In a recent essay outlining his vision for the ideal wallet, Vitalik Buterin, the mastermind behind Ethereum (ETH), did not hold back when it came to addressing the darker side of crypto history. Buterin offered a vision for improving security, privacy and the user experience, but he also did not miss a chance to take a slight dig at Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO whose actions led to the collapse of the exchange and the evaporation of billions in user funds.

In particular, when writing about malicious operators in the crypto space, whose actions put users' funds at risk, Buterin portrayed Sam Bankman-Fried as the ultimate option on the right curve of crypto villains.

Smarter, safer, AI-driven

What Buterin would like to see in wallets stretches beyond mere technical upgrades. Security lies at the forefront of his vision, where he advocates for social recovery mechanisms using multi-signature wallets. 

Users, in his ideal system, would have guardians - trusted individuals, institutions, or even personal devices - to help restore access to accounts in emergencies. By tying these mechanisms to privacy-enhanced centralized identifiers like email addresses, Buterin envisions a system that blends utility with anonymity.

More intriguing, perhaps, is his emphasis on privacy as an everyday feature rather than an afterthought. Wallets, he suggested, should natively support multiple addresses per user, with each tied to specific applications. This would prevent activities from being traced across platforms. Integrated private transfer systems, powered by zero-knowledge technology, would make separate privacy-focused wallets redundant.

Notable in the essay was his perspective on the future, where artificial intelligence could transform wallets into intuitive companions. Wallets could evolve into proactive tools that defend users by analyzing patterns and proposing preventive measures against threats. These features, Buterin argued, would help the crypto space mature beyond its present vulnerabilities.