Fixing Vultisig's EVM Address Book: Stop Asset Confusion

Understanding the Vultisig Address Book Bug: Why EVM Chain Unification Matters

When navigating the exciting world of cryptocurrency, especially within multi-chain wallets like Vultisig, a seamless and intuitive user experience is paramount. Currently, a crucial bug has been identified in the Vultisig address book related to how it handles EVM chains, which can lead to significant user confusion and potential errors. For those unfamiliar, EVM chains refer to a family of blockchain networks that are compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing them to execute smart contracts written in Solidity and interact with Ethereum-based tools and infrastructure. This includes popular networks like Ethereum itself, Arbitrum, Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, and many others. The issue arises because the Vultisig application, in its current form, allows users to save addresses for each separate EVM chain individually. While this might seem logical at first glance, it creates a problematic scenario when users attempt to send assets, particularly when dealing with tokens that exist across multiple EVM-compatible networks. The core of the problem is that if a user selects an asset they wish to send on Chain A (for instance, native ETH on the Ethereum mainnet), but then inadvertently picks an address from their address book that was saved for Chain B (let's say an Arbitrum address), the system gets confused. This confusion doesn't just stop at the address; it extends to the amount being fetched. Instead of pulling the amount from the asset selected on Chain A, the system might mistakenly try to fetch the amount relevant to Chain B or display an error, leaving the user perplexed about which asset is actually being prepared for transfer. This can be incredibly frustrating and even alarming, as it directly impacts the user's ability to confidently and securely manage their digital assets within Vultisig. The need for EVM chain unification in the address book isn't just about convenience; it's about eliminating ambiguity, enhancing security through reducing user error, and ultimately providing a much clearer, more reliable experience for every Vultisig user. This bug highlights a fundamental design challenge in multi-chain environments, where the user interface must elegantly abstract away underlying blockchain complexities without sacrificing clarity or control. A unified address book would mean that an Ethereum-compatible address (which is essentially the same across all EVM chains) is stored once, and the wallet intelligently determines the correct chain context based on the asset selected for transfer, thus preventing any cross-chain address book mix-ups.

The Problem in Action: A Step-by-Step Scenario Leading to Confusion

Let's truly imagine this scenario playing out within the Vultisig wallet, so we can grasp the real-world implications of this EVM chain address book bug. Picture yourself, a diligent crypto user, managing various assets across different chains. Perhaps you're holding some ETH.ETH, which is the native Ethereum token on the mainnet, and also some ETH.ARB, which represents Wrapped Ethereum on the Arbitrum network. Now, you decide you want to send some of your ETH.ETH to a friend. You navigate to the send screen in Vultisig, feeling confident, and select ETH.ETH as the asset you wish to transfer. So far, so good! The intention is clear: send Ethereum on the mainnet. However, here's where the Vultisig address book currently introduces a hiccup. Let's say you've previously saved an Arbitrum address in your address book – perhaps it's your friend's Arbitrum wallet address, or maybe even your own address on Arbitrum for convenience. In the current system, when you go to fill the recipient address, you might mistakenly select this ARB address from your address book, even though your selected asset is ETH.ETH. This is where the confusion really kicks in. Because the address book allows for distinct EVM chain addresses to be saved and selected without immediate context checking, the wallet system then tries to reconcile the selected asset (ETH.ETH) with the chosen address (an Arbitrum address). The result? An error on the amount field. Instead of accurately displaying the available ETH.ETH for sending, or even immediately flagging that the chosen address is incompatible with the selected asset's chain, the system becomes disoriented. You might see a zero balance, an incorrect amount being fetched from the Arbitrum chain (if you happen to have assets there), or a generic error message, which confuses the user of which asset gets send. This is more than just a minor inconvenience; it can be a source of significant anxiety. A user might second-guess their actions, wondering if they're about to send the wrong asset, to the wrong chain, or even lose funds due to a misunderstanding of the interface. This step-by-step reproduction highlights how a seemingly small disconnect in the Vultisig address book functionality can lead to a major break in the user's mental model of how their wallet should operate. The goal of any good wallet is to make transactions straightforward and error-free, and this particular interaction pattern within the Vultisig application unfortunately deviates from that ideal, emphasizing the urgent need for a more unified and intelligent approach to managing EVM chain addresses.

The Solution: Consolidating EVM Addresses for a Smoother Experience

The path forward to resolving this Vultisig address book bug is clear and promises a significantly enhanced user experience. The proposed solution focuses on two critical improvements that will make managing EVM chain assets much more intuitive and error-proof within the Vultisig application. First and foremost, the core recommendation is to consolidate address book selection in only one "EVM Chain" option. What does this truly mean for you, the user? It means that instead of saving separate entries for the exact same underlying EVM address across different chains (e.g., one entry for your friend's Ethereum address, another for their Polygon address, and yet another for their Arbitrum address, even though all three are fundamentally the same hexadecimal string), Vultisig should treat all EVM-compatible addresses as a single, unified entry. When you save an address like 0xAbCd...123, the wallet should recognize it as an EVM address, capable of receiving assets on any EVM chain. This elegant simplification dramatically reduces clutter in your address book and, more importantly, eliminates the possibility of selecting the