<\/p>\n
Without a hint of hyperbole, Blocknative CEO Matt Cutler says that account abstraction is \u201cprobably the biggest upgrade to the user experience on Ethereum as anything in the history of the network.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a difficult concept to fully grasp, Cutler admits. \u201cIt took a while for everybody to wrap their minds around it. I was super confused by it. I was reading the papers, and I couldn\u2019t figure out what the hell was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Empire podcast (Spotify<\/a>\/Apple<\/a>), Cutler explains a mental model for ERC-4337 account abstraction. Instead of changing already-existing infrastructure, \u201caccount abstraction introduces a new layer on top of everything else,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Read more: <\/strong>Ethereum\u2019s ERC-4337 account abstraction smart contract is live<\/a><\/p>\n With today\u2019s Ethereum wallets, users sign transactions that are sent to the public mempool<\/a>, Cutler says. Smart contract wallets based on the new 4337 standard<\/a> add a \u201cwhole layer on top of that,\u201d he says, where users express \u201cintent\u201d instead.<\/p>\n \u201cThese intents are programmable,\u201d Cutler says. \u201cToday are these very fixed things, these very fixed rules that have certain characteristics or properties.\u201d<\/p>\n Account abstraction allows for more flexible bundling of transactions according to user intent, Cutler explains. One advantage Cutler mentions is the ability to \u201cabstract away\u201d gas prices. \u201cYou could have your gas price paid in USDC<\/a> or any ERC-20 \u2014 or even off-chain assets like a credit card or even credit card points or miles.\u201d<\/p>\n This advancement \u201copens things up,\u201d Cutler says, \u201cfor new types of transactions to happen\u201d with bundlers. The bundlers are a \u201cnew class of builders,\u201d Cutler says, that can take multiple user intents and \u201cwrap them up, supply the gas and sign the transaction and submit to the network\u201d via \u201calt-mempools.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bundled user intents directed to alt-mempools allow wallets \u201cto do much more powerful things on behalf of end users,\u201d Cutler says. \u201cYou can provide Web2-like transaction experiences, but have it go on Web3<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Cutler gives an example of an artist rewarding a superfan with exclusive experiences. The artist could just send the superfan an NFT<\/a>, but this would require the recipient to be \u201ccrypto aware\u201d and have a crypto wallet, Cutler explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n An artist could instead work with a platform like Spotify, using credit card numbers to act as account abstraction wallets<\/a>, he suggests. \u201cYou have a private key associated with your credit card wallet, and you can literally drop an NFT into a Visa card.\u201d<\/p>\n When the superfan shows up for an event, Cutler says, the asset associated with their credit card\u2019s abstracted account could give them access to a VIP area, for example.<\/p>\n \u201cSuddenly these experiences get wide open,\u201d Cutler says, \u201call enabled by Web3, but massively simpler for all members of the supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n Cutler suggests the blockchain industry needs to \u201cmeet users where they already are<\/a> \u2014 like existing credit card holders,\u201d for example.<\/p>\n \u201cThese things that you already have and know and use and are familiar with will get superpowers,\u201d Cutler says, \u201cbecause account abstraction<\/a> allows users to become conversant and usable \u2014 and secure in this Web3 environment.\u201d<\/p>\nA Web2-like experience on Web3<\/h2>\n
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