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ETHEREUM STANDARDS6 minSmart Accounts / Ep. 1 · Stage 1-1

EIP-7702 and ERC-4337 Explained: Build Now or Wait?

Sponsored gas, account recovery: two standards can give your users both today, and a third is still a Draft. Which do you build on?

XIN
Pixel-art night harbor: a crane lifts glowing modular cargo crates from an old floating barge onto a new stone pier built into the harbor wall. Most crates glow teal as they cross; one dim crate stays behind on the barge.

IN 30 SECONDS

EIP-7702 is a live Ethereum change that lets an ordinary account run smart-account code. ERC-4337 is a live standard that runs smart accounts through contracts and relay services. EIP-8141 frame transactions, a Draft with no confirmed date, would build the account check and gas payment into Ethereum.

KEY TAKEAWAYS · 3

  • EIP-7702 (Final, live on mainnet since Pectra, 7 May 2025) lets an ordinary account run contract code; ERC-4337 (Final) runs smart accounts through bundlers and an EntryPoint contract. They combine.
  • EIP-8141 frame transactions are a Draft, scheduled for Hegota: Q2 2027 per ethereum.org, date not confirmed.
  • Build on 7702 and 4337 now; keep signature checks in a small library you can move.
On this page

The problem: three names for one goal

IN SHORT If you ship a wallet or a dapp (an app on a blockchain), you’re choosing between three look-alike proposals that sit at different layers.

WORDS TO KNOW

EOA
An “externally owned account”: a plain Ethereum account controlled by one private key.
Smart account
An account whose rules live in contract code, such as recovery, spending limits or several signers.
Delegate
Under EIP-7702, the contract whose code an ordinary account points to and runs as if it were its own.
Bundler
Under ERC-4337, a service that collects signed requests and sends them on-chain in one transaction.
Paymaster
A contract that agrees to pay the gas (the network fee) for someone else’s transaction.
Draft
The status of a proposal that is still being edited. Its names and rules can change before it becomes Final.

IN PLAIN WORDS

The usual Ethereum account is an EOA An “externally owned account”: a plain Ethereum account controlled by one private key. See the glossary: one private key, one address. Lose the key and the money is gone, and you pay every fee (the gas). A Smart account An account whose rules live in contract code, such as recovery, spending limits or several signers. See the glossary can put rules in code: recovery, spending limits, batched actions, or a sponsor who pays the fee.

EIPs and ERCs are numbered Ethereum proposals. EIP-7702 and ERC-4337 are Final; EIP-8141 frame transactions are a Draft The status of a proposal that is still being edited. Its names and rules can change before it becomes Final. See the glossary. And they rewrite the parts of 4337 I spent the most time on.

The Biconomy infrastructure I led processed 38M+ transactions. I left before EIP-7702 went live: what I say about 7702 and 8141 comes from the specs, re-read on 7 October 2026.

Coming up next: So what does each one actually change?

What’s the difference between EIP-7702 and ERC-4337?

IN SHORT EIP-7702 changes what an existing account runs; ERC-4337 changes how a request reaches a smart account.

They aren’t rivals: a 7702 EOA can be a 4337 account.

EIP-7702 is a protocol change. A new transaction type, 0x04, carries signed authorizations. Each says: “make my EOA point at this contract,” the Delegate Under EIP-7702, the contract whose code an ordinary account points to and runs as if it were its own. See the glossary.

Calls to the EOA then run the delegate’s code. Same address, same key, and that key can still send transactions and re-delegate. A relayer (a service that sends the transaction for you) or a 4337 paymaster can sponsor the gas.

ADAM says: Think of 7702 as a smart lock on your old door: same door, and the old key still works. Where it breaks: you chose its code, and a badly built one can let a thief in until you sign a replacement.

ERC-4337 needs no network upgrade (a fork). The user signs a UserOperation, a request shaped like a transaction, and a Bundler Under ERC-4337, a service that collects signed requests and sends them on-chain in one transaction. See the glossary takes it to a shared EntryPoint contract. A Paymaster A contract that agrees to pay the gas (the network fee) for someone else’s transaction. See the glossary can pay the gas.

