Clear Signing: Making Transaction Approvals Safer on Ethereum
Posted by Hester Bruikman on May 12, 2026
Security
An Ethereum Working Group consisting of wallet developers, security firms, and the Ethereum Foundation’s Trillion Dollar Security Initiative has launched an open standard aimed at eliminating blind signing, a weakness that has led to significant losses, including the Bybit hack. The Ethereum Foundation’s Trillion Dollar Security Initiative is acting as a neutral steward for the Clear Signing registry.
In many major crypto and blockchain exploits, the final step is not a bug in the code but user approval of a transaction. Even when phishing or infrastructure compromise initiates the breach, the user’s confirmation is often unclear. Ensuring users understand their actions is crucial for asset security on the blockchain.
For users and institutions to feel secure storing and interacting with Ethereum assets worth trillions, "What You See Is What You Sign" (WYSIWYS) should be the norm, with Clear Signing as the default.
Currently, transaction approvals often involve interpreting complex, machine-readable data that is difficult for users to comprehend. A new approach is needed to provide clear, human-readable, and structured transaction descriptions in Ethereum applications, allowing wallets to display this information consistently and reliably.
This requires:
- A shared format (ERC-7730) for transaction descriptions.
- A registry to store and distribute these descriptions.
- Verification of description accuracy.
- Tools for easy adoption by wallets and developers.
- A neutral party to support the infrastructure.
Anyone can contribute to this system, and their descriptions are verified through reviews and attestations. Wallets select trusted sources for these descriptions, which are displayed alongside transactions without being embedded in them. This approach supports both existing and new applications while ensuring independent accuracy verification.
The Ethereum Foundation’s Trillion Dollar Security Initiative is committed to hosting this infrastructure and promoting Clear Signing as the default on Ethereum. We encourage:
- Wallet developers to adopt this approach and support clear, human-readable confirmations.
- Developers to provide accurate transaction descriptions.
- Security experts to review and attest to these descriptions.
For more information on available tooling, including Rust and TypeScript libraries funded by 1TS, visit clearsigning.org.
By implementing Clear Signing, we strengthen the final line of defense, enhance the Ethereum ecosystem's security, accessibility, and overall user experience.