Ethereum developers deploy “EntryPoint” to let wallets operate as smart contracts

Ethereum developers have introduced a new software feature known as “EntryPoint” that enables crypto wallet accounts to operate as smart contracts. The primary goal of this release is to improve the user experience of wallets by facilitating complex tasks such as automated payments and adding recovery methods, which are currently unavailable.

Following a thorough security audit conducted by security firm OpenZeppelin, EntryPoint was launched on Wednesday and is now accessible on blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, BNB Chain, Avalanche and Gnosis Chain.

With the help of EntryPoint, wallet apps will be able to achieve what’s called “account abstraction,” a mechanism that will let wallets handle complex tasks automatically without requiring users to interact with the Ethereum blockchain.

EntryPoint has been released in accordance with the ERC-4337 standard, incorporating the ability to add features to wallet apps such as automatic payments and two-factor authentication recovery options.

It is an optional feature to be offered to users by crypto wallet providers rather than a protocol-level change in Ethereum, as noted by Lukas Schor, co-founder of Safe, a top multi-signature wallet provider.

“Developers can now start building with an ‘official’ version of the EntryPoint contract,” Schor told The Block, adding that prior versions of the EntryPoint contract had already existed but were not fully audited for security. This has now been finalized with the help of OpenZeppelin.

“The big immediate impact this will have on the ecosystem is to give wallet infrastructure providers more options for providing smart wallet features like account recovery, native multi-sigs, and covering gas fees for users,” Michael Lewellen, head of solutions architecture at OpenZeppelin, told The Block.

Lewellen added that while the account abstraction contract would not eliminate the need to learn complex seed phrases, it would enable the addition of alternative recovery methods with Ethereum-based wallet accounts.