We are welcoming you to our weekly digest! Here, we discuss the latest trends and advancements in account abstraction, chain abstraction and everything related, as well as bring some insights from Etherspot’s kitchen.
The latest news we’ll cover:
- ERC-4337: 2024 Year in Review
- OpenZK Launches: A New L2 Leveraging ZK Rollups and ETH Staking
- Arcana Network Launches Chain Abstraction SDK
- Rethinking Blockchain Modularity: Addressing Fragmentation in 2025
Please fasten your belts!
ERC-4337: 2024 Year in Review
BundleBear released its 2024 Year in Review, highlighting key trends and adoption patterns in the ERC-4337 smart account ecosystem.
Over the past year, ERC-4337 saw a significant expansion, with adoption growing more than tenfold across applications such as gaming, decentralized social apps, and DeFi. The report analyzes data from Base, Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, Linea, Celo, Avalanche, BSC, and Ethereum, providing insights into user activity, bundler performance, paymaster usage, and factory deployments.
In 2024, more than 103 million UserOps were executed, marking a massive increase from 8.3 million in 2023. Monthly activity peaked at 18.4 million UserOps in August before declining to 9.8 million in December. However, only 4.3 million accounts made more than one UserOp, highlighting the challenge of user retention. Single-use accounts, often driven by token incentives, dominated the ecosystem, while applications like Blocklords, OpenSocial, and Anichess saw higher engagement from repeat users.
Bundlers played a critical role in ERC-4337 growth, executing 59 million bundle transactions throughout the year. The largest bundlers by activity were Coinbase, Alchemy, Pimlico, Biconomy, and Particle, with Coinbase handling over 30 million UserOps. The share of multi-UserOp bundles grew significantly, peaking at 49% in August before dropping to 23% by year-end.
Paymasters also saw significant growth, covering $3.4 million in transaction fees. 87% of all UserOps were paid for using a Paymaster, with Biconomy, Pimlico, Stackup, Coinbase, and Alchemy leading in total gas spend. Meanwhile, Alchemy’s factory contracts deployed 58% of new smart accounts, making it the dominant factory provider.
The full report provides an in-depth analysis of how ERC-4337 infrastructure evolved in 2024 and the key players driving adoption across different verticals.
OpenZK Launches: A New L2 Leveraging ZK Rollups and ETH Staking
OpenZK has officially launched as a new Layer 2 network, leveraging Zero-Knowledge Rollup technology to enhance Ethereum’s scalability and transaction efficiency. The project integrates native ETH staking and liquid restaking while introducing a Dual Gas Fee Mechanism that allows users to pay transaction fees with either ETH or OpenZK’s protocol token.
With Ethereum’s upcoming Prague Upgrade expected to boost Layer 2 adoption, OpenZK aims to establish itself as a leading solution by offering advanced DeFi incentives and user-centric innovations. The leadership team, including former Goldman Sachs Executive Director Dave Sandor and Ethereum contributor Lucas Cullen, adds credibility to the project’s technical and financial foundation.
Market analysts highlight OpenZK’s strong growth potential, with initial valuations estimated between $1 billion and $2 billion.
Arcana Network Launches Chain Abstraction SDK
Arcana Network has launched its Chain Abstraction SDK, introducing a seamless way for developers to enable multichain transactions without friction.
The SDK provides users with a unified balance across multiple blockchains, allowing them to spend assets directly on any chain their chosen app is built on — without requiring swapping, bridging, or refueling gas.
The Chain Abstraction SDK is designed for easy integration, requiring minimal code changes for developers. It supports existing EOA wallets like MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, and Rabby, ensuring users don’t need to migrate funds or lock assets in smart contracts. The SDK maintains self-custody by allowing users to transact across chains directly from their existing wallets, without relying on third-party custodians or locking funds in smart contracts.
Additionally, gas fees can be paid using stablecoins such as USDC and USDT, leveraging Arcana’s Modular L1 and Intent-Solver network for efficient cross-chain execution. Currently in beta on Arcana Testnet, the SDK is compatible with Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism, with more chains and assets expected to be added soon.
By abstracting chain complexities, Arcana aims to enhance Web3 adoption by providing developers and users with a smoother, more intuitive multichain experience.
Rethinking Blockchain Modularity: Addressing Fragmentation in 2025
Blockchain fragmentation remains a critical challenge as the number of active users and chains continues to grow. Despite over 300 blockchain networks, the majority of liquidity remains locked within Ethereum’s Layer 2s, limiting broader interoperability.
Altan Tutar, co-founder of Nuffle Labs, argues that current solutions like asset swaps and intent-based mechanisms fall short by centralizing order execution and failing to create additional utility for users.
Tutar calls for a fresh approach to blockchain modularity in 2025, moving beyond the simplistic “Lego blocks” analogy toward infrastructure that enables seamless collaboration between networks. Emerging technologies, such as advanced message-passing and improvements in transaction finality, are beginning to address these issues, but a shift in focus is needed. Rather than further fragmenting the ecosystem with new chains, he predicts a greater emphasis on optimizing and interconnecting existing networks, particularly through innovations like cross-chain restaking.
User experience will also play a key role in overcoming fragmentation. Future applications will abstract away blockchain complexities, allowing users to interact with decentralized systems without friction. As blockchain infrastructure fades into the background, its role as a unified backend will become more apparent, supporting a global marketplace where assets and networks interact seamlessly.
🎙️ Deep Dive into Rollups, MEV, and TEEs with Flashbots
The latest episode of The Rollup features Hasu and Robert Miller from Flashbots discussing Rollup-Boost, Unichain, and the role of Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) in improving onchain trading.
The conversation explores how Unichain optimizes transaction ordering, reduces latency arbitrage risks, and enhances liquidity provider experience. Flashbots’ approach focuses on purpose-built blockchain infrastructure instead of retrofitting existing solutions.
The episode also highlights the transition from centralized to decentralized sequencing and how TEEs enable fair and private execution.
Watch the full discussion here.
Start exploring Account Abstraction with Etherspot!
*Learn more about account abstraction here.
*Head to our docs and read all about Etherspot Prime.
*Skandha — developer-friendly Typescript ERC4337 Bundler.
*Arka — an open-source Paymaster Service for gasless & sponsored transactions.
*Explore our TransactionKit, a React library for fast & simple Web3 development.
*Follow us on X (Twitter) and join our Discord.
❓Is your dApp ready for Account Abstraction? Check it out here: https://eip1271.io/
Top comments (1)
🐞Etherspot’s New Chain Abstraction Solution Demo Is Live! Build a seamless, cross-chain Web3 user experience with us.
👉 Learn more