A list of 18 projects selected for the ERC-4337 account abstract funding plan

Source: ERC-4337 

Translation by: Deep Tide TechFlow

ERC-4337 Account Abstraction funding program has successfully concluded. This funding initiative will support 18 teams to build diverse projects around ERC-4337 (also known as Account Abstraction).

Each team's project is uniquely aligned with the goals funded by ERC-4337 AA, and we believe the outcomes of these efforts will have a ripple effect throughout the ecosystem, sparking new ideas and collaboration opportunities.

The passionate and talented individuals driving these projects are the core of the success of this funding round. They demonstrate a deep understanding of the Ethereum ethos and are committed to pushing the boundaries of possibilities. The recipients of this funding round possess a range of skills and experiences, collectively dedicated to advancing the capabilities of Ethereum.

To understand the projects and leadership teams individually, we have prepared project overviews provided by the teams themselves (in no particular order). As these projects progress, we eagerly anticipate their developments and the potential impact on Ethereum's trajectory.

ZeroDev Kernel

ZeroDev Kernel, also known as Kernel, is a smart contract account designed from scratch with the following features:

• AA wallet compatible - Kernel is compatible with ERC-4337;

• Efficiency - We prioritize optimizing its Gas usage;

• Modularity - Kernel can be extended through "plugins".

Plugins are smart contracts that customize account behavior. We recognize the inability to anticipate users' needs for smart contract accounts as they interact with various different DApps in the process. Therefore, the only solution is to make the account scalable, allowing users to add new functionalities to their accounts over time.

At the time of writing, Kernel is the most widely used AA account across all major EVM networks (Ethereum/Polygon/Arbitrum/Optimism/Base). Kernel is a project by ZeroDev, providing infrastructure and tools for developers to integrate AAs.

Skandha Bundler by Etherspot

ERC-4337 introduced a dedicated independent memory pool designed for wallet execution abstraction. In addition, it proposed a novel concept called "bundler" that consolidates user actions into the traditional transaction framework. This bundler-driven approach enables the execution and implementation of wallet abstraction without altering the underlying protocol. This mechanism also lays the foundation for seamless integration in the future. In this case, the importance of the P2P interface in the bundler becomes evident. By integrating the P2P interface, user actions received by a specific bundler will propagate among all interconnected nodes. Therefore, even if a specific bundler exhibits faulty behavior or undergoes transaction audits, these user actions can still be processed by other bundlers in the network.

The Etherspot team has helped the Ethereum Foundation develop the protocol specification for a shared memory pool and is piloting the implementation of the shared memory pool (P2P interface) using Etherspot's bundler. Etherspot's bundler is called Skandha. It is available on six test networks and eleven mainnets, including Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, Fuse, Mantle, Gnosis, Base, Avalanche, BNB, and Linea.

MynaWallet

MynaWallet is a contract account integrated with the ID card issued by the Japanese government (Myna Card). Currently, approximately 100 million residents possess this ID card. MynaWallet allows users to seamlessly make token payments, transfers, or receive NFTs, and perform any transactions supported by their account without being aware of the existence of cryptocurrencies.

This has the potential to enable most Japanese residents to access cryptocurrencies. If this initiative can serve as a precedent and inspire other countries to conduct similar experiments, connecting their national identity infrastructure with Ethereum and introducing their residents to the world of cryptocurrencies, we would be thrilled.

Blocto: AA Support for web3.js

We believe our Web3.js project not only aligns with the objectives sponsored by ERC-4337 AA but also plays an important role in the broader field of dApp development.

In order to promote the development of ERC-4337, we have decided to share 4337 specific RPC methods through Web3.js, such as sendUserOperation, estimateUserOperationGas, getUserOperationByHash, getUserOperationReceipt, and supportedEntryPoints.

By doing this, developers can focus on what they really care about: creating amazing dApps. For example, if dApps want to provide a better user experience, they can change the calling method from sendTransaction to sendUserOperation, as long as the wallet provider supports this feature.

