Christian Montoya is an innovative product manager with almost two decades experience in blockchain, mobile, desktop, web, chat and gaming technologies. Currently MetaMask Snaps Product Lead, he is passionate about crafting cutting-edge product strategies that enhance user experiences and drive user behaviour. With a deep understanding of technology and data, Montoya is dedicated to shaping the future of web3 through the MetaMask Snaps platform. In this interview with TOBI AWODIPE, he talks about how he is working to achieve this and the opportunities that Nigerian app developers can tap into.
What is MetaMask Snaps and how does it differentiate from traditional approaches to wallet developments?
MetaMask Snaps is a way for users of MetaMask to access new features and functionality, built by third party developers. Developers can build these new features in snaps and make them available in MetaMask and users can go and install the snaps that have the features they want. So, not only does it expand the functionality of MetaMask, it also makes it possible for users to customise their experience and personalise it for the features they need.
Snaps is basically a platform for developers; they build snaps for free. We provide all the tools needed to start building snaps and they make them available afterwards. We have a list where we check that each snap is legit and ensure that it’s safe for users. Once a snap is finalised, users can then install it from a directory.
There are three main categories of snaps. Some add support for blockchains beyond Ethereum, blockchains like Bitcoin, Solana and Cosmos. Some of them display information about your transactions before you confirm them so they can tell you if the transaction is risky, simulate and show you what the transaction is going to do or use AI to help you understand your transaction better. Some of them use notifications to show you information from web3 protocols and applications. So, you can actually get notifications within MetaMask now.
Part of the motivation for this was that we recognised that there’s a lot of talent and innovation in the web3 ecosystem and thought if we could make a way for developers to build on top of MetaMask and expand its functionality without having to rely on us like a gatekeeper, that would accelerate the pace of innovation within the ecosystem and make it possible for users to access lots of new features. In the past, if you wanted to add a new feature, solution or some new functionality that MetaMask didn’t already support, you would probably have to make your own extension or your own wallet application and that’s a lot of work. There’s a lot of things that go into making MetaMask the most popular self-custodial wallet for users; there’s a lot of features involved in making MetaMask what it is today. We got feedback from developers who said, ‘if I can make a snap, then that really makes it so much easier for me to build the product that I want to build because I can rely on the fact that MetaMask already handles a lot of the complexities of making an extension and I can just build my feature specifically to do what it needs to do within it’.
So, it really lowers the barrier of entry for a developer to get a new feature or new functionality in front of users and to be able to ship that. Also, it lowers the barrier for users to access said features. In the past, if you wanted to access different blockchains, you would have to install different wallets and users don’t always want to do that. Now, instead of installing different wallets or extra extensions, you can just install these features directly into MetaMask.
Is this innovative? Are you the first to do this or has it been done before?
I don’t think there is anything like this in web3, and there isn’t anything like this in the wallet. There are other types of applications that have the ability to do add-ons or mods. There are various applications out there that have the ability for people to do plugins, like figma or raycast. Obviously, with things like Google Chrome, Firefox, iPhone or Android, people can build apps for those. With that in mind, snaps are like apps for MetaMask and people can build apps for MetaMask. I don’t think there’s any other wallet that has anything similar.
Give us examples of how users have leveraged snaps to tailor their MetaMask wallets to specific needs?
I can give two examples. First, people are already using the snaps that we just launched. Before we launched it, it was just developer preview. Developers were building snaps but it was not available to users. Now, users can go and install these snaps and as they are installing snaps, there is support for different blockchains like Bitcoin, Cosmos and Solana; they are now able to use MetaMask to access those block chains, have accounts on those blockchains, send and receive on those blockchains but also to connect to decentralised applications (dapps). There are dapps already adding support for MetaMask and the above mentioned users can now use MetaMask to connect to those websites. Also, there’s been a lot of scams in web3 and when we did this launch, we launched with nine different snaps that provide transaction insights and can help warn users if they are making a risky transaction. We are already seeing users install these transaction insights snaps and use them when they are about to make a transaction to just have extra help and understand if the transaction is risky or not. It helps let users know if they need to reject the transaction because it might be a risky transaction or maybe not what they expected.
How do you see community driven developments contributing to the ongoing success of snaps?
We already started this process for a while now; Snaps is something we have been building in the open and we’ve connected with lots of developers in the ecosystem, who have given us feedback. Whenever we are building a new feature, we show the developers and get their feedback on how to make it better, how they are going to use it and if the way we are designing it is helpful or not. The features that we launched with recently were actually informed by all the developers that we talked to and what they were interested in building. Now that we have made it available to users, part of the reason that we wanted to start this open beta period, even though it’s not perfect, was to get something out in front of users where they can start to play with snaps, try them out and give us feedback. We can see the most popular snaps people are installing, features they are interested in and that’s going to continue to help us shape the future of the platform. Now that we have feedback from our users, the goal is to make the wallet better for users and give them access to more features. So, getting feedback from users and seeing what they are installing and how they are using it is really beneficial for us.
You have Nigerian developers in this space. What advantages do these global collaborations bring to the snaps ecosystem?
We’ve been working with the team, Walletchat, and they made a really innovative snap that allows users to chat through MetaMask and get notifications based on users’ conversations. Their product is an innovative, encrypted messaging platform; the snap connects to their product and I can get notifications and chat messages directly. Our snaps are built by developers all over the world and we have developers in every continent, building snaps; they have been part of this journey with us.
