New Web3 Services products provide solutions for businesses and developers to remove cost, complexity and friction for app users
BOSTON — October 19, 2023 — Circle is making it easier for developers and businesses to benefit from Web3 with the beta launch of two new Web3 Services products: Gas Station and Smart Contract Platform. A follow on to the recent Programmable Wallets launch, the new offerings provide a one-stop-shop for developers to deliver streamlined, interactive and cost-efficient on-chain experiences for their customers.
“Circle is greatly simplifying the overall Web3 wallet experience for developers and businesses to help them deliver great customer experiences,” said Gagan Mac, Head of Product for Web3 Services at Circle. ”With the launch of Gas Station, we are abstracting away blockchain transaction fees for end users and Smart Contract Platform makes it easier for businesses to leverage the benefits of blockchain networks. We’re reducing friction and making blockchain transactions more accessible to everyone.”
Removing cost and friction with Gas Station
Web3 users pay a blockchain network fee known as a "gas fee" when they make transactions. The fee offsets the compute power on the blockchain network. However, gas fees pose an added layer of friction for developers and businesses looking to integrate blockchain benefits into their apps. Circle’s new Gas Station enables developers and businesses that integrate their apps with Circle’s Programmable Wallets to deliver a gasless experience to customers.
The first product in our Web3 Services, Programmable Wallets enables builders to embed secure Web3 wallets in their apps and deliver improved experiences for users who transact with on-chain tokens. When paired with Gas Station, builders and businesses can use the ERC-4337 paymaster to sponsor gas fees, remove cost and create a more desirable blockchain experience.
As an example, Grab, a super app, is piloting the Programmable Wallets infrastructure and Gas Station to give customers in Singapore an entirely gas-free experience when they use non-fungible token (NFT) vouchers from Grab’s Web3 Wallet to earn rewards and collectibles.
Gas Station functionality will support Polygon on both mainnet and testnet, and Ethereum on testnet. Support for more chains will be added soon.
Removing complexity with Smart Contract Platform
While smart contracts are the building blocks for blockchain powered automation, working in Web3 is fraught with operational challenges that make building feel difficult. Developers must use different tools to create, deploy and interact across different chains and the user experiences that define them. They must also constantly audit to maintain production-grade quality, implement version control and address vulnerabilities in apps that utilize dated versions of live contracts.
Circle’s Smart Contract Platform removes the barriers and helps builders launch apps to market faster by providing a one-stop shop to import, explore, deploy, and manage smart contracts effortlessly and efficiently. The platform offers a user-friendly interface, comprehensive smart contract management capabilities and ease-of-use to integrate smart contracts through simple REST APIs.
While building is easier, Smart Contract Platform also streamlines the customer experience. By enabling smart contracts deployment into apps, developers and businesses leveraging Smart Contract Platform can increase customer engagement and loyalty with NFT drops, embed DeFi experiences, and facilitate transactions like payroll or subscriptions with digital currencies like USDC or digital assets like NFTs.
Smart Contract Platform via APIs is currently available on Avalanche, Ethereum and Polygon. Builders can also leverage Smart Contract Platform’s UI for a no-code solution to deploy and interact with smart contracts on Polygon, with availability on Ethereum coming soon.
Audited templates to configure and customize smart contracts specific to the developer’s needs are also on the horizon. The audited templates will enable builders to accelerate smart contract development and confidently deploy their app to market.
Getting started and learning more
Circle’s Web3 Services is built for developers and businesses to unlock innovative blockchain functionality for end users. Programmable Wallets enables effortless transactions and the ability to abstract away blockchain transaction fees, and Smart Contract Platform makes it easier for developers to create simple and intuitive blockchain-based customer experiences.
Our developer console will help developers get started with our Web3 services product offerings and our Web 3 Services blog provides technical insights and updates about Gas Station and Smart Contract Platform.
Programmable Wallets and Smart Contract Platform application programming interface (“API”) is offered by Circle Technology Services, LLC (“CTS”). CTS is not a regulated financial services company and the API does not include financial, investment, tax, legal, regulatory, accounting, business, or other advice. For additional details, please visit https://console.circle.com/legal/developer-terms to see the Circle Developer terms of service.