Swig: The Future of Smart Wallets on Solana

Say goodbye to seed phrases. SWIG just launched hyper-programmable open-source smart wallets on Solana, and they're already powering major projects including Glider's debut on the network.

Summary

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At Breakpoint 2025, SWIG CEO Justin Blumenthal unveiled the company's revolutionary approach to wallet infrastructure on Solana. The core innovation addresses one of crypto's most frustrating problems: lose your seed phrase, lose your assets forever. SWIG eliminates this risk entirely by tying user identity to their wallet through Web2-style authentication methods, while maintaining full on-chain security.

What sets SWIG apart from other smart wallet solutions is its native on-chain policy engine, which operates without relying on Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). This architectural decision means users can create sophisticated security rules—like daily spending limits or automated rebalancing strategies—directly within the smart contract itself. The system supports up to 65,000 different roles on a single wallet, offering unprecedented flexibility for both individual users and institutional applications.

Performance has clearly been a priority in SWIG's development. Blumenthal emphasized that the protocol was designed to be highly flexible without adding latency or performance overhead to applications. The compute unit costs for operations like SPL token transfers are reportedly "orders of magnitude less" than competing smart wallet solutions, making SWIG an attractive option for developers building high-performance applications.

The announcement came with significant partnership news: Glider is now live on Solana powered by SWIG, and ABCHI is integrating SWIG to power their neo-banking payment card solution. These early adopters highlight the versatility of SWIG's infrastructure across both DeFi and payments use cases.

Key Points:

Eliminating Seed Phrases Through Identity-Based Authentication

SWIG's fundamental innovation is replacing the traditional seed phrase model with identity-based wallet control. When users authenticate through familiar Web2 login methods, SWIG ties their verified identity directly to their on-chain wallet. This means users never need to write down, memorize, or store a recovery phrase—the most common point of failure in crypto self-custody.

Once authenticated, users gain full control over their SWIG programmable account, with the ability to sign transactions using keys on either the SVM (Solana Virtual Machine) or EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine). This cross-chain signing capability positions SWIG as a solution for the emerging multi-chain future, allowing users to interact with both Solana-native and Ethereum-compatible applications from a single account.

The On-Chain Policy Engine and Role-Based Architecture

At the heart of SWIG's programmability is its slot-based architecture supporting up to 65,000 distinct roles per wallet. Each role combines two elements: an authority (who can take action) and a permission (what actions are allowed). This granular control enables sophisticated security configurations previously impossible with standard wallets.

Crucially, SWIG's policy engine runs natively on-chain within the smart contract itself, with no dependency on TEEs. This architectural choice ensures maximum transparency and eliminates the trust assumptions that come with off-chain computation. Users can implement complex rules like spend limits denominated in specific tokens, time-based restrictions, or automated rebalancing strategies that execute when certain price thresholds are met.

Chain Abstraction and Cross-SVM Compatibility

SWIG was built with chain abstraction as a core feature, enabling seamless interaction across the expanding SVM ecosystem. As more chains adopt Solana's virtual machine architecture, SWIG users will be able to manage assets and execute transactions across multiple networks without juggling separate wallets or accounts.

This design reflects the broader industry trend toward unified user experiences across fragmented blockchain landscapes. For developers, it means building once and deploying across multiple SVM-compatible chains while maintaining consistent wallet functionality for their users.

Performance Advantages Over Competing Solutions

Developer feedback drove SWIG's emphasis on performance. Blumenthal noted that developers made clear they needed a wallet solution that was highly flexible without adding latency to their applications. SWIG delivers on this requirement with compute unit costs for standard operations that significantly undercut other smart wallet implementations.

For applications where transaction speed and cost matter—trading platforms, payment systems, gaming—this performance edge could be the deciding factor in wallet infrastructure selection. The combination of advanced programmability with low overhead represents a meaningful advancement in smart wallet technology.

Live Partnerships: Glider and ABCHI

The announcement that Glider is now live on Solana powered by SWIG validates the protocol's production readiness. SWIG's team has been working with Glider for several months to bring them to market on Solana, marking a significant milestone for both projects.

