In Web3, many of our operations on websites are essentially calling smart contracts on the blockchain. For example, clicking buttons like claim, mint, or swap is actually asking the contract to execute a certain method.
If we break down a complete Web3 interaction, it roughly goes through three processes. Here we use claiming an airdrop (claim) as an example.
Website Sends Request to Wallet
When you click the Claim button, the website sends a JSON-RPC request to the wallet through the wallet Provider in the browser (e.g., MetaMask's injected window.ethereum).
The content of this request is usually to call a smart contract's claim() method and construct a transaction.
Simply put: the website is telling the wallet to call the claim method in the contract for this address.
Wallet Popup Requests User Signature
After receiving the RPC request, the wallet parses the transaction information, such as:
- Which contract to call
- Which method to call
- Whether gas needs to be paid
The wallet then pops up a confirmation window for the user to decide whether to sign and authorize.
If the user clicks confirm, the wallet will use the current account's private key to sign this transaction.
Transaction is Sent to the Blockchain Network
After signing, the wallet sends the transaction to the blockchain network through the RPC node. The transaction enters the mempool and is eventually packaged into a block by miners or validators. The claim() method in the contract is executed, and the airdrop tokens are distributed to the user's wallet address.
Can This Process Be Completed Without a Wallet?
The answer is yes.
What truly matters in the entire process is not the wallet itself, but the private key signature. The wallet's role is only to help users manage the private key and provide a visual confirmation interface before signing.
As long as the private key can be used to complete the signature and the transaction can be sent to the RPC node, the transaction can equally be broadcast to the blockchain network and executed. In other words, the wallet is just one way to implement this process, not the only way.