Op-ed: The unspoken Ethereum revolution: Are EOAs becoming obsolete?

Under the radar, 1 of the astir important changes to the Ethereum ecosystem has been announced with small to nary assemblage reaction. Account abstraction is simply a halfway advancement successful web3 relationship management, but the existent roadmap brings a caller extremity — to region Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) wholly from the Ethereum ecosystem.

The word relationship abstraction refers to the process of abstracting distant the complexity of a web3 relationship to make a much user-friendly acquisition for the extremity user. Initially, the extremity was to generalize the web3 relationship exemplary truthful that each accounts are treated likewise — careless of whether they are EOAs oregon astute declaration accounts. However, the Ethereum Foundation appears to person decided that determination is nary country for EOAs successful the ecosystem’s future, favoring astute declaration wallets arsenic the default relationship exemplary for users.

EIP-4337 & Account Abstraction

Security Fellow for the Ethereum Foundation, Yoav Weiss, announced the motorboat of EIP-4337 portion speaking astatine ETHDenver. The update to the Ethereum web upgrades the capabilities of astute declaration wallets with elements of relationship abstraction, including decentralized bundlers, token interest payment, an alternate mempool, and different relationship abstraction features.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin primitively introduced the EIP successful September 2021 erstwhile helium shared a conception connected the Ethereum connection committee with the pursuing message:

“An relationship abstraction connection which wholly avoids the request for consensus-layer protocol changes, alternatively relying connected a abstracted mempool of UserOperation objects and miners moving either customized codification oregon a bundle marketplace.”

However, 1 cardinal facet of EIP-4337 that has seemingly gone unnoticed by galore is the determination toward removing EOAs entirely. The documentation for the EIP connected the Ethereum Foundation website states that a halfway information for the upgrade is to “completely region immoderate request astatine each for users to besides person EOAs.”

“Achieve the cardinal extremity of relationship abstraction: let users to usage astute declaration wallets containing arbitrary verification logic alternatively of EOAs arsenic their superior account. Completely region immoderate request astatine each for users to besides person EOAs.”

CryptoSlate reached retired to respective wallet providers, but nary were consenting to sermon the imaginable elimination of EOAs entirely, fixed the deficiency of timeframe from the Ethereum Foundation. As of property time, the Ethereum Foundation has not responded to attempts for comment.

What is an EOA?

An EOA connected Ethereum is simply a circumstantial benignant of relationship managed by a idiosyncratic who holds the backstage key, dissimilar a astute declaration account. Essentially, an EOA serves arsenic a user’s cryptographic individuality connected the Ethereum blockchain, enabling them to hold, send, and person ETH, NFTs, oregon different tokens and interact with astute contracts.

An EOA is identified by a unsocial nationalist code from its backstage key. Unlike a astute declaration account, an EOA has nary codification oregon logic associated with it. However, it tin inactive motion transactions to initiate transfers, deploy astute contracts, oregon interact with existing astute contracts connected the Ethereum network.

The main favoritism betwixt an EOA and a astute declaration relationship lies successful their control. An EOA is managed by an outer entity utilizing a backstage key, portion a astute declaration relationship is controlled by the astute contract’s codification and follows the rules specified wrong that code.

Do we request EOAs?

EOAs are the astir tried and tested benignant of blockchain account. Popular bundle wallets specified arsenic MetaMask and hardware wallets similar Ledger, Tezor, and SafePal are each founded successful EOA accounts. Removing EOAs would dramatically interaction specified projects and necessitate large-scale codification updates.

While the contented of onboarding caller users into web3 — by requiring them to safely grounds and store a analyzable backstage cardinal oregon agelong effect operation — is simply a wide accepted problem, removing a halfway constituent of the Ethereum ecosystem poses a drastic solution to the problem.

Furthermore, removing EOAs would bring countless imaginable issues that request to beryllium addressed — including the nonaccomplishment of simplicity, accrued complexity, higher transaction costs, compatibility issues, information concerns, EVM fragmentation, and adjacent a imaginable alteration successful adoption owed to accrued friction.

