The popular blockchain explorer for Ethereum, Etherscan, released its Blockscan Chat mobile app on August 7. The app allows you to chat with any Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) address. Let's explore its features together!
The mechanism
To clarify, an "EVM address" is a specific type of address within blockchain networks operating on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This computational environment allows the execution of smart contracts on Ethereum. A pretty cool thing about EVM compatibility is that your Ethereum address can be utilized on any blockchain that gets along with EVM standards.
So, let's say you have an Ethereum address like "0x123...abc". You can use the same one on EVM-compatible chains, such as BNB Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum, and more.
Etherscan had already integrated the capability to exchange messages in January 2022, but only through the web version. To use this feature, you need to connect to the site through your wallet. While all Etherscan users can see incoming messages, reading and replying to them necessitates the wallet’ owner login.
For example, on the screenshot below, someone is writing messages to a Curve hacker. The mechanism basically works like a traditional messenger, except authentication relies on your EVM wallet instead of a phone number or email.
As of yesterday, this can be done via your phone, with the app available on both the App Store and Google Play.
The main features
The main features of Blockscan Chat are listed on its website, including instant chat, notifications, multi-device login, etc.
Communication is cost-free, messages are stored on Etherscan servers and not on the blockchain, eliminating the decentralization advantage. Keep in mind that it collects quite a bit of data, just like most mobile apps. However, this service proves to be useful if you want to buy NFTs directly from the owner, thus bypassing additional commissions charged by marketplaces like Opensea. Similarly, it could facilitate communication with an unintended recipient to revolver mistakenly sent crypto.
A reminder: on TON, you can also exchange encrypted messages, but they are stored on the blockchain.
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