EIP-7702 : The framework for smart wallets, zero wallet drains and safer DeFi
It’s 2022.
You log into X (formerly Twitter), and you see countless posts on Wallet drains.
Maybe its $10K or even $1M; the outcome is the same — drained, funds gone.
And just like that, one contract approval you made months ago leaves your assets exposed, unguarded, and irrecoverable.
If you’ve been around Web3 long enough, you’ve either lived it, seen it or heard about it.
Wallet security in crypto has been like walking on a minefield –especially for non-developers.
No matter how hard you tried, you could lose it all in an instant.
But today, all of that is changed and changing — thanks to Account Abstraction and the EIP-7702 upgrade.
This article is a deep dive covering Account abstraction and EIP-7702, the latest upgrade to the ethereum network and what it means for me and you; regular users and developers alike.
What is The EIP-7702 Upgrade?The Ethereum network recently rolled out EIP-7702, part of the Pectra upgrade that went live in May 7 2025.
If you’re not a developer, don't fret.
What matters is this:
You keep using your wallet like normal. But every time you make a transaction, it temporarily taps into smart contract features like:
- Batching transactions.
- Using gas tanks (pay with USDC, not just ETH)
- Setting spending limits.
- Revoking token approvals automatically.
The tech behind this is called account abstraction— a standard on Ethereum that allows people create wallets that act like smart contracts without needing to deploy a smart contract.
EIP-7702 is what bridges the edge that developers had over regular users.
It is built on the foundation of account abstraction and the ERC-4337 standard.
Recap: What Is ERC-4337?Launched in March 2023, ERC-4337 brought the concept of Account Abstraction to Ethereum without needing to make any major changes to the network i.e via a hard fork.
Here’s what it introduced:
- Smart contract wallets like Safe (formerly Gnosis safe) which had all the features of a smart contract.
- Bundlers: nodes which 'package' multiple transactions into one.
- Paymasters: objects which let someone else(in this case, a smart contract feature) pay your gas fees.
- UserOperations, a new transaction format with more logic and allowed delegation.
Think of ERC-4337 as the framework that made smart wallets possible.
But it wasn’t perfect for everyone just yet.
Setting up a smart contract wallet required developer skills, and Regular EOAs (Externally Owned Accounts, aka your MetaMask or Trust Wallet) were not compatible – you had to change to the new wallets.
That’s where EIP-7702 comes in.
What Does EIP-7702 Really Change?Before the Pectra upgrade, there were only two options:
- EOAs (simple wallets, easy to use, but vulnerable)
- Smart contract wallets (secure and customizable, but complex to set up and use)
But now?
— Your regular wallet becomes "smart" every time you sign a transaction – no need to switch the experience you’re used to, or write code.
EIP-7702 gives regular wallets the power to become "smart contracts".
You initiate a transaction which prompts an "authorization" that allows you approve a “delegation address” (which holds the smart contract logic for your wallet), and just like that, your EOA behaves like a secure smart contract for that transaction.It’s like giving your wallet superpowers— everytime you use it.
Why This Matters : The Data and numbers don’t LieIn 2022 alone, over $3.8 billion was lost to crypto hacks — a large part of which came from phishing scams, token approval exploits, and compromised EOAs. (Source)
ERC-4337-powered smart contract wallets already helped reduce this significantly in 2023, but for regular users, transitioning wasn’t as easy.
It was the holy grail for developers and more technically savvy users.
But with EIP-7702, that same protection and feature becomes available to everyone – not just devs or power users.
EIP-7702 powered wallets offer security, convenience, and flexibility in one upgrade; they offer you smart wallets.Smart wallets that offer you better protection against drains and hacks.Meet Ambire: The First Smart Wallet to Integrate EIP-7702While EIP-7702 sounds great, not every wallet offers support for it.
As a regular user, you deserve a smart wallet.
Built by a team that’s been active and building since 2018, Ambire is the first wallet to adopt EIP-7702 and deliver smart wallet features for everyday users (and power users alike).
Here’s what you get with Ambire:
- Transaction simulation: You see what will happen to your balance after each transaction–before you sign anything.
- Token approval limits: You can set token spending limits and approve just enough, never too much.
- Gasless transactions: You can pay gas with USDC, DAI, or any other ERC-20 token with the gas tank feature.
- Transaction batching: With Ambire, you can combine multiple transactions into one and pay gas only on that single transaction.
- Account recovery: With Ambire, you no longer worry about losing your wallets. Recovery options are available via email, guardians etc.
Setting up a smart wallet and becoming a smart user takes only 2 simple steps:
- Install the Ambire browser extension(mobile app coming soon)
- Make a transaction.
And that’s it — your wallet is now "smart" and you, a smart user.
If you’ve ever been worried about waking up to a wallet drain, or even worried about paying horrendous gas fees, this is your chance to get a smart wallet.
“Just use Ambire: The smart wallet for smart users”
TL; DRIf you’re reading my articles for the 1st, 2nd or 3rd time, I’m Pascal Ossai – a blockchain data analyst, strategist, and growth marketer in Web3.
I study what makes Web3 products succeed or fail, interpret the data and turn that insight into strategies anyone can follow; I’m the best at it.
If you read this far, you now understand EIP-7702 better than 90% of the people who know what "blockchain" is — and that’s the power of interpreting the right data.
The next generation of Web3/DeFi products and protocols that win, scale with story, data, and strategies that work – i’ll be your guide, if you let me help you win.
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Reference:
- Understanding ERC-4337 - Gelato
- EIP-7702 | Binance Academy
- Ambire: The EIP-7702 Wallet for a Better Web3
- EIP-3074 | Binance Academy
EIP-7702 : The framework for smart wallets, zero wallet drains and safer DeFi was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.