Ethereum's Pectra Upgrade Enhances User Experience With EIP-7702
2min read The Ethereum Pectra upgrade has brought about a significant enhancement in account abstraction accessibility, with several wallets already implementing the changes. The upgrade introduced Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 7702, which has been hailed as a major user experience upgrade for Ethereum. Ivo Georgiev, the founder and CEO of self-custodial smart wallet Ambire, described EIP-7702 as “the single greatest UX upgrade to Ethereum so far.” Ambire is one of the wallet providers that have already rolled out support for the new features since Pectra went live.
EIP-7702 brings smart account functionality to existing user accounts, allowing them to temporarily act as smart contracts. This innovation makes the advantages of account abstraction accessible without the need to create new dedicated on-chain addresses, facilitating the transition of existing addresses. Ambire’s announcement highlights that users can now enjoy features such as a cross-chain architecture with a single dashboard showing balances on all chains, gas fees abstraction, and the use of a decentralized finance (DeFi) aggregator li.Fi for swap and bridging needs. The company also promises transaction simulation across all supported chains, scam application detection, and minimal token approvals. These enhancements address concerns raised by some developers about potential phishing campaigns that could exploit EIP-7702 to empty entire wallets.
Ambire’s new system also emphasizes better privacy features and higher reliability, as it does not rely on third-party services. The firm claims that the new accounts are more accessible to AI agents, enabling them to act upon the account to enhance portfolio yield, save defi positions, claim airdrops automatically, and more. Georgiev stated that Ambire’s offering is the first on the market since Trust Wallet announced that it will be “live soon.” Ambire’s updated system was deployed minutes after the update during a live conference.
Trust Wallet, another major player in the space, has also launched new features following the Pectra upgrade. Trust Wallet’s CEO, Eowyn Chen, described EIP-7702 as a game-changer, comparable to Ethereum’s full transition to proof-of-stake during the “merge” event. Trust Wallet users will now be able to pay fees in tokens other than Ether and bundle multiple actions into a single transaction, such as approving, swapping, and signing a transaction all at once. The new wallet will also support sponsored transactions, where third parties can cover gas fees to onboard new users, and automated actions like subscriptions and dollar-cost averaging. These features will be available to existing users without the need to create new accounts with new seed phrases. Trust Wallet has also developed its account abstraction infrastructure in-house, minimizing data sharing and reliance on third parties. Chen’s vision is to evolve wallets from static key holders into intelligent, user-friendly agents.
In summary, the Pectra upgrade and the implementation of EIP-7702 have brought significant improvements to Ethereum’s user experience. Wallets like Ambire and Trust Wallet are already leveraging these changes to offer enhanced features to their users, making Ethereum more accessible and user-friendly. The upgrade addresses concerns about security and privacy while opening up new possibilities for AI integration and automated actions within the Ethereum ecosystem.
