Ethereum Foundation Launches Clear Signing Standard May 2026

The Ethereum Foundation on May 12, 2026, rolled out Clear Signing, an open standard that replaces unreadable hex data in wallet transaction prompts with plain-language descriptions. The initiative targets blind signing, a recurring attack vector behind billions in crypto losses, including the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025.

Blind signing cost crypto users $1.5 billion in one hack alone. Web Snack tracks the security standards reshaping how wallets work - subscribe to stay ahead.

How Blind Signing Became Ethereum's Biggest Security Liability

Most Ethereum wallets display raw hexadecimal calldata when users approve transactions. Hardware wallets often require blind signing by default. Software wallets decode fields only when they recognize the contract - and when they don't, users sign without knowing what they're authorizing.

This gap has been exploited repeatedly. In February 2025, North Korea's Lazarus Group compromised the Safe{Wallet} front-end used by Bybit, injecting malicious JavaScript that made a fraudulent transaction look legitimate. Signers approved what appeared to be a routine transfer and lost roughly 401,000 ETH - approximately $1.5 billion.

The $235 million WazirX breach followed a similar pattern. In both cases, users approved transactions they could not read.

ERC-7730 and ERC-8176: How the New Standard Works

Clear Signing bundles three components. ERC-7730, a JSON descriptor format originally proposed by Ledger in 2024, lets smart contracts describe their function calls in plain language. A wallet that supports ERC-7730 reads the descriptor file alongside the raw calldata and reconstructs the transaction into something readable - for example, "Send 1,000 USDC, receive minimum 0.42 WETH" instead of a function selector and integer values.

The second piece is an open, mirrorable registry hosted at clearsigning.org, where developers submit descriptors for their contracts. Independent security auditors review submissions before they go live. Wallets independently choose which registry instances to trust.

ERC-8176, the third component, adds an attestation layer. After a descriptor is merged into the registry, auditors can publish cryptographic attestations confirming its accuracy. Wallets then apply their own trust policies, weighting descriptors with multiple independent reviews more heavily.

"We welcome the Ethereum Foundation's Clear Signing standard as a critical security advancement for our entire industry. This addresses a fundamental vulnerability that has plagued cryptocurrency users for years, blind signing" - Tomas Susanka, Chief Technology Officer at Trezor

What Clear Signing Changes for Wallet Users and DeFi Protocols

Ledger first developed clear signing as an internal security project in 2021, then formalized it as ERC-7730 in 2024. Earlier this year, governance was transferred to the Ethereum Foundation to make the standard credibly neutral. The April 2026 release of ERC-7730 V2 expanded coverage to cross-chain use cases, software wallets, and confidential-token primitives.

Contributors include Ledger, Trezor, MetaMask, WalletConnect, Fireblocks, Cyfrin, Sourcify, and Zama, among others. For everyday DeFi users, the change is direct: instead of staring at hex strings and hoping the transaction is legitimate, wallets will show what assets are moving, who receives them, and what permissions are being granted.

Ethereum's Security Roadmap: Audits, Bug Bounties, and What Comes Next

Clear Signing is one piece of the Foundation's Trillion Dollar Security initiative, launched in 2025 to harden the network as institutional capital flows in. The stated goal: an ecosystem where billions of people hold more than $1,000 on-chain and institutions store over $1 trillion in a single contract.

In the past month, the Foundation also launched a $1 million Audit Subsidy Program covering up to 30% of security review costs for mainnet builders. Bug bounty rewards for critical vulnerabilities now reach $1 million.

For Clear Signing, the Foundation is funding Rust and TypeScript tooling libraries. No timeline exists for mandatory wallet adoption, but the ERC-7730 registry is live and open for submissions now.

Ethereum's security push is accelerating. Get the full picture every week - subscribe to Web Snack for free.

P.S. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Always conduct your own research and make independent decisions.