Clear Signing
Clear Signing is a security process that allows you to verify the full details of a digital transaction in a human-readable format on a secure screen before you approve it.
What Is Clear Signing?
Clear Signing is an open-source security initiative designed to eliminate the risks associated with blind signing. When you interact with a decentralized application (dApp) or a smart contract, the transaction data is often presented as a complex string of raw, hexadecimal code. This blind data is impossible for a human to interpret, making it easy for scammers to hide malicious intents, such as siphoning funds from your wallet.
Clear Signing acts as a translation layer. It converts this raw data into a clear, transparent summary including the specific action, the recipient, and the exact amount, displayed directly on your signer. It ensures that what you see on your screen is exactly what you are signing on the blockchain, providing Freedom from Compromise and total peace of mind.
How Does Clear Signing Work?
Clear Signing relies on standardized metadata to interpret smart contract interactions. For the Ethereum (EVM) ecosystem, this is formally defined by the ERC-7730 open-source standard.
The general process involves a smart contract developer providing a “schema,” which is a set of machine-readable instructions that describe the contract’s functions in plain English. Any wallet or dApp that supports ERC-7730 can then use this schema to translate raw data for the person signing the transaction.
The Evolution of Clear Signing: From Initiative to Global Standard
Clear Signing began as a Ledger-initiated security project in 2021 to address the growing threat of blind signing. The first technical iterations appeared as EVM plugins, which allowed users to see basic transaction details for a limited number of decentralized applications. By 2024, Ledger accelerated this work through the Clear Signing Initiative, aiming to provide transparency for every smart contract interaction.
To ensure this protection reached the entire ecosystem, Ledger moved to standardize the technology through the creation of ERC-7730. This formal Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) provides the technical framework that allows any wallet or dApp to implement human-readable transactions.
Today, Clear Signing is an evolving open standard governed by the Ethereum Foundation. This governance ensures that the standard remains neutral, decentralized, and widely adopted across the industry. Through a collaborative community effort including contributions from Ledger, WalletConnect, Sourcify, and Fireblocks, Clear Signing is moving toward becoming the global default for digital ownership and transaction security.
For an in-depth overview of Clear Signing, check out the full article on Ledger Academy.
