I don't know if you have noticed recently that when the market is calm, the "big players" in the Web3 field are "branching out" and expanding their boundaries: today, Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino announced that they will launch mobile payment applications for USDT and XAUT[C1]^ (Source: link); on August 8, Circle released a programmable Web3 wallet platform to help businesses provide digital asset payment services to customers (Source: link); on August 7, Etherscan introduced the Blockscan Chat mobile app to meet users' Web3 communication needs (Source: link)...
As a novice in Web3 chat software, I can't wait to give a try to the social product Blockscan created by "blockchain technology experts," and here is my experience report:
Blockscan is currently in Beta testing mode. Users can participate in instant wallet-to-wallet chats, access chats from multiple devices, block spam or unwanted addresses, and receive notifications on the blockchain browser when receiving messages.
The first step is to log in, which supports Mac and App platforms, as well as MetaMask, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet. However, when I used MetaMask, I received a prompt saying "deep linking not supported," which may be due to regional issues or compatibility. When I switched to WalletConnect and tried again several times, I finally connected successfully.
In Blockscan Chat, there are two ways to send instant messages. One is off-chain and free, which some people question its "centralization". But in my opinion, decentralization is just a means, not a goal, so there's no need to blame it; the other is decentralized chat, which can use the "IDM" function (data messages).
Regardless of which method mentioned above, once the addresses of both the sender and receiver are logged into Blockscan Chat, all messages will be encrypted (except for addresses holding API keys and secure multi-signature addresses).
In terms of personal privacy and data storage, the information is stored by "global hosting providers" with servers distributed in multiple areas, and inactive data will be deleted after 24 months.
In other words, the storage method is centralized, but it is widely distributed.
It also states that this information will not be traded to third parties, but may be disclosed or transferred to data warehouses, IT service providers, and data analysis agencies.
According to its terms of service, any user who violates its acceptable use policy (such as providing false, inaccurate, or misleading information) may be prohibited from using some or all of the Blockscan and Etherscan-related services.
Recently, a big player (nd 4.eth) sent 2500 ETH into a black hole for destruction, and also destroyed multiple blue-chip NFTs. Soon after, there were fake accounts on X (formerly Twitter), launching phishing attacks such as airdrops, but on Blockscan Chat, you can directly use ENS domain names to initiate conversations, which means that only the true owner of the account can be matched for chatting. This method is also suitable for NFT trading conversations. Does it weaken the risk of impersonation?
In addition, the company also released a small game, in which users can interact with AI robots and have a chance to win some testnet ETH.
According to the current situation, most users are ENS users. I took the opportunity to send a message to V God (vitalik.eth) to express my admiration. As a result, he didn't reply after three messages, and the system directly popped up the message "Anti-spam option enabled". The design is quite "human". Chat software has brought convenience to friends and life, but it has also brought pressure. People have to deal with their friends' relationships almost all the time and have lost a place to "escape to". Especially for people who are not good at dealing with interpersonal relationships, this is quite scary.
This is not just "anti-spam", it is an opportunity for the soul to breathe.
To sum up, the Blockscan Chat interface is concise and visually friendly. Secondly, it has launched an API interface, which can be directly integrated into Web3 projects, making it convenient for users to interact. Especially for NFT/Gamefi projects, it directly saves a lot of development costs and opens up new imagination space for exhibition business. It supports anonymous negotiation, providing convenience for white-hat hackers to communicate about attack incidents. It also provides an opportunity for conversation for NFT transactions, which may eliminate transaction fees and directly bypass platform transactions (or negotiations).
