Thesis
The crypto payment UX problem is not a wallet problem — it is an authentication and fee problem. ZapPay combines WebAuthn passkeys with externally owned accounts (EOAs) and chain-level fee abstraction to create a merchant payment flow that requires no browser extension, no seed phrase, and no gas token.
The Case Against Smart-Account Maximalism
Most crypto UX efforts push complexity into smart contract wallets: account abstraction, session keys, paymasters. ZapPay argues this is the wrong layer. If the chain itself handles fee abstraction (as Celo does), and authentication uses platform passkeys (as WebAuthn enables), the wallet can stay simple — an EOA with a passkey signer.
What Exists
- Passkey-based wallet creation and signing
- Merchant payment flow with QR code initiation
- Fee abstraction via Celo’s native fee currency support
- Relay architecture for gasless transactions
Research Question
This project addresses: How does a user leave a system without losing identity, value, or memory? — specifically, how payment infrastructure can avoid locking users into wallet ecosystems.
Status
Prototype. The architecture is proven; merchant integration patterns are being tested.