Dan Finlay Explains How MetaMask Will Become The Google of Web3
In our conversation, we dive into Dan’s background prior to co-founding MetaMask, where Dan sees MetaMask heading in the upcoming years, their privacy policies, a potential MASK token, and much more.
Dan shares his hopes and dreams for the next bull run. But first, Dan tells us the origin story of MetaMask.
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Timestamps
00:00 The Very Beginning: How MetaMask got Started
03:56 Dan’s Background
11:29 Long-term Vision for MetaMask
20:14 Privacy Balance
25:08 Smart Wallets Emerging
32:51 Next Milestones
36:44 Potential Token
37:42 Institutional MetaMask
39:27 Activity Numbers
41:44 Swaps Product – 99% success rate
43:38 Additional Features
45:36 Next Big Thing
How MetaMask Got Started
I worked with my friend Aaron Davis at Apple – Mochaleaf, and we became interested in Ethereum after he attended a talk by Vitalik Buterin. We discussed the potential of a trustworthy and transparent computer, which could enable micropayments, decentralized voting, and more.
We decided to build an application on Ethereum and started by creating an account manager. We soon realized the scope of the project was larger than expected, but it has become a crucial component of a successful decentralized ecosystem, leading us to grow into a new product category.
MetaMask was first viewed as an account manager. So how has that vision changed over time to what we know today?
In the beginning, it was an account manager, and in Ethereum, the account is the fundamental unit of all authority holding. Over time, we have seen more sophisticated patterns and paradigms evolve. We anticipated a future with multisig systems and similar structures, but it has taken time for these options to mature.
Now, the focus has shifted from whether we can achieve these features to how we can best compose and enable them. Accounts still play a significant role today, but managing assets within those accounts, such as fungible or non-fungible tokens, has become increasingly important. Users manage various things in their accounts, like votes, streaming payments, game assets, or contract interactions.
These accounts have evolved into a general-purpose digital inventory that allows users to store and utilize their privileges across different websites and contexts.
Dan’s Background
I remember the original Bitcoin faucet post on Slashdot and tried to get it to work. I may have even received some Bitcoin, but I eventually lost that wallet. Back then, I didn’t really understand cryptocurrency. I did some freelancing and earned Bitcoin for my work. After graduating from college with an English literature degree during the recession, I struggled to find work in my field. So, I hustled, taking on odd jobs and teaching myself software development.
I pursued various ventures, such as starting a screen printing company, tutoring, and teaching computer skills at an art center. I was drawn to computers because they were intriguing and allowed me to create projects that could be shared with the entire world.
Programming gave me the power to transform my ideas into reality and reach a vast audience. At that time, YouTube wasn’t quite as developed as it is now, so creating an app felt like the most powerfully permissionless digital skill available to me.
My background in programming and development is diverse and has evolved over time. Initially, I dabbled in modding StarCraft, although I’m unsure if that counts as a language. It was more of a visual build-your-own scripting language. Later, I was hired to teach video game design using MIT Scratch, a visual building block tool. I also worked with Macromedia Fusion.
At some point, I reached the limits of these tools and decided to learn a more conventional programming language: Objective C for iOS development. Coming from a literature background, I view all these tools as languages for expressing ideas.
I consider Excel a programming environment. With AI writing programs, the line between programming languages and simply expressing intentions for a computer to execute is getting blurrier. Nowadays, the focus is less on remembering syntax and more on having meaningful ideas to implement.
I guess you learned Solidity to start working on the MetaMask app?
I learned a little Solidity to do my own kind of prototype dApps, but the truth is that most of the MetaMask is written in JavaScript even still today.
I have written Solidity code for various side projects and believe that MetaMask aims to simplify the creation of such projects. However, we are not there yet in terms of making this technology accessible and user-friendly.
One example of an issue that could benefit from this technology is the “honest mechanic” problem, where it is difficult to establish credibility and trust. This problem extends to other domains as well. We still have a long way to go in making it easy and safe for people to trust and cooperate with strangers.
Is MetaMask supposed to be the trusted mechanic that people just know they can go to?
