Walletbeat Sync 2026-01-08

Attendees

Agenda item #1: Work done since last meeting (2025-12-18, 3 weeks ago)

Agenda item #2: Decisions to make

Decision #1: 1TS security benchmark integration?

https://github.com/walletbeat/walletbeat/discussions/407

Need more feedback on integration. The options:

A: Have 1TS benchmark as a separate benchmark.

  • Display Walletbeat stage and 1TS benchmark ratings separately on the comparison table and per-wallet pages.

B: Fold in the 1TS security benchmark into walletbeat stage system, expand stage system to have 3 stages:

  • New stage 0 = old stage 0
    • New stage 0.5 = old stage 0 + 1TS level 1
    • New stage 1 = old stage 1 + 1TS level 2
    • New stage 2 = old stage 2 + 1TS level 3

C: Flatten 1TS security benchmark to 2 levels, fold into existing stages:

  • New stage 0 = old stage 0
    • New stage 1 = old stage 1 + 1TS level 1
    • New stage 2 = old stage 2 + 1TS level 2+3

Decision: Table for now; wait for Hester feedback.

Decision #2: Site localization?

https://github.com/walletbeat/walletbeat/issues/427

brucexu.eth / @brucexu_eth has offered to contribute a Chinese-localized version of the site. Problem: The site is not very localization-friendly at the moment. We can solve this, but is it worth it?

  • Pros: Opens up site to a larger audience, makes Walletbeat eligible for language-specific ecosystem grants, e.g. https://www.gccofficial.org/
  • Cons: Significant amount of infrastructure work upfront, especially if we only end up with only one non-English language; delays other launch priorities.

@minimalsm on GitHub (EF designer who has contributed to Walletbeat in the past) has offered to work on this last week, but no follow-up this week.

Decision: Not a launch priority, but worth doing in second half of year. Luci to look for grants for spanish translation. Should look out for being able to translate into more than just chinese to make sure this effort is worth it.

Agenda item #3: This year’s priorities

Priority #1: LAUNCH

WE NEED TO LAUNCH ALREADY. Blockers:

  • Methodology:
    • Software wallets:
      • Orderflow transparency #194
      • Duress resistance #389
      • Key material handling #218
      • Transaction legibility: Still need to fold in Transaction Simulation #190
    • Software wallet stages (see 1TS benchmark discussion above).
  • Site data:
  • UI/UX:
    • Branding (in progress): Luci, Matt, Teresa, Pablo
    • Mobile UX, Teresa will be designing the mobile UI. Let’s make sure she doesn’t overlap with Darryl’s work done.
    • Guides section on the site (needed to make the contributions guides that now exist visible to site visitors)
      • Let’s do video version of them too. Task assigned to Lucila as part of content strategy.

Priority #2: Spread awareness, become a credible organization

  • Need to do more progress on the site before we dedicate our attention to this. Most of the work here should only happen after launch.
  • Ultimate goal: Wallets implement features Walletbeat cares about.
    • Prerequisite: Need people (wallet developers and non-wallet-developers) to care about what Walletbeat says.
    • Need social media strategy. In progress.
    • Need conference attendance. See travel spreadsheet.
    • Need more solid branding. In progress.
    • Social media OpenGraph images for people to post to show wallets their own ratings in easy-to-share, easy-to-meme format.
  • Grow beyond existing contributor set.
    • Need 5 people for the multisig. Getting close: 0xMattmatt, PatrickAlphaC, niard, polymutex. Who is up for fifth? Luci volunteers.
  • Make our data portable, exportable, and usable by others
    • Machine-readable exports as JSON; WalletRadar has already started using Walletbeat data as input.