Blocto believes in simplifying these processes, promoting the growth of supportive dApp ecosystems, and ultimately ushering in a new era of decentralized applications that prioritize both developers and users.

Silius

Silius is a modular and efficient Rust implementation of ERC-4337 bundler. The project aligns with the broader vision and ecosystem of ERC and stays up-to-date with specification changes, while also supporting upcoming features such as P2P protocols and alternative memory pools. The structure of this bundler allows its core building blocks - major components and libraries - to be reused as Lego blocks in other AA projects within the ecosystem. Silius also contributes to the Rust Ethereum ecosystem by building upon and extending other Rust libraries and projects.

Schnorrkel.js

We should emphasize the fact that Schnorr signatures are enabled through account abstraction. Without account abstraction, each dapp would have to write Schnorr signature handling in its contracts and explain to the world and EOA wallets why they need to sign two messages (ECDSA for the mempool, Schnorr for the actual transaction), which makes it cumbersome to use. All these problems are solved with account abstraction. Simply sign UserOperation with Schnorr and pass it to the payer. Schnorr signature verification is handled by AA smart contracts. In other words, AA makes different signature schemes possible.

Why use multi-sign Schnorr?

• Complexity is handled off-chain, making Schnorr verification on-chain very cheap (about 3 k gas);

• Privacy - On-chain, no one knows the number of participants as they are represented by individual addresses.

QR-Seal is a Schnorr multisignature wallet that is fully compatible with ERC-4337, using the funded Schnorr library, AA, and payment entities that use the Ambire Wallet contract and Pimlico. We participated in the ETH Prague Hackathon and won the ETH Future category award with QR seal. This hackathon highlighted the process of how two people create a multisignature wallet and transfer data using QR codes.

Ambire: Self-hosted Email/Password Authentication with DKIM

Email registration is a viable method for introducing new users to the crypto world, as it provides a familiar process for access and recovery using email. We will provide a simpler and more localized way to abstract account wallets and add recovery mechanisms or transaction signatures while maintaining higher security. This type of recovery or transaction signing will enhance self-hosted capabilities and user experience for new users in Web3.

This library will reduce the workload for other developers in providing a more user-friendly user experience for applications focused on AA solutions.

Furthermore, we believe such applications will greatly attract new users in the Web3 world.

The library will be fully open-source and licensed under permissive licenses like MIT, similar to all our current efforts in DKIM verification or email/password accounts.

Ambire is a web-based account abstraction wallet launching at the end of 2021 and is the first wallet to offer self-hosted account creation through email/password authentication, benefiting from underlying 2/2 multisig.

After running on the mainnet and other EVM networks for a year, we believe email/password accounts demonstrate how account abstraction makes Ethereum more inclusive. We found that email-based registrations are very suitable for those who lack the technical ability or patience to deal with seed phrases or browser extensions.

Ambire smart accounts offer options for multiple signers. We support two types of signers. The first type is the email/password signer, and the second type is the EOA, such as hardware wallets, browser extensions (Web3 wallets), etc.

When using the email/password signer, Ambire creates a 2/2 multisig for you behind the scenes, with one key on your device encrypted with a password, and another key responsible for verifying the email confirmation code and stored in the backend HSM. Control of the account requires both keys, but only one key is needed to trigger the recovery process after a certain time.

We provide recovery options for email/password accounts in case of password or email access loss. If only one key signs a transaction, the contract will trigger a 72-hour timelock recovery. After 72 hours, the missing key in the transaction will be replaced by a new key provided by the user in the same transaction.

IoTeX: Zero-Knowledge Proof-Based Account Abstraction Wallet

Using zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP), our ZKP-based account abstraction wallet enhances and expands the potential of on-chain games, DeFi, DeSocial, DePIN, and other applications, establishing interoperability between Ethereum and real-world applications.

The wallet uses zkSNARK to verify account access permissions: if users have the correct password, they can generate a valid proof with the prover to unlock the account. The on-chain smart contract then verifies this proof to authenticate the transaction.

Our forward-looking vision involves applying zero-knowledge proofs to various aspects of account abstraction wallets, including wallet operations through web2 identity verification, social recovery using web2 social media states, and initializing zero-balance wallets using universal web2 payment channels.

