Vitalik Buterin proposed improved account abstraction in the Pectra upgrade

The upgrade will introduce smart contract functionality directly into wallets

08.05.2024 - 15:05

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What’s new? Ethereum blockchain co-founder Vitalik Buterin has submitted an Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP), number 7702, aimed at improving account abstraction. This concept allows accounts to be programmed into the blockchain so that wallets can operate as smart contracts and perform complex functions such as multi-factor authentication and social key recovery.

Material by The Block

What else is known? EIP-7702 was developed by Buterin in co-authorship with Sam Wilson, Ansgar Dietrichs, and Matt Garnett, it represents an alternative to EIP-3074, which was previously supposed to be the basis of an upcoming blockchain upgrade called Pectra.

Pectra, expected to be released in late 2024-early 2025, will improve transaction security and network stability, and introduce many new features. Through EIP-3074, it was supposed to add smart contract functionality directly to wallets, which would allow for more complex yet more secure transactions of digital assets.

The proposal would also introduce social recovery functionality, whereby lost funds could be recovered through trusted contacts rather than traditional seed phrases.

Ethereum developers have proposed to increase the gas limit to scale the network

The solution will reduce transaction fees by 15-33%

In turn, EIP-7702, similar in many ways to the above proposal, offers a new transaction type that allows externally owned accounts (EOAs) — normal Ethereum account addresses — to temporarily function as smart-contract wallets during transactions and then be restored to their original state.

EIP-7702 also aims to achieve compatibility with ERC-4337, the standard for smart contract wallets.

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