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Overview

In general there are two types of accounts on Ethereum:

  1. Contract Accounts (CA)
  2. Externally Owned Accounts (EOA)

As the name suggests, EOAs are owned by something external to the blockchain - users just like you.

EOAs have 3 main properties:

  1. The balance of the networks native coin available to the account
  2. The nonce to ensure the uniqueness of every transaction
  3. The address to uniquely identify the account

While a Contract Account is an account with code (smart contract) that executes when it receives a transaction. Like an EOA, a contract account can also hold ether and can be made to trigger arbitrary transactions. But a contract account needs to be controlled with an EOA.

What is Account Abstraction​

Account Abstraction is a way to unify the two account types into a single type of account - a smart contract account (upon full enforcement), and the way to access/control/use this account is freely customizable. The account, with code and open-ended access methods allows for a range of new features to be built on the chain and make life on-chain easier.

Why we need Account Abstraction​

Account Abstraction offers many advantages, a few are listed below and we suggest having a look at the official documentation as well.

  • Multisig authorization
  • Account freezing
  • Account recovery
  • Setting transaction limits
  • Creating whitelists
  • Paying Tx fees in alternate token
  • Sponsoring Tx fees for users
  • Social login
  • Different Signature Schemes

Account Abstraction Bundler​

An account abstraction bundler is a component of a blockchain system designed to enhance the functionality and flexibility of smart contract accounts. It facilitates the direct control of accounts by translating user intents, removing the traditional division between externally owned accounts and their dependencies for contract accounts. This abstraction allows users to interact more seamlessly and manage smart contract accounts directly.

Additionally, the bundler aspect optimizes transaction packaging by grouping multiple transactions together before adding them to a block. This optimization can lead to more efficient use of block space and potentially lower transaction fees. Overall, account abstraction bundlers enable the development of more sophisticated decentralized applications (dApps) by empowering smart contracts with greater control and functionality within the blockchain network.

High Level Architecture​

Account Abstraction under ERC-4337 consists of five major components:

  1. UserOperation: Pseudo-transaction objects that express a user's intent
  2. Bundler: Facilitating a transaction's path to finality
  3. EntryPoint: Global contract to validate and execute UserOps
  4. Aggregators: Aggregating UserOp signatures
  5. Paymasters: Sponsoring user transactions