The project team consists of two senior researchers from the IoTeX team.

SixdegreeLab: On-Chain Data Analytics

The original vision of this project is to provide Web3 data analysts with the necessary knowledge and skills to adapt to changes in Ethereum and EVM chain data structures caused by ERC-4337 and maintain effective on-chain data analytics. Specifically, the project will:

• Provide several data metric dashboards to help practitioners of account abstraction understand the ecological data situation. Also, create an aggregated data table to assist analysts in their work.

• Provide an educational tutorial document covering the impact of account abstraction on on-chain data analysis, which will be open to Web3 data analysts, enabling them to adapt to the new data structure and effectively perform on-chain data analysis in Web3.

• As more participants enter the world of account abstraction, including infrastructure, dApps, and mainstream users, we need a data-driven report to illustrate the current adoption of ERC-4337.

By addressing the impact of ERC-4337 on on-chain data analysis and exploring other native account abstraction mechanisms in Layer 2 and EVM chains, this project can provide valuable insights and resources for data analysts working in the Ethereum ecosystem. This, in turn, can help identify and mitigate vulnerabilities and performance issues on the Ethereum platform more effectively, contributing to its continued success and growth.

Overall, this project can help ensure that on-chain data analysis remains a valuable and effective tool in the Ethereum community, and contribute to the growth and success of the Ethereum ecosystem by providing insights and resources for data analysts working in Ethereum, Layer 2, and EVM chains.

Jam: Picnic's DeFi Transaction Batch Processor

Jam is an open-source API for generating DeFi operations for ERC-4337 applications. The goal is to enable developers to easily offer a variety of DeFi products through a simple API, while making DeFi more accessible to end users. You can ask Jam how to perform specific DeFi operations and receive the calldata needed to complete all necessary steps in a single transaction.

For the past two years, we (Picnic) have been collaborating with various DeFi integrations and have experienced the challenges of maintaining this infrastructure. We believe the best way forward is to transition it into the public good, and funding from the Ethereum Foundation is a great way to coordinate with the community.

TokenSight: Account Abstraction Multi-Factor Authentication using WebAuthn

The problem TokenSight aims to solve is related to the security of on-chain smart contract wallets, with a focus on two overlapping directions - creating an ERC-4337 smart contract wallet with a WebAuthn device and providing developer tools for existing ERC-4337 wallets to add WebAuthn devices as a multi-factor transaction authorization mechanism.

Our approach is based on a fully on-chain, gas-cost optimized WebAuthn signature verification scheme, without using any MPC architecture, thus providing maximum security and decentralization.

This project's team consists of Nasi and Blagoj, who have years of experience in the blockchain industry. We are passionate about smart contract security and believe that providing maximum security and seamless user experience for funds in users' smart contract wallets is essential to attract the next billion users. We are currently building Tokensight, which will be the first application to use our open-source WebAuthn wallet.

ZK-Team: Privacy-Preserving Account Abstraction by PriFi Labs

One valuable aspect of account abstraction is its ability to facilitate shared ownership of accounts among team members, enabling them to transact seamlessly as a unified entity. Organizations can create an abstract account and define predefined rules to manage authorized individuals and their allocated spending limits. In a simple setup, team members' addresses and their respective allowances may be written on the blockchain. This raises a legitimate privacy concern as organizations may not wish to disclose this sensitive information publicly.

ZK-Team is a proof-of-concept for privacy-preserving abstract accounts that allows organizations to manage team members while maintaining personal privacy. By leveraging zero-knowledge proofs, ZK-Team achieves transaction privacy, ensuring that team members' unique addresses and related allowances remain confidential. We aim for our project to serve as an all-in-one solution for team and asset management for organizations, as well as a reference for Ethereum developers using zero-knowledge proofs to protect the privacy of stored information in account abstractions.

PriFi Labs is a Toronto-based startup dedicated to researching ways to enhance the security and privacy of blockchain applications.

