Argent Vault

Next week we're excited to release a big upgrade: Argent Vault. It's more secure, more simple, and has cheaper gas.

We built it for the rapidly growing number of Argent users needing to protect $50K-$1m+ while enjoying smooth access to DeFi.

The upgrade provides:

1. More security

All transactions with untrusted addresses are automatically blocked, unless you use guardians. This security covers every asset, including multimillion dollar NFTs. This replaces daily limits.

2. More simplicity

Transactions with trusted addresses are seamless; they don't require guardians.

To make DeFi even smoother, you can choose to use:

Trust Lists of Dapps - Dapps you don't need guardians for.
Trust Sessions - Periods of time where you don't need guardians.

3. Cheaper gas

In-app DeFi integrations and wallet activation are 30% cheaper.
Transfers are 40% cheaper.
Trading is 30% cheaper (we've integrated the latest version of Paraswap, the DEX router).

We've done this by cutting our lines of code by 60% (which also makes Argent even easier to audit).

To be transparent, our on-chain security means your Vault needs a bit more gas than a traditional wallet, e.g. MetaMask. But there's no doubt that the small premium is worth it if you want peace of mind and one tap DeFi. For radically cheaper transactions, stay tuned for our Layer 2 wallet, launching this summer.

What does this mean for you?

Maximum security. Minimum friction. Multisig protection when you need. Not when you don't.

Use your guardians for anything untrusted. One tap for anything trusted. Multi-factor authentication for a decentralized world.

Here's the full breakdown of the upgrade. Let me know what you think when it's live next week. You'll see the prompt to upgrade in app. In the meantime, find me @itamarl or @argenthq.

Argent provides multi-factor, multisig, bullet-proof security

1. Replacing daily limits while making transfers even more secure

Transfer in a tap to trusted addresses, use guardians for everything else. You select which addresses you want to trust. You can remove them at any time.

This replaces daily limits, where only transfers above a certain level required guardian approval.

Advantages of our new approach:

100% of assets in Argent - including NFTs - are secured by multisig security. Previously, some assets couldn't be covered by the daily limit as each one needed an on-chain price oracle.
We can significantly reduce the gas cost for all transactions in Argent. The daily limit was stored and updated on-chain. It comprised a large part of Argent's gas overhead.
Smoother transfers. The rise in gas prices in has meant that people make fewer transfers. And those they do make are with just a handful of addresses (e.g. their hardware wallet or Coinbase Pro account).

So if you've got a Beeple worth $69m and you want it secured by a custom multisig, look no further.

2. Protecting Dapp users - without slowing down DeFi Degens

To give you control and convenience when using Dapps we've created Trust Lists and Trusted Sessions.

As with transfers, anything untrusted requires guardian approval; anything trusted doesn't.

2a. Trust Lists

Trust Lists are a selection of Dapps - and more precisely, specific functions within Dapps - where you don't need to use guardians because they're trusted.

We'll launch the Vault with the "Argent Trust List". Key details:

The list includes the specific Dapps and functions integrated natively within Argent (e.g. Paraswap, Compound, Aave, Lido).
It's managed by us to stay in sync with those integrations. For security it has a 1 week timelock for adding a Dapp, while removing a Dapp is instant.
You're always in control. The list will be active by default but you can disable it in a tap. In doing so you're making your Argent wallet a full multisig.

The next list we'll introduce will be a "WalletConnect trust list". Unlike the Argent list, you'll need to enable it yourself; it will be inactive by default.

What does a Trust List look like when applied to specific functions?

Take Compound, for example. A deposit of Dai in Compound won't need guardian approval as it doesn't present a security risk because you just get cDai in return. But sending cDai out of your wallet to an untrusted address will require guardian approval.

This extends what has always happened in Argent. Trades via our in-app exchange never counted to your daily limit as you stayed in control of the assets. Trust Lists allow us to make this more flexible and transparent.

It's important to note that even if a Dapp from the Trust List had a bug, it wouldn't affect your wallet. The private key on your phone is still needed to trigger any transaction.

You are always 100% in control of your crypto with your Argent vault

2b. Trusted sessions

Trusted Sessions are periods of time where you won't need guardian approval. We designed them to simplify yield farming, portfolio rebalancing and other intensive periods of Dapp use.

Sessions can last:

1 hour
3 hours
1 year (we expect this will be for smaller wallets only).

How do Sessions work?

Through the app you'll create a new, temporary private key. Once authorized by your guardians, that key will be able to take any action without guardians for the duration of your session.

At the end of the session the key becomes useless and is discarded. You can, of course, cancel a session at anytime if you change your mind.

Dapp sessions simplify your DeFi experience

3. Stronger security periods

Based on feedback from those with larger sums in Argent, we're also extending security periods for certain actions.

Recoveries will take 48 hours, up from 36.
Trusting an address will take 36 hours, up from 24.

4. Cheaper trading & more tokens

We've integrated the latest version of Paraswap, the DEX router that finds you the best price across all the major DEXs, including Uniswap and Sushiswap.

Benefits of the latest version include:

A 30% decrease in gas costs.
Many more tokens added to our in-app exchange, with 700+ tokens now available.

Summary

Argent Vault has even more sophisticated security, more streamlined DeFi, and cheaper gas.

Our contract upgrade has been independently audited by Adam Kolář of G0, and reviewed by samczsun. It's also open source for you to inspect.

We're excited to see what you think when it's live next week. You'll see the prompt to upgrade in app.

Discord
Twitter
Support - including a slightly more detailed guide to the Vault.

Oh, and one more thing...

Multicall to cut gas

Argent now supports generic multicalls, so transactions can be batched into a single one. This greatly reduces gas costs and friction.

At the start this will be used within Argent (DeFi interactions are all made in a single tap using the multicall, e.g. erc20 approve + contract call in a single transaction). We're hoping though that Dapps will leverage this as well. In doing so they'll help users to avoid the need for ERC20 approvals.

Curve, for example, could in a single transaction allow users to: