What about inserting Nyxt on the criptocoin/blockchain world? And how could we try doing it?

Nyxt Ideas
1

Hello fellow Nyxt hackers,

I have almost zero knowledge about the crypto-coin world and blockchain applications in general. But it seems an interesting and promising ecosystem.

Currently, I think there is not a Nyxt extension or feature tailor-made for this world.

And I think this could be a good opportunity for the project. People using crypto-coin and blockchain, in general, tend to be technically inclined, just like Nyxt users.

Moreover, I think blockchain aficionados lack good tools since it's a booming and new world. In addition, we all know how worse it is to build extensions in Edge/Firefox/Chrome/Safari in comparison to Nyxt.

There are, of course, some tools already available. One specific Chrome (Desktop) extension calls my attention (they also have mobile apps for IOs and Android).

It is called Metamask (Wikipedia entry).

Their website says:

Explore blockchain apps

MetaMask provides the simplest yet most secure way to connect to blockchain-based applications. You are always in control when interacting on the new decentralized web.

And:

As of April 2021, MetaMask's browser extension had approximately 3 million monthly active users, according to Fortune.[6]

Their weak points also seem interesting while making a contrast to what Nyxt could offer:

While MetaMask and other "web3" focused applications aim to decentralize control over personal data and increase user privacy, critics have pointed to the potential for MetaMask's browser extension to leak identifiable information to data collection networks and web trackers as a fundamental flaw.

I have way more questions and topics to study than answers. And I am curious about what the Nyxt community (users and dev team) thinks about it.

1 - Are there heavy users of Ethereum or blockchain applications among us?

2 - What would be a potential low-hanging fruit for exploration?

3 - On this low-hanging fruit to work on, what would be the costs and potential benefits?

2

A GNU Taler integration is discussed here.

3

One thing to look at that I know Dan Findlay and the team at Metamask are thinking a lot about is SES (hardened javascript) ā€” a subset of Javascript that is locked down with a limited set of capabilities, so you can be confident in injecting it into a browser context that also contains say a cryptowallet. Maybe see if the Lisp->Javascript compiler you have could be adapted to compile to this subset?

You might want to check what Christine Lemmer-Webber is doing, which is some compatible work in Racket/Guile. Iā€™m guessing their work would be relatively easy to port to Common Lisp.

1 Like