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Account Abstraction

Account Abstraction is a paradigm aimed at improving the blockchain user experience by replacing the reliance on externally-owned accounts (EOAs) with programmable smart accounts. Key benefits of Account Abstraction include:
  • Elimination of seed phrase reliance
  • Improved multi-chain interactions
  • Account recovery mechanisms
  • Gasless transactions
  • Transaction batching
See also:

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Bundler

Bundlers are specialized nodes defined by the ERC-4337 standard. They collect UserOperation objects from a dedicated mempool, bundle them together, and submit them to the blockchain via the EntryPoint contract. Bundlers initially pay the transaction fees and are later reimbursed by the user’s smart account or a Paymaster. See also:

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ERC-1271

ERC-1271 defines a standard interface that allows smart contracts to validate signatures. A contract implementing ERC-1271 exposes an isValidSignature(hash, signature) function that returns whether a given signature is valid for that contract. This enables smart accounts to participate in signature-based authentication flows.

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ERC-712

ERC-712 specifies a standard for hashing and signing typed structured data, making signed messages more readable and secure compared to raw bytestring signing.

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EntryPoint

The EntryPoint is a singleton smart contract defined by ERC-4337. It is responsible for validating and executing bundles of UserOperation objects submitted by Bundlers. See also:

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ERC-4337

ERC-4337 introduces Account Abstraction without requiring changes to Ethereum’s consensus layer. It defines a new pseudo-transaction object called UserOperation and a dedicated mempool. Bundlers aggregate UserOperations and submit them to the blockchain via the EntryPoint contract. See also:

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Externally-Owned Account

An externally-owned account (EOA) is one of the two Ethereum account types. EOAs are controlled by a private key, contain no executable code, and initiate transactions by signing them directly. See also:

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Gasless Transaction

Gasless transactions (also called meta-transactions) allow users to interact with the blockchain without directly paying gas fees. Instead, a third party—commonly a Relayer or a Paymaster—submits and pays for the transaction on the user’s behalf. Users sign a message describing the desired action, while the relayer constructs and executes the on-chain transaction.

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Multi-signature

A multi-signature account is a type of smart account that requires approvals from multiple owners to execute transactions. Owners can be externally-owned accounts or other smart accounts.

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Common configurations

  • 0/0 Safe
    An account with no owners, fully controlled by Safe Modules. Commonly used for automation.
  • 1/1 Safe
    A single-owner account. Simple to manage but requires a recovery plan in case the owner loses access.
  • N/N Safe
    All owners must approve each transaction. Offers strong shared control but requires careful key management.
  • N/M Safe
    Only a subset of owners must approve transactions, balancing security and flexibility.

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How it works

  • Owners and thresholds are stored on-chain.
  • Transactions include signatures from the required owners.
  • The Safe contract verifies signatures before execution.

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Benefits

  • Enhanced security through reduced single points of failure
  • Flexible ownership and threshold configuration
  • Broad wallet compatibility, including:
    • Hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor)
    • Software wallets (MetaMask, Trust Wallet)
    • MPC wallets (Fireblocks, Zengo)
    • Other smart accounts
    • Social login or passkey-based wallets
  • Upgradability, including owner and threshold changes
  • Auditability of all executed transactions

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Network

A blockchain network is a distributed system of nodes that maintain a shared ledger using a consensus mechanism. Networks enable decentralized transaction execution without a central authority. See also:

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Owner

A Safe owner is an account authorized to manage a Safe and approve transactions. Owners can be EOAs or smart accounts. The threshold determines how many owner approvals are required. See also:

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Paymaster

Paymasters are smart contracts that sponsor gas fees for users under ERC-4337. They can enable gasless experiences or allow gas payments using ERC-20 tokens. See also:

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Relayer

A relayer is a third-party service that submits transactions to the blockchain on behalf of users, often paying gas costs upfront. See also:

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Safe{DAO}

Safe{DAO} is a decentralized autonomous organization that governs and supports the Safe ecosystem through grants, governance, and ecosystem investments. See also:

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Safe{Wallet}

Safe{Wallet} is the official interface for creating and managing Safe accounts. See also:

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Safe Apps

Safe Apps are third-party web applications integrated into the Safe Apps marketplace. They interact with Safe accounts via the Safe Apps SDK and are not owned or audited by Safe. See also:

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Safe Guard

A Safe Guard is a smart contract that adds pre- and post-execution checks to Safe transactions. See also:

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Safe Module

A Safe Module is a smart contract that extends Safe functionality while keeping core contracts minimal. See also:

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Smart Account

A smart account is a smart-contract-based account that provides enhanced security and programmability compared to EOAs. Transactions are executed according to on-chain logic rather than a single private key. Common features include: Safe is a widely adopted implementation of smart accounts.

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Transaction

A transaction updates blockchain state and is typically initiated by an externally-owned account. A Safe transaction is executed via the Safe contract’s execTransaction function. See also:

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Threshold

The threshold defines how many owner approvals are required to execute a Safe transaction.

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UserOperation

UserOperation is a pseudo-transaction type introduced by ERC-4337. UserOperations are sent to a dedicated mempool and executed through the EntryPoint contract. See also:

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Wallet

A wallet is an application or interface that allows users to manage blockchain accounts, sign messages, and submit transactions. See also: