Rhinestone

Rhinestone is a London-based financial software company operating in the Web3 space, specifically focusing on modular smart account infrastructure. Founded in early 2023 by Kurt Larsen and Konrad Kopp, the company aims to resolve complexities in the blockchain environment, such as vendor lock-in and fragmentation. The founders connected via LinkedIn and pivoted to account abstraction after identifying persistent issues with user onboarding in Web3 projects during their initial collaborations.

The firm provides infrastructure and tooling that allows developers to build on any compatible smart account. Rhinestone's core business revolves around transforming smart accounts into an open platform for innovation by allowing developers to extend their feature sets through self-contained modules. These modules, which are essentially smart contracts, can be built, reused, or customized to create a variety of on-chain products. This approach is designed to simplify the development of applications with complex functions like self-custodial automation or one-click user experiences. The company has been instrumental in developing the ERC-7579 standard, which promotes interoperability and extensibility for modular smart accounts.

Rhinestone’s product suite includes tools like the ModuleKit for building new modules and a ModuleSDK for integrating existing ones. It also offers a platform where developers can distribute and potentially monetize these modules. For end-users and dapp developers, this translates to a marketplace, the Module Store, for discovering and installing modules that enhance wallet functionality. The company's technology abstracts complexities like chain differences, bridging, and gas fees through a unified API and SDK. In August 2024, Rhinestone announced a $5 million seed funding round led by 1kx, bringing its total funding to $5.42 million. This capital is intended to expand operations and further develop its smart account infrastructure and developer incentive programs.

Keywords: modular smart accounts, account abstraction, ERC-7579, Web3 infrastructure, developer tools, on-chain products, smart contract modules, blockchain development, Kurt Larsen, Konrad Kopp, 1kx, self-custody, wallet innovation, chain abstraction, ModuleKit, ModuleSDK, Module Store, dApp development, permissionless innovation, crypto wallets