We have officially started development on Squads Protocol v5, the next evolution of SVM smart accounts.
In 2025, a Solana runtime feature activation will increase CPI limits, enabling smart accounts to emerge as first-class citizens and paving the way for wider adoption of account abstraction on Solana. In anticipation of this shift, we're designing Squads v5 to empower developers building wallets, DeFi applications, and payment solutions with seamless onboarding, robust security, and an intuitive user experience.
This next evolution of Squads Protocol will accelerate the adoption of smart accounts and account abstraction on Solana and the SVM.
What Squads v5 Unlocks
In Squads v5, we are introducing several groundbreaking features that will give developers and users nuanced control over their smart accounts.
Hooks
Hooks are individual programs that programmatically tighten or loosen smart account consensus. For example, users can set Spending Limits and dynamic approval requirements based on transaction type, or create program whitelists that allow specific members to bypass smart account consensus when interacting with designated Solana applications.
Synchronous Transaction Execution
Previous versions of Squads Protocol were built with a multiplayer mode in mind. In Squads v5, we are expanding functionality for single-player use cases by allowing execution of transactions in real time through multiple synchronous top-level signatures. This enables seamless multi-factor authentication (MFA) workflows for individuals and significantly reduces overall transaction overhead.
New Permissions and Key-Tier Adaptive Timelocks
Squads v5 introduces a more sophisticated permissions system, allowing users to assign advanced privileges to specific keys within their smart account. This enables enterprises to implement granular admin roles in their operational setups.
Additionally, the introduction of Key-Tier Adaptive Timelocks will enable advanced security and account recovery. These features provide developers and users powerful tools to create nuanced, context-aware smart accounts tailored to their specific needs.
Performance and Memory Improvements
Squads v5 will incorporate a suite of performance and memory optimizations designed to maximize compatibility with other programs within Solana's compute unit, memory, and transaction size constraints. This includes upgrades such us:
Implementation of a custom bump allocator
Strategic use of zero-copy serialization
Incremental uploading for large transactions
These upgrades, coupled with the anticipated CPI limit increase in 2025, will empower SVM developers to adopt smart accounts as the primary user account infrastructure for their applications without user experience tradeoffs or limitations.
Accelerate
Squads v5 will be formally verified and will launch on Solana mainnet later this year. Our goal is to make digital asset management secure, intuitive, and scalable for everyone—paving the way for the accelerated growth of the onchain economy.
If you need a place to secure and manage your developer or treasury assets, create a Squad on app.squads.so and reach out to garrett@sqds.io to learn more.
