Background information

Proximity Labs has developed NETH, a smart contract that enables Ethereum accounts to interact with NEAR dApps using Ethereum wallets, such as MetaMask. To date, MetaMask is one of the most popular wallets in crypto with over 30 million monthly active users and is the majority of DeFi flows through it. NETH eliminates the entry barrier for EVM users to enter the NEAR Native ecosystem. NETH is deployed on the NEAR side and allows paired NEAR accounts to accept transaction details and signatures from paired Ethereum accounts. The contract verifies the signature, recovers the Ethereum public address, and executes the transaction if it matches the address from the initial NETH setup. This makes NEAR accessible through the most widely used non-custodial wallet in crypto. NETH is open-source, non-custodial, and has undergone an audit by OtterSec to ensure its security. The NETH account setup process is entirely client-side and runs on the user's computer only, without communicating with a server or third party. The creation of a NETH account requires a small fee of 0.5 $NEAR to pay for the account name, access keys, and contract storage. The setup process has some risks, such as loss of access to the local storage of the website during a catastrophic failure. However, once set up, users can use MetaMask or other Ethereum wallets to sign transactions with NETH, bringing the familiarity and user experience of Ethereum’s wallet ecosystem to NEAR native. The team is exploring ways to improve the onboarding experience and reduce the set-up costs. NETH is not an official integration by the MetaMask team, but it works for most Ethereum wallets as it is a smart contract entirely on the NEAR side that uses Ethereum accounts. NETH brings the full potential and capabilities of the NEAR blockchain with the familiarity and user experience of Ethereum’s wallet ecosystem, making it a valuable addition to the crypto world.

Secrets of the NETH-erworld