I americium not suggesting that each of the supra issues are insurmountable. However, the way to removing EOAs volition see problems that person yet to beryllium conceived. Furthermore, arsenic Ethereum sits astatine the bosom of the web3 ecosystem, removing EOAs from the Ethereum web volition apt pb to compatibility issues crossed the full EVM landscape.

Problems removing EOAs

In a carnivore market, it is casual to advocator for the usage of astute contracts — which use, connected average, much state than EOAs owed to the analyzable logic utilized successful the execution of the code. As of property time, the outgo of state connected Ethereum is 12 GWEI ($0.40), including the web basal fee.

The illustration beneath shows the alteration successful the mean state terms paid per transaction since the web was launched. Throughout the bull tally 2021 – 2022, state roseate to a precocious of 305 GWEI and averaged astir 120 GWEI, immoderate 10 times higher than it is now. Should EOAs beryllium removed entirely, the outgo of transacting connected the Ethereum layer-1 blockchain web would astir surely increase.

Source: Glassnode

However, the advancing advancement of Ethereum scaling solutions — specified arsenic Polygon and dedicated industry-specific layer-2s similar Immutable — volition beryllium adjacent much captious to the web should transacting connected the basal furniture go prohibitive.

Concerning the different issues identified, the changing scenery of regulatory guidance besides needs to beryllium considered. Recently, the European Parliament passed an enactment connected the Internet of Things (IoT) manufacture — requiring each astute contracts to incorporate a ‘kill switch’ and truthful see ‘proxy upgradeability.’ Article 30 of the authorities has the pursuing requirement:

“The deployment of astute contracts for others successful the discourse of an statement to marque information disposable shall comply with the pursuing indispensable requirements[…]

Safe termination and interruption: guarantee that a mechanics exists to terminate the continued execution of transactions: the astute declaration shall see interior functions which tin reset oregon instruct the declaration to halt oregon interrupt the cognition to debar aboriginal (accidental) executions.”

This means that immoderate astute declaration wallet would person to incorporate a relation that would let the developer to region the relationship — eliminating the self-sovereign quality of the relationship if this were implemented by anyone different than the relationship owner.

Furthermore, if Ethereum moves distant from EOAs entirely, immoderate EVM concatenation would request to instrumentality the aforesaid functionality — oregon hazard losing compatibility with Ethereum Mainnet. The implementation crossed different chains would improbable beryllium synchronized, resulting successful a fragmented ecosystem and perchance incompatible dApps.

Projects that presently person afloat compatibility with aggregate EVM chains could suffer entree to immoderate networks during the transition.

EOA Innovation

So wherefore region EOAs? The Ethereum Foundation appears to person fixed up the imaginable to innovate successful the EOA abstraction with the telephone to region EOAs entirely. However, I advised a task called Intu successful 2022 that is doing precisely this, and it is improbable to beryllium the lone one. For full transparency, I was paid for my clip advising the project, but I person nary inducement for Intu to win different than believing successful the team’s vision.

The constituent of this nonfiction is not to shill immoderate solution oregon make FUD wrong the Ethereum ecosystem. Instead, I privation to rise consciousness for this occupation and facilitate statement and coordination wrong the space.

I bash not judge we should person statements from the Ethereum Foundation declaring the removal of EOAs without determination archetypal being a due nationalist process. Such a process would guarantee that EOAs need to beryllium removed, what the timeframe looks like, and however each imaginable security, compatibility, and usability issues would beryllium solved anterior to the transition.

It is besides captious to stress that the removal of EOAs is not confirmed. Ethereum is simply a decentralized ecosystem without immoderate centralized controlling party. However, the Ethereum Foundation holds a batch of sway wrong the developer community. Therefore, I judge it’s important to proceed this speech for the wellness of the ecosystem.

I recognize the Ethereum Foundation’s constituent of view. I simply privation for the speech to beryllium much openly held to guarantee we determination toward relationship abstraction with our eyes afloat open. As Paul Saffo truthful wisely said, “Strong convictions, weakly held.”

The station Op-ed: The unspoken Ethereum revolution: Are EOAs becoming obsolete? appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.