The Ethereum Foundation and a group of major crypto wallet developers are rolling out a new security standard designed to prevent users from accidentally signing their funds, a problem that has fueled some of the industry’s biggest hacks and scams.
The initiative, called “Clear Signing,” aims to replace the confusing walls of code users currently see when approving Ethereum transactions with simple, human-readable explanations of what they’re actually agreeing to.
The effort comes after years of phishing attacks and wallets that often boil down to the same problem: users unknowingly authorizing malicious transactions they don’t understand. The Ethereum Foundation pointed to incidents like the Bybit hack as examples of how attackers exploit “blind signing,” where users authorize transactions filled with unreadable technical data.
Right now, signing a crypto transaction can feel like clicking “accept” on a terms of service page written in another language. Wallets often display long lines of code that only highly technical users can decipher, leaving everyday traders vulnerable to fake apps, malicious links and compromised websites.
The new system would instead let wallets display clearer prompts, such as what assets are being moved, who is receiving them, and what permissions are being granted before users hit approve.
The framework relies on a proposed Ethereum standard called ERC-7730 and a public registry where transaction descriptions can be reviewed and verified by independent security researchers. Wallets can then choose which trusted sources to use when presenting information to users.
The Ethereum Foundation’s Trillion Dollar Security Initiative said it plans to monitor the infrastructure behind the registry while encouraging wallets and developers across the ecosystem to adopt the standard.
The push highlights a growing realization in crypto that better security may depend less on smarter code and more on making sure users actually understand what they’re signing.
“We welcome the Ethereum Foundation’s Clear Signing standard as a critical security advance for our entire industry. This addresses a fundamental vulnerability that has plagued cryptocurrency users for years, blind signing. When users cannot understand what they are signing, security becomes much more difficult. This standard changes that, and every wallet provider should embrace it,” said Tomáš Sušánrka, chief of the technology office. CoinDesk.
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