STEP BY STEP

Sequence diagram: 5 participants: Wallet, Relay service, Shared entry contract, Your account, Gas sponsorSequence diagram: 5 participants: Wallet, Relay service, Shared entry contract, Your account, Gas sponsor. Step 1: Wallet to Relay service, Signed request + 7702 authorization. Step 2: Relay service to Your account, Point at the delegate. Step 3: Relay service to Shared entry contract, Hand over the request. Step 4: Shared entry contract to Your account, Signature valid?. Step 5: Shared entry contract to Gas sponsor, Will you pay the gas?. Step 6: Shared entry contract to Your account, Run the user’s call.WALLET > RELAY SERVICESigned request + 7702authorizationRELAY SERVICE > YOUR ACCOUNTPoint at the delegateRELAY SERVICE > SHARED ENTRYCONTRACTHand over the requestSHARED ENTRY CONTRACT > YOURACCOUNTSignature valid?SHARED ENTRY CONTRACT > GASSPONSORWill you pay the gas?SHARED ENTRY CONTRACT > YOURACCOUNTRun the user’s call

Step 1. Sign. The wallet signs the request (flagged 0x7702 in its factory field) and the 7702 authorization.

Pick a step to see it move
  1. Sign The wallet signs the request (flagged 0x7702 in its factory field) and the 7702 authorization.
  2. Point the EOA A type 0x04 transaction points the EOA at its delegate.
  3. Hand over The same transaction reaches the EntryPoint.
  4. Check The account checks the signature.
  5. Sponsor A paymaster, if set, agrees to pay.
  6. Run The user’s call runs from the account.
ERC-4337 with a 7702 EOA, as ERC-4337 describes it. With an ordinary contract account, step 2 doesn’t happen.

Where EIP-7702, ERC-4337 and EIP-8141 stand today

IN SHORT Two are Final and live; EIP-8141 is a Draft, scheduled but not shipped, as of 7 October 2026.

1

Sep 2021: ERC-4337 created

Now Final. Its header lists EIP-712 and EIP-7702 as requirements.

2

May 2024: EIP-7702 created

Now Final.

3

7 May 2025: Pectra on mainnet

Pectra (EIP-7600) turns 7702 on at mainnet timestamp 1746612311.

4

Jan 2026: EIP-8141 created

A Draft that requires EIP-7702, among others.

5

Q2 2027: Hegota expected

In planning, date not yet confirmed, with frame transactions scheduled.

Source of that last line: the Hegota page on ethereum.org. It lists two changes so far: frame transactions and FOCIL, inclusion lists meant to stop block builders from censoring transactions.

Scheduled isn’t shipped. Plan for 8141, but don’t build on it yet. And Hegota is an Ethereum mainnet upgrade: every L2 (layer-2 network) runs its own calendar.

Build on 7702 and 4337, or wait for frame transactions?

IN SHORT Don’t wait: build on what’s Final, and keep the 4337-specific parts thin enough to swap.

WHAT TO SHIP BEFORE HEGOTA
Decide: What are you shipping before Hegota?Decision tree: What are you shipping before Hegota? If Existing EOA users who want sponsored gas, then EIP-7702 delegation to an audited delegate. If New accounts with recovery or plug-ins, then ERC-4337 account, on ERC-7579 (a Draft) for modules. If Already on 4337 and 7579, then Keep it; audit validator storage and hooks. If Waiting for frame transactions, then Don’t.DECIDEWhat are you shipping beforeHegota?If existing EOA users whowant sponsored gasEIP-7702 delegationto an auditeddelegateOne that is also a 4337accountIf new accounts withrecovery or plug-insERC-4337 account, onERC-7579 (a Draft)for modulesSignature logic outside the4337 checkIf already on 4337 and 7579Keep it; auditvalidator storage andhooksIn my reading, what the8141 draft rewritesIf waiting for frametransactionsDon’tA Draft, no confirmed date,edited again on 6 to 9October
My recommendation, based on the specs as of 7 October 2026. Revisit it when EIP-8141 leaves Draft.

Under every branch, keep signature checking in a small library that takes a hash and a signature. Today it sits behind validateUserOp, the 4337 check. If frame transactions ship in this form, it can move behind theirs.

ITEM GET

Build on what’s Final

EIP-7702 and ERC-4337 work today; EIP-8141 is still a Draft with no confirmed date.

Sources: EIP-7702, ERC-4337, ERC-7579 (Draft), EIP-8141 (Draft), EIP-7600 (Pectra), ethereum.org, Hegota.

STAGE CLEAR

What you now know

  • What EIP-7702 changes (what an account runs) and what ERC-4337 changes (how a request reaches it).
  • Why EIP-8141 is a Draft to plan for, not to build on yet.

Check yourself

Tap or click a question to see the answer.

Your users already have plain EOAs and want sponsored gas next month. What do you reach for?

An EIP-7702 delegation to an audited delegate that is also a 4337 account: same address, and paymasters work today.

Next stage:What would an EIP-8141 frame transaction change, and what happens to bundlers and paymasters?6 min
Adam Boudjemaa
Adam Boudjemaa

Web3 x AI engineer, former CTO of Integra. Named author (1 of 5) of ERC-3643, first author of ERC-6960, co-author of ERC-7410, and co-author of ERC-8203, which is still a draft.

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