Why Is EIP-3074 Included in Ethereum's Next Upgrade? Isn't ERC-4337 Enough for Account Abstraction?

After over three years of refinement, EIP-3074 gained broad community support during Ethereum’s 183rd ACDE meeting and has been officially scheduled for the next hard fork. Proposed by Ethereum researcher Sam Wilson and Go Ethereum developer Matt Garnett, EIP-3074 enables externally owned accounts (EOAs) to function like smart contract wallets—without deploying additional contracts or manual migration. As Paradigm CTO Georgios Konstantopoulos noted, "Wallet UX will improve 10x." But how does EIP-3074 achieve this, and how does it differ from ERC-4337?

Understanding EIP-3074 and EOAs

An externally owned account (EOA)—like those created via MetaMask—is controlled by users through private keys. EIP-3074 introduces two new Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) opcodes:

AUTH: Validates an ECDSA signature and sets the authorized context variable. If valid, it authorizes the EOA’s address for delegated actions.
AUTHCALL: Executes calls using the authorized EOA’s address (not the contract’s), enabling transactions without direct private-key use.

Workflow:

User signs an authorization message.
An Invoker contract verifies the signature via AUTH.
The Invoker uses AUTHCALL to send transactions on behalf of the EOA.
Results are returned to the user.

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EIP-3074 vs. ERC-4337

| Feature | ERC-4337 (Account Abstraction) | EIP-3074 (EOA Enhancement) |
|-----------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| Implementation | Protocol-level (no consensus changes)| Hard fork required |
| Goal | Smart contracts act like EOAs | EOAs gain smart contract features |
| User Migration | Manual | Automatic |
| Multi-Chain Support| Chain-specific development | Universal compatibility |

Key Advantage of EIP-3074: Simplifies UX by eliminating manual migration while preserving EOA security—unless keys are compromised (recovery requires specialized contracts).

Impact on Ethereum Ecosystem

DeFi: Batch transactions reduce costs for liquidity providers; sponsored gas fees lower entry barriers.
Cross-Chain Gaming: Invokers handle transactions, streamlining gameplay by minimizing user interruptions.

Risks to Consider

Security: Sponsorship complicates transaction predictability for validators.
Trust: Invoker contracts could be exploited if poorly designed.

FAQs

Q1: Does EIP-3074 replace ERC-4337?
A: No—they complement each other. ERC-4337 focuses on smart contract wallets, while EIP-3074 upgrades EOAs.

Q2: Is EIP-3074 safer than ERC-4337?
A: It introduces different risks (e.g., Invoker vulnerabilities) but simplifies migration.

Q3: How does EIP-3074 benefit average users?
A: Enables gasless transactions and batch approvals via third-party sponsors.

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EIP-3074 marks a leap toward seamless blockchain UX, balancing innovation with practicality.