Priority #3: Post-launch continuation of the site efforts

  • Finish hardware wallet methodology
  • Come up with embedded wallet methodology
  • Rate both
  • Ramp up social media strategy
  • Localization

Agenda item #4: Next two weeks’ priorities

  • polymutex:
    • Continue work on data collection tooling (in progress).
    • Continue project management work, PR reviews, branding discussions.
    • Find balance and routine that fits new schedule.
  • 0xMattmatt:
  • ren2140:
    • Address feedback on questionnaire. DONE
    • Send it out questionnaire to any wallet teams who will respond.
    • Set up development environment to contribute response data back.
  • lucilajuliana:
    • Continue branding effort. Do a follow-up with the designer.
    • Social media strategy almost finished with Pablo. Will share it in the next branding call.
    • Conference travel organization: will add every main event to our internal file.

Walletbeat Contributors Sync Meeting Summary (AI-generated)

Attendees

  • polymutex (organizer)
  • Hester (Ethereum Foundation 1TS)
  • Luci
  • Mattmatt (referred to as “Matt” in the transcript)
  • Davide
  • Sebastian
  • Ren (not present, but mentioned)

Main Segments of the Call

Segment 1: Work Done Since Last Meeting

Topic: Updates on progress since the previous meeting.

Purpose: To provide an overview of accomplishments since the last meeting, identify remaining work, and show progress on key initiatives.

Progress Summary:

  • polymutex:

    • Fixed GitHub PRs so they no longer appear as “Ghost PRs”
    • Completed the node attribute refactor, renamed to “L1 provider independence attribute” with a detailed guide for evaluation
    • This attribute tests if wallets can function with only L1 RPC endpoints (most fail this test, with Ambire and Safe being the only exceptions)
    • The CEO of Ambire committed to fixing their implementation (noted in a public tweet)
    • Created a Treasury Transparency Tool to publicly document on-chain treasury operations
    • Updated the address resolution attribute to remove chain-specific addressing as a Stage 1 requirement
    • Started a conference travel spreadsheet (later migrated to a Doc after Fileverse spreadsheet issues)

  • Mattmatt:

    • Completed Transaction Legibility attribute, which now provides detailed wallet-specific information about message signing, transaction details, and network information
    • Added wallet test page functionality (still in progress)
    • Added a news page for wallet security incidents (noting recent Trust Wallet hack and Ledger data breach)
    • Implemented “permissionless integration” for hardware wallet connectivity

  • Hester:

  • Luci:

    • Fixed Windows-specific build issues (PR #423)

  • Davide:

    • Working on order flow transparency attribute, which involves:
      • Running a server to collect priority fee data from wallets (Metamask, Phantom, Rainbow, and others)
      • Analyzing how much users are overpaying for priority fees
      • Developing a methodology to trace transaction originators based on priority fee patterns

Debate/Unresolved Questions: None specific to this segment.

Actions/Follow-up:

  • Continue working on remaining attributes (orderflow transparency, duress resistance, key material handling)
  • Polish the data collection tool
  • Add more wallet ratings
  • Complete branding work
  • Make the site mobile-friendly

Segment 2: Decisions to Make

Topic: Two key architectural decisions needing group input.

Purpose: To resolve how to integrate the 1TS security benchmark with WalletBeat’s existing stage system without creating confusion for users or wallet developers.

Decision #1: 1TS Security Benchmark Integration

Problem: WalletBeat uses a stage system (0-2) for rating wallets across multiple categories (security, privacy, transparency, self-sovereignty, ecosystem alignment). The 1TS initiative (funding WalletBeat) has a security-focused benchmark with three levels (1-3). The challenge is how to integrate this security benchmark while maintaining WalletBeat’s broader scope.

