MetaMask Deploys Smart Transactions to Reduce Fees and Improve Privacy

On May 14, Ethereum solutions provider ConsenSys announced the deployment of Smart Transactions, a new technology rolling out to all MetaMask users globally as an optional feature.

Smart Transactions aims to offer better transaction success rates, reduce gas costs, and protect users from harmful MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) attacks like frontrunning and sandwiching.

MetaMask users have long lamented over high fees and spreads on token swaps and transactions within the wallet.

MetaMask Improvements

Smart Transactions enable transactions to remain private until confirmed on-chain, which means bots cannot front-run them. Their success rates are also improved because Smart Transactions undergo “pre-simulation using MetaMask’s just-in-time simulation service,” it stated.

During beta testing, the new system delivered a 99.5% transaction success rate, well above the industry benchmark, it added. ConsenSys noted that these new enhancements take advantage of “new mempool virtualization technology” the company has developed.

Additionally, users can monitor the real-time status of pending transactions on a new dashboard directly within the wallet without navigating to third-party block explorers.

Director of ConsenSys Special Mechanisms Group, Jason Linehan, commented, “Smart Transactions let users automatically take better care of the transactions they sign, and what happens when they get sent to the blockchain network.”

According to the company, more than 52,000 ETH was wasted on failed transactions in 2023 alone. Executive Director of Product at MetaMask, Gal Eldar, explained that submitting transactions to a distributed network is hard.

“This complexity often results in a user experience that is both frustrating and unpredictable. In many cases, it can lead to significant financial leakage due to frontrunning attacks, costly on-chain reverts, and overpayments for block space.”

MetaMask’s Recent History

In January, MetaMask launched Validator Staking support allowing users to stake 32 ETH via ConsenSys custody services. The wallet charges a 10% commission on rewards which is much less than centralized exchanges such as Coinbase.

Previously, the wallet had some issues with Apple’s App Store. As reported in October, the number of fake MetaMask apps had increased and the original one disappeared from the store. However, the issue was fixed relatively quickly and the real MetaMask app has returned and continued to operate on both Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.