At Etherspot’s recent X Space, “All About EIP-7702 Infra,” voices from the Ethereum Foundation, Optimism, and PillarX joined to explore the purpose, architecture, and future of the EIP-7702 infrastructure. The discussion shed light on how it enhances the experience for existing externally owned account (EOA) users, strengthens Ethereum’s decentralization, and fits into the broader account abstraction roadmap.
Setting the stage: EIP-7702 vs. ERC-4337
Kicking off the conversation, Tom Teman from the Ethereum Foundation addressed a common question: how EIP-7702 relates to ERC-4337.
“7702 is a great solution for existing EOAs, for users who already have wallets and assets. It allows them to upgrade their experience without changing accounts,” said Tom. “For new users, however, ERC-4337 remains the better starting point.”
While the two standards target different audiences, they share much of the same underlying infrastructure, including user operations, bundlers, and mempool interactions. This shared foundation ensures compatibility and accelerates adoption across the ecosystem.
Why a dedicated EIP-7702 infrastructure matters
As the discussion evolved, Tom and Partha (Etherspot) explained why the community needed a dedicated infrastructure for EIP-7702.
“The public mempool is the heart of Ethereum’s decentralization,” Tom emphasized. “Without it, transactions would rely on private systems, and that would lead to censorship and centralization risks.”
Partha expanded on how the shared UserOperation mempool keeps Ethereum resilient and fair:
“Relying on a shared mempool eliminates single points of failure for both users and infrastructure providers (e.g., bundlers and paymasters). Even if any infrastructure experiences downtime, users can still transact on-chain and access their wallets seamlessly,” he said.
Partha also outlined how Etherspot has been working alongside the Ethereum Foundation and bundler teams like Candide Labs and Silius to make the shared mempool live and accessible.
The public 7702 infrastructure is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing projects, particularly those already using the Viem SDK, eliminating the need for major code changes.
Optimism’s perspective: scalability through decentralization
Harry Markley from Optimism discussed how EIP-7702 aligns with the L2’s mission of delivering scalable, permissionless infrastructure:
“A shared mempool makes execution faster and fairer,” Harry explained. “It increases competition among bundlers and keeps the fee market open, which strengthens decentralization.”
He added that Optimism is among the first L2s to support EIP-7702 following Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, ensuring developers on OP Stack chains can leverage the latest account abstraction improvements early.
Wallet integration and user experience
Aldin Ademovic from PillarX shared how the infrastructure will enhance wallet capabilities:
“7702 helps us bring smart contract functionality to existing wallet users without forcing them to move assets or switch accounts,” he said.
Aldin pointed out that while 7702 doesn’t fully replace 4337 in terms of features like key rotation, it bridges a crucial gap by letting EOAs access smart wallet-level usability. For wallets like PillarX, that means onboarding legacy users into a smarter, more flexible environment without sacrificing their control.
Technical considerations for builders
When asked about the requirements for projects integrating with the new infrastructure, Partha explained:
“If you’re a wallet, it’s as simple as adding our SDK to your existing Viem setup. Bundlers can reach out to join the shared mempool network directly.”
Harry added that builders running bundlers on OP Stack chains should use the conditional raw transaction endpoint to protect against race conditions, ensuring gas efficiency and smoother user operations.
What’s next for the ecosystem
As the conversation wrapped up, each participant outlined what’s coming next:
- Etherspot has launched the EIP-7702 infrastructure on Ethereum Mainnet and Optimism, with Base and Arbitrum support following soon.
- Optimism continues to refine its SDK for DeFi developers, aiming to simplify on-chain interactions through account abstraction.
- PillarX is preparing to roll out full 7702 support, integrated with Etherspot’s Pulse chain abstraction solution.
- Ethereum Foundation is focusing on advancing broader abstraction efforts, including EIP-7701 (native account abstraction) and the Ethereum Interop Layer (EIL), a trustless cross-chain solution set to debut at DevConnect in Argentina.
Tom summed it up:
“Better UX should never come at the cost of decentralization. EIP-7702 and the 4337 shared mempool infrastructure are key steps toward scaling Ethereum while staying true to its core values.”
🧑💻 Developers can now access the EIP-7702 Infra Dev Docs at: docs.erc4337.io
🎧 Listen to the full X Space recording: All About EIP-7702 Infra
Follow us
Etherspot Website | X | Discord | Telegram | Github | Developer Portal
Top comments (0)