According to a report by “The Block,” Ethereum blockchain co-founder Vitalik Buterin and several co-authors have proposed a new Ethereum Improvement Proposal as an alternative to EIP-3074, aiming to enhance the account abstraction of the Ethereum network.
EIP-7702, drafted by Vitalik, Sam Wilson, Ansgar Dietrichs, Matt Garnett, and others, introduces a novel transaction type that allows externally owned accounts (EOAs, regular Ethereum account addresses) to temporarily act as smart contract wallets during transactions and revert to their original state after the transaction is completed.
Hayden Adams, the founder of the decentralized cryptocurrency exchange Uniswap, pointed out on the X platform that EIP-7702 is a new alternative to EIP-3074 (which was previously considered for inclusion in the upcoming Ethereum Pectra upgrade), now with added quantum resistance and better compatibility with ERC-4337. He also provided a brief explanation in his tweet reply.
The goal of EIP-7702 is to achieve compatibility with ERC-4337, another broader standard for smart contract wallets known as “finality account abstraction.” The proposal states that account abstraction allows wallets to function like smart contracts, enabling a range of complex functionalities such as multi-factor authentication, wallet social recovery, and flexibility for users to transact with any token. With the Ethereum community’s evaluation of the proposal, EIP-7702 may redefine the implementation of account abstraction in future network upgrades.
The new transaction type proposed in EIP-7702 includes contract code and signature fields, providing functionalities similar to those proposed in EIP-3074, such as batch transactions and sponsored transactions. By allowing EOAs to temporarily transform into contracts, they can be included in ERC-4337 bundles in a way that is compatible with existing EntryPoints.