ABCHI's integration tells a different but equally compelling story. Their neo-banking payment card requires 24/7 uptime without dependencies on trusted infrastructure—exactly what SWIG's on-chain policy engine provides. This use case demonstrates SWIG's applicability beyond traditional DeFi into broader financial services.

Facts + Figures

• SWIG supports up to 65,000 different roles on a single wallet
• The policy engine runs entirely on-chain with no TEE dependencies
• Compute unit costs for SPL token transfers are "orders of magnitude less" than other smart wallets
• SWIG supports signing with keys on both SVM and EVM
• Glider is now live on Solana powered by SWIG
• ABCHI is integrating SWIG to power their neo-banking payment card
• Open-source SDKs are available in both TypeScript and Rust
• SWIG is actively pursuing institutional DeFi, consumer DeFi, and payments use cases
• No seed phrases are required for SWIG account management
• Roles consist of two components: authority (who) and permission (what)

Top Quotes

"If you lose your seed phrase, your assets are literally gone. For those of us who have been building in this space for years, this experience is downright infuriating."

"With SWIG, users can bring the simplicity of Web2 logins to the power of on-chain wallets."

"This is very important to note—we constructed our policy engine to be natively on-chain within the contract, which means no TEEs involved at all."

"When I was a developer, it became very clear that they needed a wallet that was highly flexible without adding latency or a program below it to their applications."

"The ABCHI team made it clear that they needed a smart wallet that could provide 24/7 uptime without dependencies on trusted infrastructure."

"We designed SWIG to be highly flexible without performance trade-offs."

Questions Answered

How does SWIG eliminate the need for seed phrases?

SWIG ties user identity directly to their on-chain wallet through familiar Web2 authentication methods. When users log in using these authentication flows, SWIG verifies their identity and grants them full control over their programmable account. This approach removes the traditional seed phrase entirely from the user experience while maintaining self-custody principles. Users never need to write down recovery words or worry about losing access to their assets due to a misplaced piece of paper.

What makes SWIG's policy engine different from other smart wallet solutions?

SWIG's policy engine runs natively on-chain within the smart contract itself, with no reliance on Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). This means all security rules and permissions are enforced transparently on the blockchain rather than depending on off-chain infrastructure. Users can create sophisticated policies like daily spending limits, time-based restrictions, and automated trading strategies that execute entirely through on-chain logic, eliminating trust assumptions associated with TEE-based systems.

Can SWIG wallets interact with multiple blockchains?

Yes, SWIG was designed with chain abstraction capabilities built in. Users can sign transactions using keys on both the SVM (Solana Virtual Machine) and EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), enabling interaction with Solana-native applications and Ethereum-compatible chains. Additionally, SWIG provides chain abstraction across the broader SVM ecosystem, positioning users to interact seamlessly with the growing number of chains adopting Solana's virtual machine architecture.

How many different roles can a single SWIG wallet support?

A single SWIG wallet can support up to 65,000 different roles through its slot-based architecture. Each role combines an authority (defining who can take action) with a permission (defining what actions are allowed). This massive capacity enables complex organizational structures, sophisticated security configurations, and advanced DeFi strategies all within a single account. Users can create granular access controls for different purposes without needing multiple wallets.

What are the performance characteristics of SWIG compared to other smart wallets?

SWIG was specifically designed to deliver high flexibility without performance trade-offs. The compute unit costs for operations like SPL token transfers and account creation are orders of magnitude lower than competing smart wallet solutions on the market. This efficiency means developers can integrate SWIG into high-performance applications without adding latency or excessive transaction costs, making it suitable for trading platforms, payment systems, and other performance-sensitive use cases.

Who is already using SWIG in production?

Two significant partners were announced at Breakpoint 2025. Glider is now live on Solana powered by SWIG, having worked with the SWIG team for several months to launch on the network. ABCHI is integrating SWIG to power their neo-banking payment card, specifically choosing SWIG for its ability to provide 24/7 uptime without dependencies on trusted infrastructure. SWIG is actively pursuing additional partnerships across institutional DeFi, consumer DeFi, and payments verticals.