As part of EIP-7702, Ethereum's leading developers Vitalik Buterin, Sam Wilson, Ansgar Dietrichs, and Matt Garnett, have drafted a new transaction type to augment externally owned accounts (EOAs).
Designed to provide functionalities akin to EIP-3074, the EIP-7702 introduces a new transaction type that possesses its own contract_code field and signature. This will transform the signing accounts that do not align with the tx.origin code into smart contract wallets until the completion of the transaction.
EOAs, the predominant Ethereum (ETH) account type, consist of a private and public key. Whereas the public key serves as the account address, the private key serves as a password or a pin that grants access to your crypto wallet. Securely managing the private key is crucial, and transactions via EOAs always require gas tokens.
EIP-3074, while comprehensive in its use cases, raises worries due to certain opcodes that will be irrelevant in the future. Moreover, EIP-3074's development of an "invoker contract" ecosystem separate from the "smart contract wallet" ecosystem could potentially fragment efforts. As such, EIP-7702 seeks to retain the functionality of EIP-3074 while circumventing these weaknesses. The standard offers the capability of de-escalated privileges, allowing users to sign subkeys with limited permissions.
Transitioning from EIP-3074 to this new design is also relatively simple. The conversion process involves replacing AUTH and AUTHCALL with calls directed to the EOA by configuring the contract_code as a user wallet. Furthermore, the gas usage can be optimized using a DELEGATECALL forwarder.
Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, acknowledged that EIP-7702 could encounter comparable scrutiny to its counterpart, owing to the necessity of trust in code and the potential for centralization. He asserted that any proposal addressing privilege de-escalation would confront identical challenges.
Although EIP-7702 is still in its draft stage, developers are poised to incorporate EIP-3074 into Ethereum's upcoming upgrade, Pectra, slated for late 2024 or early 2025.
