Sending Labs unveils SocialScan as platform for blockchain communication

Sending Labs is announcing SocialScan, a secure and decentralized platform for communication for blockchain users.

Blockchain transactions have become more transparent, thanks to Etherscan and Polygonscan. But there’s a critical missing piece in the puzzle: a dedicated blockchain-based communication layer, where users can chat with each other in a “wallet-to-wallet” conversation. Sending Labs is collaborating with W3W.

SocialScan is the answer to a common industry predicament faced by public blockchains seeking widespread adoption, said said Joey “JoeyZ” Yu, one of the cofounders of Sending Labs, in an interview with GamesBeat. It obviates the need to choose between expensive industry giants and less efficient alternatives. Instead, SocialScan provides a cost-effective, high-performance solution, helping operators minimize tooling expenses and promoting data democratization as Web3 adoption continues to expand.

“We are building Web3 communications because we want to provide a more decentralized, secure and private way for everyone to stay connected with each other because we fully trust the network,”Yu said.

“The first time I used Metamask, I felt very frustrated,” Yu said. “Just imagine you using the Metamask. If I want to transfer some tokens to you, I need to switch back and forth between different applications. With SocialScan, we can make this more streamlined. If the whole Web3 market wants to see mass adoption, it should be more user friendly.”

The transition is expected to involve PolygonZKScan, the blockchain explorer dedicated to onboarding Web3 users at scale through Web3 native social engagements. It is more user friendly, interactive, and far more affordable than the industry standard that costs blockchains nearly $1 million a year, Sending Labs said.

The goal is to create a more secure, decentralized communications network where users have full ownership of their data. SocialScan is also meant to be more user friendly, reducing the steps in tasks like completing a cryptocurrency transaction. With that focus, SocialScan hopes to make blockchain more mainstream.

Being the first in the industry, SocialScan enables users to directly communicate with other Metamask wallet owners across applications in a decentralized fashion. This feature bridges the gap between on-chain transactions and decentralized communications, allowing for real-time chat and socialization across Web3 dApps, within the blockchain explorer as the entry hub.

The entire purpose of a blockchain explorer is to forge a connection between users. But until now, that connection has been limited to taking a limited peek into a user’s activity or by simply copy-and-pasting a link as a receipt of a transaction. So if our primary source of blockchain-based interactions originate from the blockchain explorer, why not expand and magnify that value proposition? 

Now, there’s no more need for a third party to facilitate the communication portion of the transaction. Nor are transactions made in the dark. SocialScan completely eliminates the thick, impenetrable barrier that users have always faced in the Web3 world and brightly illuminates an easily-accessible community. 

“We’re excited for the Polygon ecosystem to be able to access a blockchain explorer with wallet to wallet chat features via SocialScan from Sending Labs. This kind of improved user experience is just what the space needs, we’re eager to see its ripple effects across the blockchain landscape.” said Jordi Baylina, cofounder of Polygon, in a statement.

W3W can provide on-chain analytics. SocialScan also makes it easier to sell NFTs on a marketplace. SocialScan lets you join communities and combine them. Sending Labs’s protocol Sending Network is an open protocol and anyone can build on top of the Sending Network.

There are other communication tools used by blockchain users, like Discord and Telegram. But those tools have been used to scam people. Recognizing the gap, SocialScan has emerged as a groundbreaking product that aims to bridge the divide between users and their blockchain interactions.

Traditional blockchain explorers have primarily served as tools to verify transactions, offering a limited snapshot of a user’s activity. SocialScan, however, is set to transform the way people interact with blockchain by merging it with social media elements and using wallet addresses as unique user identifiers.

The collaboration between Sending Labs and W3W, SocialScan combines the “explorer” component, allowing seamless transaction monitoring, with a “social” aspect, enabling users to communicate, join communities, and immerse themselves in the Web3 environment.

Mason Yang and Yu previously started the Dolphin mobile browser and grew it to more than 200 million users before selling the company.

In February, Sending Labs raised $12.5 million in a seed funding round co-led by Insignia Venture Partners, MindWorks Capital, and Signum Capital. Sending Labs has about 40 people while W3W has 20 people.

SocialScan removes the barriers of anonymity, providing a vibrant, interconnected community where users can interact directly.

With this network, NFT enthusiasts can trace the history of a token, engage with collectors, and negotiate prices, creating a more personalized experience.

Gaming aficionados can identify high-value players, communicate with them, discuss assets, explore achievements, and forge digital friendships. Token-gated chats for events and experiences will also attract more players to GameFi projects.

Developers and contract parties can communicate seamlessly within the blockchain environment, simplifying transactions and agreements.

And if someone sends cryptocurrency to someone by mistake, they could now send a message to that user asking for it back. Of course, good luck in actually getting it back.

“Now you can actually reach out to them. So this is a massive innovation in the space,” Yu said.

But as our world becomes increasingly digital, personal connections matter more than ever. SocialScan serves as the bridge between raw data and meaningful narratives, offering a deeper understanding of assets and associations.

While existing tools like Whale Alert provide insights into large transactions, SocialScan offers an expanded view of influential wallets, NFT trades, and gaming activities, categorizing NFT holders as “whales,” “blue chip holders,” or “notable NFT Investors.”

The platform is set to blur the lines between transactions and conversations with an upcoming in-chat token swap feature.

Compatibility is a strong suit for SocialScan, as it supports a range of blockchain ecosystems including Ethereum, Polygon, Mantle Network, Linea, Immutable, ZetaChain, Base and more. This broad compatibility will redefine how users perceive and interact with blockchain technology. And it could help SocialScan spread.

As the blockchain ecosystem evolves, it’s becoming clear that the future of the Web3 community lies at the heart of blockchain explorers. Projects, coin launches, NFT communities, and marketplaces are likely to migrate to these platforms, Yu said. Advertising, marketing agencies, and publications will seek ways to promote and expand their reach in this new space.

SocialScan also believes it will do a better job protecting users’ data with verification such as zero-knowledge proofs, a method by which one party (the prover) can prove to another party (the verifier) that a given statement is true, while avoiding conveying to the verifier any information beyond the truth.

And there is added security through social layers. For instance, in cryptocurrencies, if your private key is stolen, you’re in trouble. But if there are three or four keys shared with friends, then you can recover if you lose one key. For instance, you may need two keys to unlock a wallet. If there are four keys, and one is stolen or forgotten, then there is still a chance you can recover what’s in a wallet. SocialScan can make that kind of recovery easier.

Yu said that the universal chat experience is a big feature, and things like guilds are easier to organize and find.

“The killer feature we provide is a universal chat experience, and then we also do user acquisition,” Yu said. “When you log in with a wallet on an account, then you can chat with one another.”

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz