In the crypto and web3 space, there’s been an increase in the use of smart contracts.
Smart contracts are agreements that have been codified inside a blockchain and can be self-deployed. With this innovation comes the ability to enable automated and “permissionless” transactions — and this is where blind signing comes in.
In this guide, we’ll explain what blind signing is so you have all the knowledge to review these transactions.
What is blind signing?
Blind signing means confirming or signing a transaction that you don’t know the full details of.
Hardware wallets were originally intended to handle simple transactions, but as the space has evolved, smart contracts have become increasingly complex.
Hardware wallets can understand the basics of complex smart contracts, but can’t correctly display them to you in way that’s easy to understand.
In comes the blind signing — when you enable blind signing, your wallet will prompt you to sign these transactions.
What are the risks of blind signing?
There are vulnerabilities to blind-signing. Both hot wallets and cold wallets won’t always have full transparency over your smart contract interactions—meaning you will have to trust the developer of the dapp you’re interacting with.
You can stay safe while blind signing by following many of the same rules you would with any dapp to avoid scams.
Some quick tips to stay safe:
- Do not using dapps you’ve never heard of before. Verify authenticity and legitimacy from several sources when interacting with a dapp.
- If a link looks suspicious, don’t take the risk—don’t click it.
- Only enable blind signing when you need it, and then disable it immediately after use.
For more information, you check out Ledger’s resource here:
