Ethereum Foundation launches clear signing to make wallet approvals easier to understand

The Ethereum Foundation said Clear Signing is now live, introducing an open standard designed to make wallet approvals readable by default and reduce the risks tied to blind signing.

0/ Clear signing is now live.

An open standard to end blind signing, making human-readable transactions default.

This effort brings a major UX and Security upgrade to transaction signing on Ethereum. pic.twitter.com/nIGRCBQh6G

— Ethereum Foundation (@ethereumfndn) May 12, 2026

The effort aims to replace opaque transaction data with plain language descriptions that show users what they are approving before they sign. Clear Signing’s overview says ERC-7730 lets protocols describe transaction intent so wallets can show users the action, amount, protocol, and expected result rather than raw calldata.

Blind signing remains one of Ethereum’s most persistent UX and security problems. Many wallet screens still show raw bytes or generic labels, leaving users to approve transactions they do not fully understand. Clear Signing compares that experience to signing a blank check.

The new framework does not change how Ethereum transactions work. Instead, it adds a verifiable display layer at the signing step, allowing wallets to convert technical transaction data into readable intent while keeping trust decisions local to each wallet.

ERC 7730 metadata maps raw transaction data to human readable descriptions. In practice, a wallet could show that a user is swapping 1,000 USDC for a minimum amount of ETH on Uniswap, instead of asking them to approve an unreadable hexadecimal string.

The initiative also introduces a neutral and mirrorable descriptor registry, an attestation framework under ERC-8176 so auditors can verify descriptor integrity, and open tooling for wallets, protocols, and auditors. Contributors include Ledger, Trezor, MetaMask, WalletConnect, Fireblocks, Zama, Sourcify, Cyfrin, and the Ethereum Foundation’s Trillion Dollar Security initiative.

The registry is designed to remain open and permissionless, allowing protocol teams, security researchers, and other contributors to publish descriptors. Wallets can then decide which descriptors and attestations to trust when displaying transaction details to users.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.