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The Ethereum Foundation unveils new ‘Clear Signing’ standard to stop users from approving malicious crypto transactions
The move comes after billions in losses from phishing attacks and wallet drains, with Ethereum pushing to make transaction approvals safer and easier to understand.
May 12, 2026, 5:31 p.m. 2 min read
What to know:
- The Ethereum Foundation and major wallet developers launched “Clear Signing,” a new standard designed to stop users from unknowingly approving malicious crypto transactions by replacing confusing code with human-readable explanations.
- The move comes after billions in losses from phishing attacks and wallet drains, with Ethereum pushing to make transaction approvals safer and easier to understand as the network courts mainstream and institutional users.
The effort comes after years of phishing attacks and wallet drains that often boil down to the same issue: users unknowingly approving malicious transactions they don’t understand. The Ethereum Foundation pointed to incidents like the Bybit hack as examples of how attackers exploit “blind signing,” where users approve transactions filled with unreadable technical data.
Right now, signing a crypto transaction can feel like clicking “accept” on a terms-of-service page written in another language. Wallets often display long strings of code that only highly technical users can decipher, leaving everyday traders vulnerable to fake apps, malicious links and compromised websites.