Rhinestone: Modular Account Abstraction

Account abstraction promises enhanced security and meaningful UX improvements without compromising the principles of Web3. At Rhinestone, we believe the future of account abstraction is modular, with modules being smart contracts that extend the functionality of smart accounts, providing a new platform for permissionless wallet innovation.

However, opening up smart accounts to third-party developers through modules increases the attack surface of user accounts. We are developing a standard for registering modules and declarations to make statements about the security of these modules. This registry serves as a trust delegation mechanism for smart accounts to query before installing third-party modules, increasing user security guarantees.

AAA: Account Abstraction Afterhours

In AAA, it all started with a simple idea - to improve understanding of AA and 4337. While we may no longer be personally involved in coding, our passion for technology and commitment to mass adoption of encryption technology remains strong. We firmly believe that account abstraction is key to driving widespread adoption.

From the early developer meetups, we have grown into a series of influential events held across three continents. These events provide platforms for knowledge sharing and community building, aligning perfectly with the goals sponsored by ERC-4337 AA.

Looking ahead, we are excited about expanding our impact further. Educational videos and interactive tutorials are set to launch, empowering more people to participate in and understand encryption technology. We are honored to be part of this journey and are committed to making meaningful contributions to the field of encryption technology.

Unpacking 4337 - A Series of Technical Articles

The authors of this article series have received funding aimed at helping understand the workings of EIP-4337 components. The goal is to reduce the time and effort required for developers and researchers to catch up and start focusing on specific areas they are interested in contributing further.

The three themes are:

• User Operation Lifecycle: The journey of user operations in the packager and the different functions called in the entry point of the packager for validation and eventual submission to the chain.

• Understanding Gas Parameters: Several gas parameters are specified at the packager, mempool, and user operation levels (listed below). Explain these parameters and their impact.

• Explaining Different calldata Parameters: Input transaction calldata, UserOp.calldata, and multi-send Txns calldata.

Hexlink: EIP-4972 - Linking ENS with ERC-4337 Accounts

Hexlink aims to provide an AA-compatible smart account for all ENS users, which can be directly used through EIP-4972. With Hexlink, each ENS name can derive a unique AA-compatible smart account, which is deployed only by the domain owner and can be used to receive cryptocurrency immediately. Considering that most ENS names are currently controlled by EOA, we believe that this dual account setup will help migrate from EOA to smart accounts, turning all existing ENS users into AA users and promoting wider adoption of AA.

UniPass: OpenID Authentication Module

Account abstraction allows developers to customize the verification logic and utilize various Internet infrastructures for user identity verification. Our UniPass team is introducing a novel user identity verification solution that uses on-chain signatures of ID tokens for the OpenID Connect protocol - an OpenID authentication solution for onboarding and recovery of new users.

This solution, combined with ERC-4337, provides the convenience of one-click OAuth login and account creation for new users using social logins such as Google and Apple. Additionally, it simplifies the recovery process in case of key loss or compromise. The project aims to build a library that enables ERC-4337 wallet developers to easily integrate OpenID authentication into their products.

Clave: Promoting secp 256 r 1 Curve Support for AA

While account abstraction solutions are emerging to provide a better user experience without compromising security, it remains one of the major challenges. The Clave team (formerly Opclave) is researching and developing tools that leverage mobile device native software and hardware solutions as signers, elevating mobile device wallets to the security level of hardware wallets by maximizing user experience. Here are some goals of this Authorization Scope:

• Sharing and utilizing research results of solutions such as Secure Enclave, WebAuthn, Passkeys, etc.

• Providing sample code for using these solutions as transaction signers.

• Providing sample code for processing these signed transactions in smart contracts.

• Providing sample account contract managed by these solutions through integrating Solidity validator and precompiled contracts.

• Advocate EIP-7212 to improve these solutions for efficient use in the EVM.

The Clave team consists of developers and researchers who introduced this concept for the first time in the "ETHGlobal Scaling Ethereum 2023" hackathon. Now, the team is working on utilizing the trusted execution environment of mobile devices as signers to provide account-driven accounts abstraction.