🎭 Account Abstraction: Smart Wallets (ERC-4337)
Learn how wallets become programmable smart contracts
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0 / 5 completedWhat is Account Abstraction?
**Account Abstraction** (ERC-4337) transforms Ethereum accounts from externally owned accounts (EOAs) into programmable smart contracts. Instead of relying on private keys and seed phrases, users get wallets with social recovery, gas sponsorship, batch transactions, and automation—all without changing Ethereum's core protocol.
This paradigm shift makes Ethereum accessible to mainstream users by removing painful UX friction: no more seed phrases, no ETH required for gas, and built-in account recovery. It's the biggest upgrade to user experience since MetaMask.
🔑 The Problem with EOAs
Interactive: EOA vs Account Abstraction
Compare traditional EOA accounts with modern Account Abstraction (ERC-4337) features.
Externally Owned Account
Traditional Ethereum accounts controlled by private keys
Features
Limitations
- •Lost key = lost funds forever
- •Must hold ETH for gas fees
- •No social recovery options
- •No transaction automation
How Account Abstraction Works
Smart Contract Wallet
Your account is a smart contract, not just a key pair. Programmable logic for recovery, permissions, and automation.
UserOperation (Not Transaction)
Instead of transactions, submit UserOperations to a mempool. Bundlers aggregate them for efficiency.
Paymaster (Gas Sponsorship)
Third parties can pay gas fees for you, or accept ERC-20 tokens. No ETH required!
EntryPoint Contract
Singleton contract (0x5FF...000) validates and executes all UserOperations on-chain.