eip 3074

Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 3074 is a significant Ethereum protocol upgrade designed to enhance account abstraction capabilities, allowing users to authorize external contracts to execute transactions on their behalf. This proposal introduces two new opcodes: AUTH and AUTHCALL, enabling smart contracts to perform operations on behalf of user's Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) after receiving signed authorization. This significantly improves Ethereum's user experience, reduces transaction complexity, and paves the way for advanced features like gasless transactions and transaction batching.

Background: The Origin of EIP 3074

Ethereum Improvement Proposal 3074 was introduced in late 2020 by Ethereum developers Sam Wilson, Ansgar Dietrichs, and Matt Garnett. The proposal emerged from growing demands within the Ethereum ecosystem for account abstraction and more flexible transaction models. Before EIP-3074, Ethereum's transaction model was relatively rigid, requiring users to initiate transactions directly from their externally owned accounts and pay gas fees, which limited many potential use cases and user experience improvements.
Ethereum has faced pressure to improve user experience and lower barriers to entry. The traditional Ethereum transaction model requires users to understand gas fees, manage private keys, and interact directly with the blockchain, creating obstacles for new users. EIP-3074 is part of a long-term exploration of the account abstraction concept, which has been discussed in the Ethereum community for years, aiming to make user interactions with the blockchain more seamless and intuitive.
In Ethereum's development history, EIP-3074 represents an important technical evolution, offering a progressive improvement method by extending the existing account model rather than completely rewriting it. This approach allows the proposal to remain compatible with Ethereum's existing security models and infrastructure while still delivering significant functional enhancements.

Work Mechanism: How EIP 3074 Functions

EIP-3074 introduces two new opcodes that work together to enable account abstraction:

1. AUTH: Verifies a user's signature and returns the signer's address. When a contract calls this opcode, it validates whether a provided signature is valid and confirms the signer's identity.
2. AUTHCALL: Allows a contract that has been authenticated through AUTH to perform operations on behalf of the user's externally owned account. This enables the contract to use the user's permissions to interact, including transferring funds or interacting with other contracts.
   The workflow proceeds as follows:
3. The user generates a signature with specific permissions and limitations.
4. The user submits this signature to an invoker contract.
5. The invoker contract verifies the signature and retrieves the user's address using the AUTH opcode.
6. Upon successful verification, the invoker contract can execute various operations on behalf of the user through the AUTHCALL opcode.
7. These operations are recorded on the blockchain as executed by the user's EOA account, although they are actually executed by the contract.
   A key design feature of EIP-3074 is its permission model. Users can precisely control the scope of permissions granted to the invoker contract, including which contracts can be accessed, how much funds can be transferred, and the duration of the authorization. This granular control ensures that even when users authorize contracts to act on their behalf, they maintain a high level of security and account autonomy.
   Additionally, EIP-3074 prevents signature reuse across different contracts by incorporating signer recovery data and contract addresses as part of the signature, thereby avoiding potential security risks.

Risks and Challenges of EIP 3074

Despite the significant functional improvements EIP-3074 brings, it also faces several risks and challenges:

1. Security Risks
   • Signature reuse risk: Poorly designed signatures could potentially be reused by malicious contracts
   • Over-authorization of permissions: Users might unintentionally grant excessive permissions to invoker contracts
   • Interface spoofing: Malicious applications could mislead users into signing dangerous authorizations
2. Technical Implementation Challenges
   • Compatibility issues with existing wallets and applications
   • Establishing and implementing signature standards
   • Requirements for modifications to node and client software
3. User Experience Considerations
   • Complex permission models may be difficult to explain to average users
   • User interface design challenges for signature requests
   • Ensuring users truly understand the permissions they are granting
4. Network Impact
   • Potential effects on network performance and block size
   • Competition and coordination with other account abstraction proposals
     Moreover, implementing EIP-3074 requires broad community consensus and thorough security audits. As it introduces powerful new functionality that could alter Ethereum's fundamental transaction model, its long-term impact must be carefully evaluated. Security researchers have pointed out that without appropriate safeguards, the AUTH and AUTHCALL opcodes could potentially be exploited maliciously, necessitating adequate security measures in the final implementation.
     Ethereum development teams need to balance innovation with security, ensuring that EIP-3074's implementation delivers the expected functional improvements without introducing new vulnerabilities or risks.
     Ethereum Improvement Proposal 3074 represents a significant step in Ethereum's evolution toward a more flexible, user-friendly blockchain platform. By introducing account abstraction mechanisms, it has the potential to address multiple pain points in the Ethereum user experience, such as gas fee complexity and cumbersome transaction processes. For developers, EIP-3074 opens up new possibilities, allowing for the creation of more sophisticated, user-friendly decentralized applications. In the long run, such improvements are crucial for Ethereum to achieve mass adoption, as they lower the entry barriers for new users and provide the technical foundation for innovative use cases. As the Ethereum ecosystem continues to evolve, proposals like EIP-3074 will play a key role in shaping a more inclusive and functional blockchain future.