tldr - Safe and Longhash are launching the first ever account abstraction accelerator program for developers and entrepreneurs looking to turn their smart account ideas into reality. Register here to apply! Applications close 29th Sep 2023.

Web3’s long and winding rainbow road

At Safe, we are on a mission to implement the security cornerstone of the Three Transitions, namely the transition to smart accounts. In this grand pursuit to bring Web3 to the masses, we firmly believe that smart accounts will be the schelling point.

However, transitioning into a mature smart account world, both on the dapp and infrastructure level, will involve an immense shift by the whole web3 ecosystem, involving developers, founders, public good creators, investors, meme-makers and auditors.  The Safe project is part of this ecosystem list, and we will do everything we can, both technically and financially, to enable this smart account transition securely.

Power up time for Builders

To jump start the smart account revolution, Safe, in partnership with Longhash, are proud to announce the world's first accelerator program for projects building on top of the Safe{Core} account abstraction standard. This 12-week program, which comprises the Safe Accelerator Program as well as the Safe Builders’ Fellowship Program, aims to accelerate the growth of 25-30 projects leveraging Safe{Core}, our modular and open-source Account Abstraction stack.Our aim with this overall program is to inspire and equip a new generation of builders who can unlock the full potential of Safe{Core} and smart accounts.

Safe {AAcelerator} Program Details

Five projects building on Safe will be accepted into the Safe{AAccelerator} Cohort and each project will receive US$200,000 in funding. On top of the funding received, these projects will also undergo our web3-native curriculum and hands-on support. The 12-week program in this cohort will include a series of workshops and meetings across seven modules, including:

• Web3 Product Strategy & Design

• Ecosystem Deep Dive

• Tokenomics & Governance

• Community Building

• Smart Contract Security

• Web3 Legal

• Fundraising

They will also have access to Mentor Office Hour sessions with LongHashX Venture Builders. Each project participating through this route will have a dedicated Program Lead and Venture Builder, who will meet them weekly for problem-solving sessions and to be a thought partner to help the founders with their toughest challenges.

In addition to the mentors from us at Safe, the selected projects will also get access to our partner LongHash Web (LHW), a soulbound token-based on-chain contribution network, to meet one-on-one with notable mentors in the wider Web3 space that include leading founders, investors, and developers. LHW’s 100+ mentors include founders from Safe, Axelar, AltLayer, Balancer, Dodo; investors at Pantera, Polychain, Gumi, Multicoin, Collab+Currency, Hashkey, and DeFiance; and contributors at zkSync, Lens, Linea, Scroll, and Protocol Labs.

For these five selected Safe cohort projects, the program culminates in a Demo Day where they will have the opportunity to pitch to investors.

Safe Builders’ Fellowship Program Details

Running in parallel with the Safe{AAcelerator}, 20-25 projects will be chosen for the Safe Builders’ Fellowship Program. These selected projects will receive technical and developer support from Safe, participate in workshops and fireside chats, and will have access to Mentor Office Hour sessions with LongHashX Venture Builders.

Call for Applications

Safe{AAccelerator} will focus on helping projects building on top of Safe{Core} that are interested in bringing the broad range of Account Abstraction capabilities to new and existing users/markets, especially those in under-tapped verticals such as critical infra, identity, gaming, social, e-commerce and institutional amongst others to help fast-track the transition to smart accounts across the industry.

In order to unlock these innovative use cases with Safe{Core}, eligible projects can:

• Develop new Safe Plugins (also known as Modules), and add any custom logic and features to the Safe contracts such as (non-exhaustive):

  • Role based access control

  • Automated payment streams

  • Recovery mechanisms

  • Session keys

• Develop new Safe Hooks (also known as Guards) which enforce an additional onchain security layer to Safe contracts, and can enable(non-exhaustive):

  • App/protocol allow & deny lists

  • Spending policies

  • Conditional security checks

• Projects can also extend the functionalities of the Function Handler to prevent Safes from encountering any errors in an ever changing Web3 landscape. Or bring new Signature Verifiers to augment the signing experience of the next billion users coming to Web3.

• Any project is also free to further augment and leverage the Safe{Core} Account Abstraction kits, which offer direct SDK integrations to improve UX in 3 domains, namely:

  • Auth Kit: Onboard new users via their social login credentials

  • Onramp Kit: Purchase tokens directly using fiat

  • Relay Kit: Pay gas fees using any ERC-20 tokens

Next Steps

Both the LongHashX Safe Accelerator and Builders’ Fellowship Program are scheduled to start in mid-October. Safe Builders have until 29 September 2023 11:59pm (GMT+8) to apply. Teams and projects interested in applying for the program can do so directly here.

Let’s make this smart account transition to 1 billion users a secure one. Stay Safe.