Coinbase-backed Xion rolls out testnet based on 'generalized abstraction'

Xion, a blockchain that uses the USDC stablecoin as its default payment coin, has launched its testnet that focuses on “generalized abstraction,” an infrastructure solution to remove web3 user experience complexities.

The network aims to onboard users without directly using wallet accounts, signatures or other typical processes. The team is eying a mainnet release in 2024.

With this launch, Xion also released its whitepaper for generalized abstraction. This is an expanded form of account abstraction technology, also called smart wallets, that lets users bypass the need to download crypto wallets.

The solution focuses on onboarding users onto web3 apps using familiar methods, such as email, PassKeys, and any cryptographic signature scheme used in traditional IT. The network will focus on use cases around payments, social communities, web subscriptions and games.

Integrating USDC

Xion is the first blockchain to integrate USDC stablecoin across the infrastructure stack for familiar pricing. This means all products built on Xion will display prices in the stablecoin to make them user-friendly. 

Xion's development firm, Burnt, raised over $11 million from Animoca Brands, Circle Ventures, Multicoin, HashKey, Valor, and others. 

“Web3 still has a steep learning curve and scares away users who have to learn how to operate wallets, safeguard seed phrases, and send transactions to hexadecimal addresses. Generalized Abstraction is a step beyond account abstraction, as we look to streamline all aspects of using blockchain,” said Banksy Burnt, Xion’s pseudonymous founder.

Xion is developed with Cosmos SDK

The Xion testnet is based on the Comet BFT consensus framework and the Cosmos SDK, a popular developer toolkit and software package leveraged in developing projects such as Injective, Osmosis and dYdX Chain.

In October, Xion announced that upon the mainnet launch, the network will be supported by an ecosystem of over seventy-five partners who aim to provide users with key functionalities, from onramp to managing on-chain communities and fee abstraction.