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Native Account Abstraction via EIP-7701
At ETHPrague, Ethereum researcher Alexander Forshtat outlined a proposal — EIP-7701 — for native account abstraction, which would embed smart-account logic into the protocol and eliminate reliance on ERC-4337’s off-chain bundlers.
Forshtat explained that today’s four essential roles of an account (address, signature verification, gas payment, and execution) are already handled by smart wallets under ERC-4337. However, those wallets still depend on externally held EOAs to sign and relay “user operations” via bundlers and paymaster contracts, a complexity that incurs roughly 20,000 extra gas per transaction and exposes transactions to bundler front-running.
EIP-7701 would introduce new transaction parameters — smart-account address, init code for on-chain deployment, and optional paymaster data — and opcodes (tx_param_*) to read each field at validation. Contracts would explicitly accept roles (using an “acceptRole” opcode) before execution, preventing invalid transactions from even entering blocks.
Forshtat noted that by moving validation entirely on-chain, nodes could limit upfront work (e.g., capping validation gas) to curb denial-of-service risks, and invalid transactions would not be included or charged.
The proposal also integrates EIP-7702, which enables an EOA to behave as a smart contract, and points to EIP-7560 (rollup-level account abstraction) and ERC-7562 (mempool consistency rules) as complementary standards.
Forshtat argues that native account abstraction will reduce gas overhead, improve security by removing EOA dependencies (e.g., post-quantum migration), and simplify developer workflows by removing off-chain bundler complexity.
Rhinestone 2.0 Introduces Unified Multichain SDK
Rhinestone announced “Rhinestone 2.0,” a single SDK and API designed to address Web3’s growing user-experience challenges caused by chain fragmentation.
According to the thread, building today’s account-abstraction features typically requires picking a smart-account implementation, selecting an ERC-4337 bundler/paymaster, juggling multiple SDKs for custom features, and integrating various chains and bridges. Rhinestone 2.0 aims to eliminate that complexity by providing “multichain first” support for both smart accounts and smart EOAs.
Rhinestone explained that while ERC-4337 solves the need for transaction relaying, next-generation wallets and DeFi apps require a multichain approach from the outset. The new SDK claims to deliver a “blazing-fast intent layer” capable of filling both same-chain and cross-chain transactions in under two seconds. This intent layer is paired with a solver marketplace that Rhinestone says will handle liquidity and routing automatically, allowing developers to onboard users via one-click experiences or automated “Smart Sessions.”
By unifying features previously scattered across multiple services, Rhinestone 2.0 promises to streamline the onboarding of new users and significantly reduce development overhead.
Developers interested in exploring the new tooling can find documentation here.
Particle’s COO on Chain Abstraction: “Never Bridge Again”
In a recent episode of the Deeply Intents podcast, Ethan “Tabasco” (COO of Particle Network) laid out why chain abstraction must replace fragmented, multi-chain user journeys.
Citing personal experience building a multi-chain Discord tip bot, Tabasco explained that modern users should never manually bridge or track separate balances across chains. Instead, chain abstraction creates “one balance usable everywhere,” eliminating unnecessary friction.
He criticized account abstraction proposals (EIP-4337) for deepening wallet fragmentation, arguing they encourage siloed, app-specific smart accounts, and urged adoption of EIP-7702 (Universal Accounts) once Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade enables key migration without redeployment.
Ethan warned that without chain abstraction, developers will remain confined within siloed ecosystems. He predicted a future where every wallet and DApp natively hides chain details, and users simply interact with applications. This, he said, will force DApps to compete on product quality rather than captive liquidity, restoring Ethereum’s UX edge.
Ultimately, Particle’s COO urged the community to “never bridge again” and adopt chain abstraction as the foundation for Web3’s next wave of consumer-ready services.
Ethereum Upgrades Haven’t Boosted Network Activity
JPMorgan analysts reported that successive Ethereum upgrades have not produced a meaningful increase in on-chain activity, noting no “material increase” in daily transactions or active addresses after recent protocol changes.
The bank observed that total value locked (TVL) on Ethereum did rise between the Dencun upgrade in March 2024 and Pectra in May 2025, likely due to more lending and borrowing on decentralized exchanges, but that growth was modest relative to gains in ether’s market value.
Following the Dencun upgrade, JPMorgan noted that both average and total transaction fees fell, driven partly by a user migration to Layer 2 networks, and that ether’s circulating supply increased, raising concerns about potential inflation amid subdued transaction volumes.
Ethereum activated the Pectra upgrade on May 7, 2025, aiming to streamline staking, improve wallet functionality, and boost network efficiency through enhancements like EIP-7251 and EIP-7702, but JPMorgan found these changes “have failed to boost activity in a meaningful way.”
Despite these on-chain metrics, futures positioning data suggests institutions played a significant role in Ether’s more than 45% price rally over the past month, indicating that investor sentiment rather than increased network usage underpinned recent gains.
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