Pectra will change Web3 UX
The introduction of smart accounts as a user-facing primitive will reshape the user experience of web3. Web3 UX has been constrained by limitations at the protocol layer, and Pectra will introduce smart contract account functionality for user accounts and a robust delegation framework to give those accounts (and their users) incredible new powers.
Since the launch of Ethereum, users have only interacted with two account types: Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs), your typical wallet addresses like those used in MetaMask, and contract accounts, which are smart contracts with custom logic like the addresses behind the dapps you interact with.
Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs)
Your typical wallet addresses like those used in MetaMask. EOAs are simple and secure but rigid. They're fully controlled by user-held private keys, and they can't include logic like time-based access, approvals, or spending limits.
Contract Accounts
Smart contracts with custom logic like the addresses behind the dapps you interact with. Contract accounts can support complex programmable behavior, but they can't act on their own. They need an EOA to initiate every action.
"This is a huge UX improvement for the Ethereum ecosystem. We now can consolidate Approve and Swap into a single transaction that gets executed on-chain. No more multiple popups that the user has to confirm."
To work around these constraints, wallets like Argent and Safe began building Smart Contract Accounts (SCAs), which are wallets that use contract logic to enable features like social recovery and batch transactions. However, these solutions weren’t natively supported by Ethereum. There was no standardized way to interact with them, and ecosystem support remained fragmented. The result? A wallet experience that felt outdated compared to traditional fintech.
"The ability to upgrade from an EOA to a Smart Account is revolutionary, transforming the landscape from smart money with simple accounts to smart money with smart accounts."
ERC-4337 and the push to standardize smart account UX
By formalizing how SCAs are created, validated, and interacted with, ERC-4337 enabled wallet developers to build consistent support for smart accounts across the ecosystem. What had previously been fragmented, custom implementations became part of a shared standard that any wallet or dapp could integrate with.
With this structure, smart contract wallets gained access to a set of powerful features that were previously impossible, including gas sponsorship, fee abstraction, social logins, and nonce abstraction.
Gas sponsorship, allowing dapps or wallet providers to cover gas fees for users
Fee abstraction, enabling users to pay for gas in tokens other than ETH
Social logins or recovery flows, like those based on guardians or multiple devices
Nonce abstraction, which allows for more flexible transaction ordering and batching
- Clunky onboarding: EOA users must still install a wallet, back up a seed phrase, and fund their wallet with ETH before they can interact with any application.
- Disrupted transaction flow: EOAs require user approval for each transaction, interrupting experiences like gaming, where continuous confirmation breaks flow and usability.
- Lack of delegation and control logic: With the rise of autonomous agents and AI-driven execution, EOA users need ways to delegate authority securely without exposing their entire wallet.
"Account abstraction has long been a goal for Ethereum, and EIP-7702 support provided by Pectra is a huge achievement in this regard, as it provides a flexible and safe mechanism to upgrade existing EOAs with minimal onboarding. "
Delegation and the future of wallet UX
This system is powered by signed intents, which are pre-approved instructions that can be executed without constant user confirmations. Unlike traditional transactions, intents shift the focus from raw execution to outcome-based authorization, improving UX while maintaining transparency and control. The model relies on smart contract accounts, which can encode custom validation logic and enforce these rules securely.
"Delegation is essentially a permission, an encoded representation of what you want someone or something else to be able to do on your behalf."
At the foundation of the Delegation Toolkit are two standards co-authored by MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay: ERC 7710 and ERC 7715
ERC 7710
Introduces caveated delegation, enabling granular control over what permissions are shared, such as limits on token types, transaction timing, or usage scope.
ERC 7715
Lets dapps request and store session or context-based permissions, similar to OAuth in Web2, making repeated confirmations unnecessary in high-frequency environments like gaming.
These capabilities unlock a range of real-world use cases, including social invites, agent-based trading, session keys
Social Invites
Social invites can onboard new users with delegated permissions, avoiding the need to set up seed phrases or pre-fund wallets.
Agent-Based Trading
Agent-based trading becomes possible by giving bots limited and revocable authority to act on a user’s behalf.
Session Keys
Session keys improve the in-app experience by letting users approve access once rather than signing every action.
"Pectra itself is important because it’s a step forward in making Ethereum more efficient, secure, and ready for the next wave of growth"
Pectra and how it ties everything together
For the first time, EOAs will be able to delegate permissions, closing the gap between EOAs and SCAs in a way that’s seamless for users. With 7702, features made possible by EIP-4337, such as gas sponsorship, fee abstraction, and secure delegation, become available to EOAs without needing a full account conversion. From the user’s perspective, the experience becomes more flexible and the transition more seamless.
Once a transaction with this field is sent, the EOA gains associated code and behaves like a smart contract wallet until the user explicitly changes or removes the code. This allows for persistent enhancements to account functionality, such as signature abstraction or batched transactions, while preserving the account’s original address and structure.
This approach gives EOAs access to the same programmable validation flow used by SCAs, including the ability to define rules for delegation, sponsor gas, or handle multiple actions in one transaction. But unlike full smart accounts, no permanent contract deployment is needed, and the account remains compatible with existing wallet infrastructure.
"This proposal lets any Ethereum account take on smart wallet capabilities. Suddenly, users of MetaMask and other seed phrase wallets can access everything programmable accounts can do, without migrating funds or paying high gas fees, and start participating in Web3 in entirely new ways."
