thousands of unique users, and rapidly growing protocol revenue.\n\nWe break down exactly how NEAR’s chain-abstraction stack works, including Chain Signatures, the MPC service, derived addresses, and the signer contract, finishing with a simple walkthrough showing how alice.near can sign an Ethereum transaction without touching Ethereum’s native tooling at all.\n\nThis series is sponsored by NEAR DevHub as part of the Public Goods for NEAR Protocol campaign, but all commentary reflects my own analysis.\n\nFollow the creator:\nX: https://x.com/vinibarbosabr\n\nLearn more and start building:\nDocs: https://docs.near.org\n\nTIMESTAMPS:\n00:09 Intro to the series\n00:49 The universal liquidity layer and chain abstraction engine\n01:37 NEAR Intents: a game changer\n02:20 NEAR Intents data as of Nov. 17\n04:10 The chain abstraction tech stack\n04:57 How Chain Signatures work, alice.near example","channel_name":"NEAR DevHub","published_at":"2025-12-15T00:00:00.000Z","thumbnail_url":"https://img.youtube.com/vi/Gv8bzbHEXU8/hqdefault.jpg","transcript_text":"Near is quickly becoming the universal liquidity layer in a powerful chain abstraction engine. Easily and efficiently connecting everything together in a multi-chain world. Let's talk about it. Welcome to the near rabbit holes content series that will guide you down this exciting rabbit hole that is the near protocol exploring all its facets. No worries if you can't digest it all at once. It's part of the process. Feel free to ask questions, correct me, like, share, follow, and subscribe. This series is sponsored by Near Dev Hub, part of the public goods for near protocol campaign. Yet everything here reflects my genuine thoughts and opinions limited to my knowledge of these things. This is episode 4 and you can watch previous episodes on X at vinosbr and on the free publication the coding.substack.com. You can also follow Near DevHub on X and visit neardeithhub.org for more information about the ecosystem. Near is quickly becoming the universal liquidity layer and a powerful chain abstraction engine. Chain abstraction is the simplification of interactions across multiple blockchains networks by hiding the underlying technical complexities from users and developers. Crosschain interactions have become one of the biggest problems in crypto requiring a good solution that Near has delivered. Abstraction interactions in a multi-chain world just like the creation of money abstracted trade in a barter based world. Anyone can reach any supported chain from any other supported chain through near. For example, in episode one, I explained how near intense allows people to pay with shielded Zcash to a merchant who takes Solana stable coins all with very low fees and fast finality. Near intense is leading the chain abstraction that has already been implemented by dozens of other protocols and apps including Zash wallet and radium. It's gaining massive recognition among prominent figures from other ecosystems. Breaking the toxic tribalism we often see among crypto communities. Personally, I believe that any chain outside near intense will be at a huge disadvantage in 2026. Getting integrated should be all chains number one priority. joining the already 22 plus leading blockchain supported there. The protocol has already made $5.2 billion volume with $7.7 million intentbased chain abstracted swaps. Out of that 2.8 billion were made in the last 30 days alone among over half a million unique addresses. generated fees or revenue is also growing exponentially rotating the value back to so far $8 million in fees were paid to the protocol. The highest volumes are within USDT, BTC and USDC tokens according to data indexed by Surge. USDT has seen over $100 million deposits and over $400 million withdrawals. BTC has seen over $400 million deposits and nearly $200 million withdrawals. USDC has seen over $100 million deposits and over $200 million withdrawals. The highest volume roads are BTC USDC with $170 million in nearly 23,000 swaps and Zack USDC with $130 million with 9,000 swaps. Yet USDC Zach is nearly as much used as Zack USDC with 8,000 swaps despite having nearly half its volume at $83 million. data is from November 17. It's not by chance that we are calling near the universal liquidity layer. This is only possible thanks to Near's chain abstraction text. Chain signatures is a key piece of this puzzle enabling near accounts including smart contracts to sign and execute transactions across many blockchain protocols. Chain signatures has three main components. One, derivation paths, one year account deriving addresses in multiple chains. Two, multi-chain smart contract use it to request signatures for transactions on other blockchains. And three, multi-party computation service or MPC service. Independent nodes can safely and privately sign in transactions on behalf of users. So Alice. Near wants to sign a transaction on Ethereum. She calls the v1signer smart contract to do it. Derivation path will generate an ethereum address via the ethereum one string from alis.ne. The MPC service will listen to this request, create the signature, and store it in the smart contract which returns the signature back to Alice. Who will send it to Ethereum via the Ethereum one derivative address everything is registered onchain, but AB is tracked to the user. All Alice does is ask the app to send an Ethereum transaction with Alice. And she sees it going through. Near is easily and efficiently connecting everything together in a multi-gen word. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Like, share, follow, and subscribe for more. See you.","transcript_synced_at":"2026-11-03T03:49:12.904Z","segments":[{"start_seconds":0,"text":"Near is quickly becoming the universal liquidity layer in a powerful chain abstraction engine. Easily and efficiently connecting everything","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=0s"},{"start_seconds":8,"text":"together in a multi-chain world. Let's talk about it. Welcome to the near rabbit holes content series that will guide you down this exciting rabbit hole","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=8s"},{"start_seconds":15,"text":"that is the near protocol exploring all its facets. No worries if you can't digest it all at once. It's part of the process. Feel free to ask questions,","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=15s"},{"start_seconds":22,"text":"correct me, like, share, follow, and subscribe. This series is sponsored by Near Dev Hub, part of the public goods for near protocol campaign. Yet","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=22s"},{"start_seconds":30,"text":"everything here reflects my genuine thoughts and opinions limited to my knowledge of these things. This is episode 4 and you can watch previous","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=30s"},{"start_seconds":38,"text":"episodes on X at vinosbr and on the free publication the coding.substack.com.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=38s"},{"start_seconds":42,"text":"You can also follow Near DevHub on X and visit neardeithhub.org for more information about the ecosystem.