What does ERC-7779 mean?

Author: Josh O'Sullivan, CoinTelegraph; Compiler: Tao Zhu, Golden Finance

The Ethereum network has recently become a hot topic in the crypto community due to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin claiming sole ownership of the Ethereum Foundation and speculation that the Trump family will build a "mega enterprise" on Ethereum.

In an exclusive interview, members of the Ethereum Foundation, Trust Wallet, Safe, Alchemy, and Rhinestone discussed the new ERC-7779 token standard and its impact on the Ethereum ecosystem.

ERC-7779 aims to build on previous Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) such as EIP-7702, which introduced execution abstractions for Ethereum accounts and allowed the creation of Externally Owned Accounts (EOA).

The new standard aims to address challenges associated with Ethereum’s evolving account system, introducing a unified framework for enhanced interoperability, secure wallet transitions and simplified storage management.

ERC-7779: Purpose and Applications

ERC-7779 builds on improvements introduced in Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) such as EIP-7702, which enables Externally Owned Accounts (EOA) to operate more like smart accounts.

Safe co-founder Richard Meissner pointed out that the importance of the new token standard is that it can ensure that smart accounts remain interoperable.

"Smart accounts bring many benefits. One of them is the possibility of upgradable logic. With EIP-7702 in the upcoming Pectra upgrade, now it also extends to EOA," he said.

Marissa Posnor, product manager at the Ethereum Foundation, explained the need for ERC-7779, noting its role in creating a standardized interface for managing delegated EOAs and securely supporting re-delegation:

"ERC-7779 addresses these challenges by defining a standard interface for delegated EOA to manage the storage infrastructure and support re-delegation securely and efficiently."

“Timing is critical as the Ethereum ecosystem expands and user expectations for wallet functionality and interoperability continue to grow. Additionally, ERC-7779 is not exclusive to EIP-7702; it also provides access to smart accounts beyond 7702 value, " she added.

Simplifying user experience with ERC-7779

The new token standard also aims to simplify wallet migration for non- technical users, allowing them to move between wallets without technical barriers or loss of access to assets.

Trust Wallet technical director David Kim said ERC-7779 "strike an effective balance" to create a standard that is "truly useful and easy for wallet developers to adopt."

Rhinestone co-founder Konrad Kopp said the new token standard "does not simplify the user experience for end users," but rather provides EOA users with the option to securely switch between smart account implementations.

Use cases and developer adoption

In addition to the primary goal of establishing greater interoperability, ERC-7779 also aims to make advanced features such as transaction batching, automation, and gas abstraction more accessible.

Alchemy technical director Fangting Liu noted that the collaboration on the new token standard is "easy to adopt across the entire ecosystem," allowing developers to access and verify information across smart accounts.

“ERC-7779 introduces a solution that mitigates the risks of improper storage management in smart account implementations,” said Liu. “It enables developers and users to safely transition between implementations as requirements evolve, ensuring a more secure and flexible environment.”

These developments could be a turning point for the Ethereum ecosystem, giving users access to advanced features within a more secure framework and making “smart account superpowers mainstream,” Meissner said.