Options Proposed:

  • Option A: Keep 1TS benchmark as a separate rating system

    • Pros: No changes to existing WalletBeat system
    • Cons: Two rating systems on the site could confuse users

  • Option B: Fold 1TS into WalletBeat’s stage system (expanding to 0, 0.5, 1, 2)

    • Stage 0 = old stage 0
    • Stage 0.5 = old stage 0 + 1TS level 1
    • Stage 1 = old stage 1 + 1TS level 2
    • Stage 2 = old stage 2 + 1TS level 3
    • Pros: Single coherent rating system
    • Cons: Decimal points might confuse developers

  • Option C: Flatten 1TS to two levels and fold into existing stages

    • Stage 0 = old stage 0
    • Stage 1 = old stage 1 + 1TS level 1
    • Stage 2 = old stage 2 + 1TS levels 2-3
    • Pros: Simpler rating system
    • Cons: Might not reflect security progression accurately

Debate:

  • Mattmatt and polymutex both lean toward Option B (with some mapping differences)
  • Hester questioned whether privacy attributes (e.g., private transactions) should be considered security-related
  • polymutex noted that privacy is closely related to security but WalletBeat has historically categorized them separately
  • The main tension is between having a single coherent rating system versus maintaining WalletBeat’s broader scope

Unresolved Questions:

  • How to precisely map 1TS levels to WalletBeat stages
  • Whether privacy should be fully integrated into the security benchmark
  • Whether to have the decimal stage point (0.5)

Actions/Follow-up:

  • Hester to review the GitHub discussion (issue #407) and provide feedback
  • Frederick (1TS representative) to be consulted
  • Decision to table this discussion until Hester has reviewed the documentation

Decision #2: Site Localization

Problem: Bruce Xu (Chinese Ethereum community) proposed creating a Chinese localized version of WalletBeat. However, the site isn’t currently localization-friendly, requiring significant infrastructure work before any localization could happen. The team needs to determine if this is worth the effort.

Pros:

  • Expands WalletBeat’s reach to a larger audience
  • Makes WalletBeat eligible for language-specific ecosystem grants (e.g., GCC for Chinese)
  • Could potentially open funding opportunities

Cons:

  • Significant infrastructure work required
  • Not worth the effort if only one non-English language is supported
  • Could delay launch priorities

Solutions Proposed:

  • First make the site localization-friendly (infrastructure work)
  • Then get translations for Chinese and Spanish
  • Apply for grants to fund the translation work

Debate:

  • Mattmatt questioned whether it’s worth the effort at the moment
  • Luci noted that many L2 sites launch without translation and add it later
  • polymutex stressed that localization is not a launch priority but worth doing in Q2

Unresolved Questions:

  • What grants are available for Spanish translation?
  • Is it worth making the site localization-friendly before launch?

Actions/Follow-up:

  • Luci to investigate Spanish translation grants
  • Not to focus on localization before launch (priority is finishing methodology)
  • Plan to do localization in Q2 after launch
  • If pursuing Chinese localization, first make the site localization-friendly

Segment 3: This Year’s Priorities

Topic: Prioritizing work for the year.

Purpose: To establish the project’s focus for the remainder of the year, ensuring the team concentrates on the right initiatives at the right time.

Priority #1: LAUNCH

Problem: Need to launch the site before focusing on other initiatives, but several blocks remain before launch.

Blockers:

  • Methodology: Need to finish software wallet attributes:

    • Orderflow transparency (difficult to implement without wallet team cooperation)
    • Duress resistance (needs clear definition)
    • Key material handling (needs definition)
    • Transaction legibility (need to fold in transaction simulation)

  • Site data: Need more wallet ratings (e.g., Phantom, Rainbow are notably absent)

  • UI/UX: Branding in progress, mobile UX in progress

Solutions Proposed:

  • polymutex working on data collection tool to make it easier to collect wallet data
  • Mattmatt backfilling wallet data (OKX Wallet, Bitget, and others)
  • ren2140 created a questionnaire to help wallet teams contribute data without technical expertise
  • Branding work (Luci, Mattmatt, Teresa, Pablo)
  • Mobile UX work by Darryl (current progress) and Teresa (designing mobile UI)

Debate: No significant debate on priorities, just consensus on what needs to happen before launch.

