What You Need to Know About EIP-7702 “Smart” Account

Ethereum’s recent Pectra upgrade (activated on May 7, 2025) introduced a game-changing improvement for everyday users: EIP-7702. In simple terms, EIP-7702 allows your regular Ethereum wallet (technically an Externally Owned Account, or EOA) to act like a smart contract, bringing powerful new features without requiring any new addresses, wallets, or complex setup.

In this article, we’ll explore what EIP-7702 is, how it compares to existing account types, its key benefits and considerations, and how you can start using it today.

What is EIP-7702 in Simple Terms?

At its core, EIP-7702 (nicknamed Set EOA Account Code) lets your existing wallet attach smart contract logic directly to itself. Once enabled, this smart account mode remains active until you manually revert it. This is made possible by a new transaction type introduced in Pectra (0x04 — set code transaction).

Quick Comparison: EIP-7702 vs Existing Account Types

Account Types Explained:

• Externally Owned Account (EOA): A basic wallet controlled by a private key (e.g. MetaMask, Ledger). It can sign transactions but can't automate or batch actions. Simple but limited.
• Smart Contract Account (Smart Wallet): A contract-based wallet (e.g. Safe, ERC-4337) with built-in features like multi-sig, batching, and social recovery. More flexible but requires a new address, higher gas costs, and extra setup.
• EOA with EIP-7702: Your existing EOA can run smart contract logic upon switching to smart account mode. You get smart features like batching, gas token payments, and programmable actions without changing your address or deploying a contract.

How You Can Start Using EIP-7702 Today

Popular wallets like MetaMask and Ambire Wallet already support EIP-7702.

🦊 MetaMask

In MetaMask, you can enable smart account mode directly:

1. Go to Account Details.
2. Click Switch to upgrade your EOA to a smart account.
3. MetaMask will prompt you to sign an "Account Update" transaction and pay a small gas fee.

Verify on Etherscan:

• On your address page, you'll see a new Delegated Address under the "More Info" section.
• You’ll also see the switch transaction listed under Other Transactions tab.
• If you used MetaMask, the Delegated Address will show MetaMask: EIP-7702 Delegator.

Your account will remain a smart account until you manually revert it in MetaMask. Once reverted, the Delegated Address field will show as "Null" again.

🔥 Ambire Wallet

In Ambire Wallet, you don’t need to manually sign a switch transaction. Any transaction executed within Ambire triggers delegation automatically.

Note: If you import the same address into multiple wallets that support EIP-7702, your latest delegation will overwrite any previous ones, since you can only delegate to one contract at a time.

Native batching support:

Ambire Wallet has built-in transaction batching. You can combine multiple actions into one batch, sign once, and execute everything together without repeated transaction signings.

Verify on Etherscan:

• All batched actions appear under one transaction hash.
• Each action is shown as internal transactions or ERC-20 transfers under that hash.

Key Benefits and Considerations of EIP-7702

✅ Benefits

• Transaction Batching: Combine multiple actions (like approve + swap) into one transaction, saving time, gas, and clicks.
• Gas Fee Abstraction: Pay gas with any token or let dApps sponsor gas fees, ideal for onboarding new users without ETH.
• Programmable Actions: Enable smart features like subscriptions, limit orders, and auto-approvals directly from your wallet.
• No New Wallet Required: Upgrade your existing wallet address, no new seed phrases or addresses needed, preserving full compatibility.

⚠️ Considerations

• Security & Phishing: Malicious contracts quickly emerged after Pectra to exploit EIP-7702. Over 97% of all delegations were linked to scams targeting vulnerable users. Always upgrade your wallets via trusted wallets (MetaMask, Ambire, etc.) and verify delegator contracts before delegating 🙏.
• Private Key Still Critical: Your private key remains the ultimate authority. Losing it still compromises your account. Strong key security remains essential.
• Ecosystem Still Adapting: Full EIP-7702 support across wallets, dApps, and hardware devices will take time. Stick to wallets with official 7702 support for now.

Closing Thoughts

EIP-7702 is a landmark upgrade that brings Ethereum one step closer to mainstream-friendly UX. It allows everyday users to benefit from features like bundled transactions, flexible gas payments, and safer wallet recovery — all while continuing to use the wallets and accounts they already have. Compared to previous account abstraction attempts, the beauty of 7702 lies in its minimal disruption: one simple authorization, full backward compatibility, and seamless integration alongside existing standards like ERC-4337.

That said, as new capabilities continue being rolled out, users should stay vigilant, watch for phishing attempts and continue to safeguard your keys. As adoption grows, you will start seeing more frequent wallet prompts inviting you to “switch to smart account” as wallets and dApps increasingly support these new features.

For those interested in diving deeper into EIP-7702 or its growing ecosystem, here are some helpful resources:

• Track adoption of 7702 and related EIPs (e.g. 5792), and highlight apps and wallets which are improving UX on Ethereum via uxscout.xyz
• Check out Biconomy's multichain execution demonstration where you can seamlessly move assets across chains with a single-click
• View Kofi's dashboard for insights into the adoption of EIP-7702 Smart Accounts on Ethereum mainnet
• Read GoPlus' guide on how to protect your wallet from EIP-7702 phishing attacks

If you have any EIP-7702 related feedback or ideas for the Etherscan explorer, feel free to tag us on X @etherscan!