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

After over 3 years of refinement, EIP-3074 gained broad community support during Ethereum's 183rd ACDE meeting and was officially included in the next hard fork. Proposed by Ethereum researcher Sam Wilson and Go Ethereum developer Matt Garnett, EIP-3074 enables any Externally Owned Account (EOA) to function like a smart contract wallet—no additional deployments or manual migrations needed. As Paradigm CTO Georgios Konstantopoulos stated, "Wallet UX will improve 10x." But how does it work, and how does it differ from ERC-4337?

EIP-3074 Upgrades the EVM

An Externally Owned Account (EOA)—like those created via MetaMask—is directly controlled by users. EIP-3074 introduces two new EVM opcodes:

AUTH: Validates an ECDSA signature and sets an authorized context variable if the signer matches the specified address.
AUTHCALL: Executes calls using the authorized EOA address (not the contract’s address), enabling delegated transactions.

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—no private key exposure.

👉 Discover how EIP-3074 transforms Ethereum wallets

EIP-3074 vs. ERC-4337

Feature	ERC-4337	EIP-3074
Layer	Protocol-level (no consensus change)	Requires hard fork (EVM upgrade)
Goal	Smart contract accounts act like EOAs	EOAs gain smart contract features
Security	Recovery mechanisms built-in	EOA keys remain vulnerable
Adoption	Chain-specific implementation	Works across all chains

Key Difference:

ERC-4337 abstracts EOAs into smart contracts.
EIP-3074 enhances EOAs with delegated control—without converting them to smart contracts.

Why EIP-3074 Matters

Cross-Chain Compatibility

Unlike ERC-4337, which demands per-chain support, EIP-3074 works universally. Proposals like EIP-7377 require manual migration; EIP-3074 skips this step.

Efficiency Gains

DeFi: Batch transactions reduce costs for LPs/traders. Sponsors can pay Gas fees, lowering barriers.
Omnichain Gaming: Invokers handle transactions post-authorization, eliminating repetitive user confirmations.

👉 Explore Ethereum’s latest upgrades

Risks and Challenges

Node Predictability: Sponsored transactions may obscure pre/post-state changes, risking network consistency.
Security Trade-offs: Invoker contracts gain partial account control—if compromised, funds are at risk.

FAQ

Q: Can EIP-3074 replace ERC-4337?
A: No—they’re complementary. ERC-4337 enables full account abstraction, while EIP-3074 optimizes EOAs.

Q: Is EIP-3074 backward-compatible?
A: Yes, existing EOAs work without upgrades.

Q: How does EIP-3074 improve UX?
A: By enabling batch transactions, Gas sponsoring, and cross-chain operability.

Q: What’s the biggest risk?
A: Centralized Invoker contracts becoming attack vectors.

Final Word: EIP-3074 bridges Ethereum’s EOA limitations with smart contract flexibility, paving the way for mass adoption—provided security is prioritized.