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Stop Clunky Web3 Onboarding (2025 Update)

#web3 #wallet #stablecoin #webdev

TL;DR: Web3 wallet onboarding in 2025 = embedded wallets + social/passkey login + gas sponsorship + multi-chain from day one. This post compares Dynamic, Web3Auth, Privy —then shows a copy-paste React & React Native quickstart that uses Openfort for in-app, non-custodial wallets, address fetching, chain switching, and sponsored transactions. Links and snippets are real and current.

Why another onboarding guide?

  • “SDK wallet” posts are steady, but most skip multi-chain + RN.
  • “Web3 wallet” is noisy (4–5 posts/day); let’s keep this dev-practical.
  • The 2023 comparisons are dated—SDKs shipped major upgrades in 2024–2025.
Capability Dynamic Web3Auth Privy Openfort
Social / passkey login ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ (email/social/passkey)
Embedded non-custodial ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Multi-chain (EVM + SVM) ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ (EIP-1193 + Wagmi/Viem)
Mobile Focus React Native React Native React Native React Native + Swift
Gas sponsorship Third Party Third Party Built-in Built-in + Dashboard policies
Dev UX (hooks/components) UI UI UI headless or UI

Sources & release notes: Dynamic SDK v4; Web3Auth product docs; Privy onboarding/wallets; Openfort docs (quickstart, wallet actions).

My take: if you need React + React Native parity, gasless by config, and standard EIP-1193 so you can use Wagmi/Viem without weird adapters, Openfort is the most “just-ship-it” today. If your org prefers MPC-first UX libraries, Web3Auth/Privy remain solid picks. Dynamic shines on polish and enterprise workflows.

Quick Start (React)

1. Install 

npm install @openfort/react wagmi viem@^2.22.0 @tanstack/react-query
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2. Providers: Openfort + Wagmi + Query 

import React from "react";
import {
  AuthProvider,
  OpenfortProvider,
  getDefaultConfig,
} from "@openfort/react";
import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
import { WagmiProvider, createConfig } from "wagmi";
import { polygonAmoy } from "viem/chains";

const config = createConfig(
  getDefaultConfig({
    appName: "My Onboarding Demo",
    chains: [polygonAmoy],
    ssr: true,
  })
);

const queryClient = new QueryClient();

export function Providers({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <WagmiProvider config={config}>
      <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
        <OpenfortProvider
          publishableKey={import.meta.env.VITE_OPENFORT_PUB_KEY!}
          walletConfig={{
            shieldPublishableKey: import.meta.env.VITE_OPENFORT_SHIELD_PUB_KEY!,
            // Optional: automatic recovery via your backend endpoint
            createEncryptedSessionEndpoint: "/api/shield-session",
          }}
        >
          <AuthProvider>{children}</AuthProvider>
        </OpenfortProvider>
      </QueryClientProvider>
    </WagmiProvider>
  );
}
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3. Login + embedded wallet button: 

import React from "react";
import { Providers } from "./Providers";
import { OpenfortButton } from "@openfort/react";

export default function App() {
  return (
    <Providers>
      <h1>Onboard users in one click</h1>
      <OpenfortButton />
    </Providers>
  );
}
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4. Backend recovery endpoint (optional)

Use the one-click deploy or add a tiny /api/shield-session that returns a session—copied from the docs.

Get the wallet address (multi chain)
Under the hood, Openfort can expose an EIP-1193 provider, so you can use Wagmi/Viem normally.

import openfort from "./openfortConfig"; // see docs for setup
const provider = await openfort.embeddedWallet.getEthereumProvider();
const [address] = await provider.request({ method: "eth_accounts", params: [] });
console.log("Active address:", address);
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Switch chains and re-use the same interface:

await provider.request({
  method: "wallet_switchEthereumChain",
  params: [{ chainId: "0x5" }], // Goerli example
});
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Docs: EIP-1193 provider & network switching.

Tip: if you’re already on Wagmi, useAccount() gives you the active address; use switchChain (Viem/Wagmi) or the raw wallet_switchEthereumChain request

5. Sponsor gas in one line

Create a sponsor policy in the dashboard → paste the pol_... into your provider config:

<OpenfortProvider
  publishableKey={import.meta.env.VITE_OPENFORT_PUB_KEY!}
  walletConfig={{
    shieldPublishableKey: import.meta.env.VITE_OPENFORT_SHIELD_PUB_KEY!,
    ethereumProviderPolicyId: { 80002: "pol_..." }, // polygonAmoy.id
  }}
>
  {children}
</OpenfortProvider>
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Then send transactions with Wagmi:

import { useCallback } from "react";
import { parseUnits } from "viem";
import { useAccount, useWriteContract } from "wagmi";

const usdc = "0xA0b8...eB48"; // replace
const abi = [{ name: "transfer", type: "function", inputs: [{name:"to",type:"address"},{name:"amount",type:"uint256"}], outputs:[{name:"success",type:"bool"}]}] as const;

export function useSendUsdc() {
  const { address } = useAccount();
  const { writeContract } = useWriteContract();
  return useCallback(
    async (to: `0x${string}`, amount: string) => {
      if (!address) throw new Error("Wallet not connected");
      writeContract({ address: usdc, abi, functionName: "transfer", args: [to, parseUnits(amount, 6)] });
    },
    [address, writeContract]
  );
}
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How sponsorship is configured and applied → docs.

React Native notes (2025)

  • RN SDK is live—use the same mental model (Auth → Embedded wallet → EIP-1193 provider bridge). Feature announcement here; follow the product docs for setup.
  • Set up your RN env with Expo/CLI as usual. Then drop in Openfort’s RN package & providers, mirroring the React setup.

When to pick what (quick decision chart)

  • I want MPC, social login, and a long vendor list → Start with Web3Auth or Privy, then layer gas/onramps.
  • I want clean UI and enterprise onboarding polish → Dynamic (v4) is strong.
  • I want React + RN parity, standard EIP-1193, gasless via config → Openfort. Docs are concise, and the provider is drop-in with Wagmi/Viem.

Links you’ll like:

Open question for you

Do you prefer “black-box” onboarding (fewer knobs, faster ship) or “lego-kit” onboarding (standard EIP-1193 + your hooks)? What did I miss for RN? Drop your stack & pain points—I’ll add a RN-only follow-up with code if there’s interest.

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