No. I think it’s great for us to be as trustworthy and trusted as we are capable of. But we’re not mechanics, and we don’t know your local mechanic. We are not a trusted third party, but rather a tool for users to decide whom to trust. Blockchain technology eliminates the need for trusting others, but there’s still some trust involved when interacting with smart contracts. My role is to help users build their digital network of trust, extending beyond smart contracts to aspects like local economies and making informed decisions about services and purchases.
Long-term Vision for MetaMask
As the world faces increasing challenges due to climate change and resource scarcity, the demand for stable and reliable access to resources and services is growing. MetaMask aims to be at the forefront of addressing this need by becoming a “Coincidence of Wants Solver” in the realm of decentralized finance.
In the next 20 years, as blockchain technology continues to evolve with better scalability, cheaper verification, and increased privacy options, MetaMask envisions itself as a crucial platform for connecting people with the resources and services they need while leveraging their unique skills and offerings. This will be achieved through increasingly sophisticated digital intermediation, with AI-enabled devices continually searching for the best opportunities and deals for users.
MetaMask’s long-term vision includes a focus on localized currencies, as these become increasingly valuable in economic downturns. By enabling users to accept and value local currencies, MetaMask empowers individuals and communities to thrive even during difficult times.
As a privacy-first, localism-oriented platform, MetaMask seeks to reward users for facilitating connections and identifying economic cycles where recurring mutual benefits can be realized. Users will be able to find gigs, opportunities, and connections within their social graph, further enriching their lives and communities.
MetaMask aims to foster a resilient, interconnected economy that supports individuals and communities in navigating the challenges of the future while leveraging the benefits of decentralized finance and technology.
You’re describing something that’s more similar to a Google, it looks very different from what MetaMask does today.
At MetaMask, we are trying to build a user-centric cryptography first user agent.
MetaMask aims to create a user-centric, cryptography-first user agent that differs from Google’s global approach. Google may use your search history to provide results, but it doesn’t consider personal and private social network information.
We want to offer wallet services that can connect with websites and help users find resources like a mechanic while preserving privacy and user consent.
This involves addressing the challenge of balancing the benefits of AI assistance with the need for privacy and asset protection. Private information is crucial for making unique decisions and maintaining a competitive advantage. Unlike Google, MetaMask’s goal is to help users make decisions without handing over all the power to the service provider.
What you’re saying is that blockchains can help make a more user-centric, or a more localized, more personalized version of a search engine like Google.
Not just blockchains, but the collection of decentralized protocols. Some of it may be blockchain-rooted assets. These protocols use cryptography to give users more control through a local user agent that holds keys and acts on their behalf. I am interested in understanding how the web would look if users had more control and were more deliberate about sharing it.
Privacy
Recently there was some concern about MetaMask sharing user IP addresses because of Infura. How can you add privacy to something like MetaMask when you’re dealing with a completely open space?
When we first created MetaMask, we made design trade-offs, including incorporating Infura, to improve accessibility for new users. This decision helped lower barriers to entry in the crypto space, as running a full Ethereum node would have limited participation.
We previously hosted trusted data and kept some logs in Infura’s infrastructure. After realizing this privacy concern, we immediately disclosed it and worked on improvements. Despite the public backlash, we now store IP addresses for no more than five days, with further enhancements coming soon.
We’re never associating user accounts with IP addresses. So the biggest kind of privacy concern I think has been mitigated.
Long term, our goal is to enable users to rely less on trusting third parties. We are exploring various privacy solutions and are open to adopting strong options. MetaMask is configurable, allowing users to choose their preferred Ethereum blockchain connection source. Infura is also working on a decentralized version. Ultimately, we aim to provide tools that empower users to make informed decisions based on the available options, which are continuously improving.
Smart Wallets Emerging
I believe the smart contract domain is making great progress, especially with EIP-4337, which simplifies transaction payment delegation. As the first web3 wallet, MetaMask continues to evolve by balancing user continuity and innovation in account management. The potential for sophisticated contract accounts is enormous, and they can be easily combined with multisigs and DAOs.
