On Account Abstraction

Account abstraction is a paradigm to make blockchain accounts programmable.

Let's explore this a bit in the context of Ethereum.

Currently, there are two types of accounts on Ethereum: Contract Accounts and Externally Owned Accounts (EOA). For any transaction to occur on the blockchain, it must be initiated and paid for by an EOA, which is controlled through its private key.

The private key is used to create a signature that proves the account ownership to the blockchain. However, if the private key is lost, then the account and all its funds will be lost as well. You can't call Vitalik to get your keys recovered.

Account abstraction aims to resolve this issue by merging the two account types into one.

A single contract account will have the ability to transact with tokens and create contracts, eliminating the need for separate account types. With a single account type for all Ethereum accounts, developers can provide a smooth and seamless experience to users on a single account that has the capability to transact tokens and create new contracts.

Additionally, it will make it easier for developers to create more advanced protocols and services without having to distinguish between account types, as all transactions will be conducted within the EVM.

The motivation behind account abstraction also includes providing enhanced user experiences such as multi-signature security, creating lists of allowed or denied addresses, and gasless meta-transactions.

Account abstraction has the potential to bring the best of both worlds, greatly improving the user experience by moving towards a model where all accounts are contracts. Contracts can pay for gas, and users have the freedom to define their own security models.

Although account abstraction is not yet a reality, it has become a popular topic of discussion since the Merge.