Actions/Follow-up:

  • Finish remaining attributes
  • Get more wallet ratings (especially Phantom and Rainbow)
  • Continue branding work
  • Make the site mobile-friendly
  • Create contributor guides (video format being considered)

Priority #2: Spread Awareness, Become Credible

Problem: WalletBeat needs to become a trusted source that wallet developers actually care about.

Solutions Proposed:

  • Social media strategy (in progress with Mattmatt and Pablo)
  • Conference attendance (travel spreadsheet being updated)
  • Strong branding (in progress)
  • Grow contributor base to 5 people for multisig (currently 4: polymutex, Mattmatt, PatrickAlphaC, niard; Luci volunteering)
  • Make data portable and usable by others (WalletRadar is already using WalletBeat data)

Debate: No major debate, just consensus on the importance of building credibility before launch.

Actions/Follow-up:

  • Continue social media strategy
  • Update conference travel spreadsheet
  • Work on branding
  • Grow contributor base to 5 for multisig
  • Ensure data exports are machine-readable

Priority #3: Post-Launch Continuation

Problem: After launch, the project needs to continue developing and expanding.

Solutions Proposed:

  • Finish hardware wallet methodology
  • Develop embedded wallet methodology
  • Rate both types of wallets
  • Ramp up social media strategy
  • Localization (Chinese and Spanish)

Debate: No major debate.

Actions/Follow-up:

  • Finish hardware wallet methodology
  • Develop embedded wallet methodology
  • Plan localization for Q2

Segment 4: Next Two Weeks’ Priorities

Topic: Immediate next steps for the team.

Purpose: To set clear, actionable goals for the upcoming two weeks.

Priorities:

  • polymutex:

    • Continue work on data collection tool
    • Continue project management work (PR reviews, etc.)
    • Find balance with new schedule (returning to full-time job)

  • Mattmatt:

    • Continue work on wallet test page
    • Wallet security news: Link on per-wallet page
    • Wallet data entry for OKX Wallet and Bitget
    • Help Luci with development environment setup

  • ren2140:

    • Send questionnaire to wallet teams
    • Set up development environment to contribute response data

  • Luci:

    • Continue branding effort
    • Social media strategy (almost finished)
    • Conference travel organization (add main events to internal file)

Debate: No major debate.

Unresolved Questions: None specific to the next two weeks.

Actions/Follow-up:

  • All team members to work on their assigned priorities
  • Schedule next meeting in two weeks (rotating time zones to spread the pain)
  • Mattmatt to demonstrate the wallet test tool once it’s ready for public use (with proper disclaimers)

High-Level Summary

This meeting was the first WalletBeat Contributors Sync for 2026. The primary focus was on preparing for the launch of WalletBeat, with the team identifying key blockers and establishing clear priorities for the next two weeks and the remainder of the year.

The most significant discussion centered on how to integrate the 1TS security benchmark with WalletBeat’s existing stage system (0-2), with the team leaning toward Option B (expanding to 0, 0.5, 1, 2 stages) but tabled the decision pending Hester’s feedback. The team also discussed site localization, deciding it’s not a launch priority but worth pursuing in Q2 after launch.

The team made substantial progress on the L1 provider independence attribute, with most wallets failing the test. The CEO of Ambire committed to fixing their implementation, which polymutex considered a major success for WalletBeat.

For the immediate future, the team prioritized:

  1. Completing the remaining attributes (particularly order flow transparency and transaction simulation)
  2. Getting more wallet ratings (especially Phantom and Rainbow)
  3. Making the data collection process easier for contributors
  4. Continuing branding work and preparing for conference attendance

The team agreed to schedule the next meeting in two weeks, rotating time zones to make it more accessible to contributors across different time zones. The meeting was noted as being lengthy (80 minutes), with polymutex noting they’d need to be careful with meeting duration in the future.

The team also made progress on the Treasury Transparency Tool, which documents on-chain treasury operations, and began planning for social media strategy to build credibility and spread awareness after launch.