eip-7702

EIP-7702 is a significant Ethereum Improvement Proposal designed to revolutionize user experience by introducing abstraction mechanisms for smart accounts. The proposal enables users to create smart contract wallets and interact directly with decentralized applications without holding ether for gas payments through a mechanism called "verifiable transaction paths." The core value of EIP-7702 lies in lowering the barriers to blockchain adoption, allowing average users to interact with the Ethereum ecosystem in more familiar ways while maintaining blockchain security and decentralization principles.

Background: What is the origin of EIP-7702?

EIP-7702 was proposed by the Ethereum developer community and represents an important milestone in the long-standing goal of Account Abstraction. The concept of Account Abstraction dates back to the early stages of Ethereum's development, initially proposed by Vitalik Buterin around 2015, with the aim of blurring the distinction between Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) and Contract Accounts on Ethereum.

Over the years, Ethereum developers have attempted to implement account abstraction through various EIPs, including EIP-2938, EIP-3074, and EIP-4337. EIP-7702 represents the latest evolution in this process, drawing from lessons learned from previous proposals to provide a more elegant and implementable solution. The proposal particularly focuses on addressing user experience issues, making blockchain technology more friendly and accessible to drive broader adoption.

Work Mechanism: How does EIP-7702 work?

EIP-7702's core mechanism revolves around "verifiable transaction paths" (VTX paths), an innovative approach that allows smart accounts to execute transactions on the Ethereum network without users directly paying for gas:

1. Users initiate transaction requests, which are validated and processed through VTX paths.
2. Smart account contracts are responsible for validating the validity of transactions rather than relying on traditional cryptographic signatures.
3. Gas fees can be sponsored by third parties (such as application developers or specific relaying services) or automatically paid through other tokens held by users.
4. After transaction execution, the Ethereum network records the result and updates the state.

Compared to previous proposals like EIP-4337, EIP-7702 offers deeper protocol-level integration, simplifying the development process and reducing compatibility issues. It implements a more efficient transaction processing and validation method through the VTX mechanism while maintaining the security and decentralization of the Ethereum network. This allows developers to build more user-friendly applications, while end users can interact with the blockchain using more familiar interfaces (such as password recovery, multi-signature authorization, etc.).

What are the risks and challenges of EIP-7702?

While EIP-7702 is revolutionary, it faces multiple challenges and potential risks:

1. Security risks: The new transaction validation mechanism might introduce unknown security vulnerabilities, and the complex logic of smart accounts increases the attack surface.

2. Protocol complexity: Introducing VTX paths adds complexity to the Ethereum protocol, potentially making implementation and maintenance more difficult.

3. Centralization risks: If most users rely on a few third-party service providers to process their transactions, this could lead to some degree of centralization.

4. Economic model challenges: The mechanism for sponsored gas fees might disrupt Ethereum's economic incentive structure, affecting the network's long-term sustainability.

5. Adoption barriers: Developers need to redesign applications to fully leverage EIP-7702's capabilities, which might delay its widespread application.

6. Regulatory uncertainty: Simplified user experiences may attract more regulatory scrutiny, especially regarding identity verification and anti-money laundering compliance.

Implementing EIP-7702 requires extensive community discussion, security audits, and a phased deployment strategy to ensure these risks are adequately managed while achieving the promised user experience improvements.

Ethereum Improvement Proposal 7702 represents a significant advancement in blockchain user experience by implementing smart account abstraction that bridges the gap between traditional web applications and blockchain applications. By eliminating barriers such as the need for users to manage private keys and pay gas fees directly, EIP-7702 makes blockchain technology more friendly and accessible to average users. Despite implementation challenges and potential risks, the proposal remains a crucial step in the Ethereum ecosystem's evolution toward a more inclusive and user-friendly direction, paving the way for the next generation of decentralized applications.