New standard arises. ERC-4337

The new Ethereum standard has just arrived. It has happened! The year 2023 heralded as the year of UX in the Ethereum network is getting off to a strong start. The Ethereum ERC-4337 token standard has just been implemented, a so-called game changer. Why? Let's start from the beginning.

This year has been a time of fine-tuning the experience of users using the blockchain network. Over the past years, the technology has been refined more and more. We have been looking for optimal solutions, there have been many stress-tests, there have been many hacks and bugs, but everything is systematically patched and improved. The fact that Blockchain is a public functional database allows for its constant improvement. If there is a bug, everyone has access to the logs, so everyone can add their part in improving security. If there are any violations, everything is visible, so developers know exactly where the problem occurred and can fix it with surgical precision. After many years, we have also matured to think more broadly. Blockchain works, but using it can be difficult.

The basic element through which users communicated with the blockchain network was wallets. Until now, wallets were secured by a private key and a public key, which was necessary to sign transactions and receive currency. The keys were secured by "seed phrases." Using the example of the most popular Metamask, it looks like this. We open a new wallet, and when setting it up, we are given 12 words that we must write down. De facto, they are our wallet, and if we ever lose these words, we lose access to the wallet forever. This is not a pleasant situation, even less so if larger sums of money flow through our wallets. There were even metal plates available on the market, on which you could engrave your seeds with your own hands and protect them, for example, in case of fire. With that, there is no more! The new ERC-4337 standard for the first time in the history of Ethereum allows you to create accounts without a "seed phrase." That's not all. From now on, account recovery will also be possible. Something that seemed natural in other tech, on the Ethereum network, was impossible.

From now on, wallets will take the form of smart contacts. In addition to the benefits mentioned before, this fact brings several more implications. In this way, wallets can realize programmable automatic payments. Let's remember that in the blockchain network, trust is written into the system. Having such an option in this system can streamline many daily operations and transactions. This power has also been recognized by Visa, which has already proposed its solutions based on the ERC-4337 standard, also called "Account Abstraction." Identity and payment verification are no longer done with private and public keys, and the transactions themselves can be properly programmed before they are put irretrievably into the network.

Of course, this does not mean that all these solutions already exist on the network and work. For that we still have to wait. For the time being, the developers of Ethereum, by implementing the standard into the network, open the floodgates, so to speak, for the entire ecosystem. Now individual developers and developers of third-party software like  Metamask can start using the standard. So there are still a few steps to go before full functionality, but that doesn't change the fact that this is an excellent step towards a friendly blockchain network that everyone will be able to use. And also those who already use the technique can rest easy without fear of losing or destroying their seed phrases.

From a programming standpoint, everything is explained here. In addition to the massive improvement of the network and the overall UX, it is also gratifying to see that the network itself is developing in such a thriving way. This is excellent news for all those who base their solutions on Ethereum.