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=42s"},{"start_seconds":49,"text":"Near is quickly becoming the universal liquidity layer and a powerful chain","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=49s"},{"start_seconds":56,"text":"abstraction engine. Chain abstraction is the simplification of interactions across multiple blockchains networks by","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=56s"},{"start_seconds":65,"text":"hiding the underlying technical complexities from users and developers.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=65s"},{"start_seconds":70,"text":"Crosschain interactions have become one of the biggest problems in crypto requiring a good solution that Near has","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=70s"},{"start_seconds":78,"text":"delivered. Abstraction interactions in a multi-chain world just like the creation of money abstracted trade in a barter based world.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=78s"},{"start_seconds":90,"text":"Anyone can reach any supported chain from any other supported chain through near. For example, in episode one, I","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=90s"},{"start_seconds":99,"text":"explained how near intense allows people to pay with shielded Zcash to a merchant who takes Solana stable coins all with","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=99s"},{"start_seconds":107,"text":"very low fees and fast finality. Near intense is leading the chain abstraction that has already been implemented by","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=107s"},{"start_seconds":115,"text":"dozens of other protocols and apps including Zash wallet and radium. It's gaining massive recognition among prominent figures from other ecosystems.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=115s"},{"start_seconds":126,"text":"Breaking the toxic tribalism we often see among crypto communities.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=126s"},{"start_seconds":131,"text":"Personally, I believe that any chain outside near intense will be at a huge disadvantage in 2026.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=131s"},{"start_seconds":141,"text":"Getting integrated should be all chains number one priority. joining the already 22 plus leading blockchain supported there.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=141s"},{"start_seconds":151,"text":"The protocol has already made $5.2 billion volume with $7.7 million intentbased chain abstracted swaps. Out","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=151s"},{"start_seconds":159,"text":"of that 2.8 billion were made in the last 30 days alone among over half a million unique addresses. generated fees","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=159s"},{"start_seconds":169,"text":"or revenue is also growing exponentially rotating the value back to so far $8 million in fees were paid to the","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=169s"},{"start_seconds":177,"text":"protocol. The highest volumes are within USDT, BTC and USDC tokens according to","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=177s"},{"start_seconds":184,"text":"data indexed by Surge. USDT has seen over $100 million deposits and over $400","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=184s"},{"start_seconds":192,"text":"million withdrawals. BTC has seen over $400 million deposits and nearly $200 million withdrawals.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=192s"},{"start_seconds":202,"text":"USDC has seen over $100 million deposits and over $200 million withdrawals.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=202s"},{"start_seconds":209,"text":"The highest volume roads are BTC USDC with $170 million in nearly 23,000 swaps","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=209s"},{"start_seconds":218,"text":"and Zack USDC with $130 million with 9,000 swaps. Yet USDC Zach is nearly as","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=218s"},{"start_seconds":229,"text":"much used as Zack USDC with 8,000 swaps despite having nearly half its volume at","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=229s"},{"start_seconds":236,"text":"$83 million. data is from November 17.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=236s"},{"start_seconds":244,"text":"It's not by chance that we are calling near the universal liquidity layer. This is only possible thanks to Near's chain","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=244s"},{"start_seconds":253,"text":"abstraction text. Chain signatures is a key piece of this puzzle enabling near accounts including smart contracts to","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=253s"},{"start_seconds":261,"text":"sign and execute transactions across many blockchain protocols. Chain signatures has three main components.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=261s"},{"start_seconds":269,"text":"One, derivation paths, one year account deriving addresses in multiple chains.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=269s"},{"start_seconds":275,"text":"Two, multi-chain smart contract use it to request signatures for transactions on other blockchains.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=275s"},{"start_seconds":283,"text":"And three, multi-party computation service or MPC service. Independent nodes can safely and privately sign in transactions on behalf of users.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=283s"},{"start_seconds":297,"text":"So Alice. Near wants to sign a transaction on Ethereum.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=297s"},{"start_seconds":303,"text":"She calls the v1signer smart contract to do it. Derivation path will generate an ethereum address via the ethereum one string from alis.ne.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=303s"},{"start_seconds":317,"text":"The MPC service will listen to this request, create the signature, and store","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=317s"},{"start_seconds":324,"text":"it in the smart contract which returns the signature back to Alice. Who will","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=324s"},{"start_seconds":331,"text":"send it to Ethereum via the Ethereum one derivative address everything is","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=331s"},{"start_seconds":338,"text":"registered onchain, but AB is tracked to the user. All Alice does is ask the app","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=338s"},{"start_seconds":346,"text":"to send an Ethereum transaction with Alice. And she sees it going through.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=346s"},{"start_seconds":354,"text":"Near is easily and efficiently connecting everything together in a multi-gen word. Let me know your","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=354s"},{"start_seconds":363,"text":"thoughts in the comments. Like, share, follow, and subscribe for more. See you.","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8&t=363s"}],"youtube_url":"https://youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8bzbHEXU8","url":"https://near-pedia.xyz/videos/Gv8bzbHEXU8"}