Despite ongoing innovation in the space, current smart contract accounts lack financial privacy, so we haven’t reached the end game. MetaMask invests in continued evolution through projects like Snaps, which allows for additional account manager integration. There’s healthy interoperability between various tools, and combining different account models is becoming easier.
In the future, managing assets may involve more than just sophisticated recovery schemes; it could include using devices with limited permissions and session keys. It’s essential to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket, and instead, divide your assets in a way that makes sense. We’re betting on the long game, and although smart accounts already offer great UX, interacting with any site on any chain with any account requires reimagining the concept of digital authority.
Next Milestones
I think we’re looking forward to making it easy to integrate your favorite protocols and account types right into the wallet.
- Continuously improving onramps for easier access to crypto in more regions.
- Enhancing the main wallet’s portfolio view, which includes bridging, swaps, and an overview of all accounts.
- Working on an extensibility system, aiming to launch the SNAP system with its first APIs in the next quarter.
- Exploring new ways of interacting with various protocols, including selective disclosure, verifiable credentials, and auto bots for trading.
- The biggest milestone in the next year is integrating bridging, swaps, and staking conveniently while making it easy to incorporate favorite protocols and account types into the wallet.
You may have Bitcoin within your wallet and be able to hold your Ordinals NFTs, or it might let you connect your data backpack from Discord so that you can go around the web and kind of, bring your user profile to different websites.
Is this how MetaMask can be multi-chain?
Absolutely. I recognize that being multi-chain is challenging due to the constant emergence of new blockchains. Since we can’t be experts on every blockchain, we aim to make our wallet more community-driven. We hope to create a system where specialists in various protocols contribute by building modules within MetaMask.
MASK Token
There’s always speculation on the Mask token. Is there any news on that or anything you can say about it being on your roadmap?
There’s another token already called that, but I guess we could just shove our way in. We don’t have any announcements of a MASK token to make today. Sorry.
Institutional MetaMask
MetaMask Institutional is a specialized version of the popular MetaMask wallet, designed specifically for custodial key managers. It enables these key managers to provide white-label versions of MetaMask tailored to institutions with specific custody requirements. This unique product allows for experimentation with a distinct set of features aimed at non-crypto native institutional investors.
The potential for feature validation within MetaMask Institutional means that successful features could be integrated into the consumer version of MetaMask. As of now, it boasts a healthy number of custodians and users, along with a feature set that caters to the needs and expectations of institutional crypto investors.
Activity Numbers
In 2022, we reached a peak of 30 million monthly active users.
However, when the bear market started, the number dropped by half and has remained stable since then. This cycle is common, with bull markets attracting new users and bear markets causing about half to leave, while some stay. Unfortunately, latecomers often suffer the most in a bear market, but this pattern is part of a continuous process observed in previous cycles.
Additional Features
We are currently working on creating a bridge aggregator for easier token movement between blockchain networks. You can check our progress at portolio.metamask.io.
We offer various routes for transferring tokens between mainnet and Optimism, and we suggest the best rate for each transfer. Ensuring the reliability of these connections is challenging, but so far, our system has proven to be dependable. Our goal is to make the process simpler and more cost-effective for users, encouraging them to utilize our product for their needs.
Next Big Thing
What do you wish developers would build in this bear market? Like what would you want to see in DeFi or just crypto in general?
I am collaborating with District Labs to develop a delegation framework that I believe is essential for improving the functionality of DAOs.
I am also involved in the Moby Mask project, which aims to combat phishing. I think the current DAO tools are great for pooling funds and making group decisions but lack effective delegation mechanisms. By implementing better delegation tools, subcommittees and individuals can be empowered to make decisions more efficiently.
I want to see more applications of digital currencies in real-life situations, such as starting small businesses or crowdfunding projects. I envision alternatives to sharing economy apps that offer better deals for users.
The bear market offers an excellent opportunity to build and improve upon existing systems without the constant stress of FOMO. I believe that the world needs better coordination, and blockchain technology can play a significant role in solving various problems.
I would think the next bull market is about reality and doing real things.
The next bull market will focus on tangible results and real-world impact, rather than just trading tokens for higher yields. It’s crucial to invest in projects that make a positive difference in the world.