MetaMask has a global focus. We think crypto is essential for empowering people, especially in regions where people don’t have good access to different types of currencies or can’t invest easily, are affected by inflation or where the banking or credit systems aren’t so great. We take it as a priority to enable access as much as possible for everyone. We have tried to enable more on-ramp providers in different regions, launched the Metamask for Android, which is important, because there are some areas where people don’t have a desktop or laptop, but an Android phone and that’s how they access the internet. One of our big priorities for the platform was to ensure that it’s easy for developers to get started. It doesn’t cost anything to start building snaps. We provide all the documentation, tools and tutorials for free and developers can just go to our documentation and start learning how to build snaps. They can build, test, play around with them and deploy them for free. We also launched a grants programme, Metamaskgrants.org. People can go there, apply for grants to help them with developing their snap idea or whatever costs are associated with building their snaps. We’ve issued grants for multiple developers; it is part of our mission to empower the builder and enable innovation here in Nigeria and everywhere else. With Walletchat, we issued a grant to support them in developing their snap and they did a good job.
What potential impact do you see on web3 adoption as a result of snaps offering interoperability with various blockchains?
I think snaps make it easier for users to go and try out these other blockchains because they don’t have to install another wallet; they can install a snap and start playing with Bitcoin, Solana, Cosmos and so on. Also, it makes it easier for those dapps and websites that are in the ecosystems to integrate with MetaMask. MetaMask is the most popular self-custodial wallet with 30 million monthly active users exploring Ethereum and can now explore all these other ecosystems. I think it will be much easier for those blockchains to bring the MetaMask users over and make it possible for them to try these other blockchains and their applications. It will be really beneficial for users because now they have an easier way to go and access all of these other ecosystems.
What measures are in place to ensure safety and integrity of snaps and user transactions?
We did a full audit of the snaps integration, working with an auditor, Least Authority. It’s built on a technology that limits what a snap can do within MetaMask and each snap runs in a separate sandbox, so that they only have access to the data that they are supposed to have access to and they use permissions. MetaMask checks which permissions a snap will have access to in order to make sure that a snap doesn’t do anything unexpected. When you install a snap, you see everything it is going to do; all the information about it and you’ll understand how it works. Also, you have to be able to view the source of the snaps.
You can even go and look at the code and make sure that it doesn’t do anything unusual. That way, users can verify what they are installing. We did all these things to ensure that the platform is safe for users, but more importantly, users are in control. The snaps are not installed by default; we wanted everything to be as transparent as possible. In respect to transactions and MetaMask, one of our top priorities was to get this category of transaction insights and have multiple snap developers building these types of snaps and because of this transaction insights category, what snaps enables is different types of transaction security solutions. The idea is, before you make the transaction, it simulates it for you and tells you the outcome. There are also snaps that use registries, including registries like Forta and Go Plus that track scams and malicious actors in web3. They keep track of people who do scam contracts, phishing attempts or steal and can tell you if you are interacting with an address that has stolen in the past or is responsible for phishing attempts. Some users will try to con you or pretend they are someone they’re not and this is a great way for you to find out if that’s the case. Finally, some of these apps use AI to decode the transaction and give you information about it; if it is malicious or if you’re interacting with someone malicious in web3 or you’re about to send money to a malicious actor.
How does MetaMask plan to maintain quality control and prevent malicious snaps from being integrated into wallets?
We provide a lot of tools and multiple guides on how best to design a snap and we designed the platform in a way that encourages snap developers to design quality snaps. The tools that we provide help them in checking that their snap works the way it’s expected to do. Also, we have an allow list process and its purpose is to ensure that the snaps are well designed and they work as expected. We work with the developers to review their snaps before we make them available in the extension. We also have people at MetaMask who work directly with developers, advise and help them. We ensure they have the support materials they need and a way for users to get in touch with them if they have questions or run into problems. We do this because we see the value for users to have lots of great snaps and make sure that the snaps are high quality and usable for users.
Could you share an instance where user feedback led to a significant improvement or feature addition?
The whole purpose of this initial launch of snaps, and we’re calling it the MetaMask snaps open beta, is to get feedback from users. We are inviting users to try these snaps, see what works and give us feedback on what they don’t like or what doesn’t work as expected. Also tell us what they would like to see; this is something that can greatly expand the features of MetaMask and also enable users customise their wallets. Users can reach out to us on our social channels; we have a feedback form on our website they can fill out or go to our Discord. This is an opportunity for users to tell us what they would like to see us build into the platform. We have a whole roadmap of new features that we are going to roll out, and we are working with developers who are going to be building more snaps and more categories. The purpose is to make MetaMask better for the people who use it, and so, the most important information that we can possibly have is feedback from users. As we get feedback and see which snaps are popular and people are using, that’s going to tell us what to do next.
How do you foresee snaps evolving and adapting to the changing needs of the web3 ecosystem?
Snaps makes it possible for us to evolve and adapt faster than ever before. It’s not just MetaMask building MetaMask; it’s an entire community that’s helping build MetaMask and make it better. We are working with developers and users through the platform, adding features faster because now developers are helping to add these features and users are sharing their ideas on what they want to see. When we enable this type of two-way street of sharing ideas and feedback, it really inspires people, helps them understand what to build and the needs that need to be met. This is our vision on how we can accelerate innovation in web3 and make the wallet better to the point that we can potentially onboard the next billion users in web3.
How will this innovation help new developers in Nigeria?
This is a new opportunity that Nigerian developers should definitely look into and build with. There is nothing else like it out there; the ability to build an application that can be installed into MetaMask and expand its features is something that I think is really exciting.
We would love to see more developers from Nigeria building on our platform. We love to connect with them, share ideas and answer any questions they might have. We would love to see more snaps eventually added to our MetaMask snaps directory from developers in Nigeria. In the not-too-distant future, I would love to see 100 snaps developed specifically in Nigeria. I think that is achievable. I would love to see a team from Nigeria accomplish that. I think it’s doable. If you make a really useful snap that solves a problem for people, I think that that’s totally something that Nigerian developers could accomplish.
