Ethereum has unveiled its latest upgrade to the NFT token standard at ETHDenver on March 1st – the ERC-4337. The goal of this new standard is to improve the interoperability and ease-of-use of NFTs on the Ethereum network, making it more accessible to non-crypto users.
The ERC-4337 standard was proposed by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and others in September 2021 and builds on the widely-used ERC-721 and ERC-1155 tokens. The focus of ERC-4337 is to enhance accessibility by providing benefits such as lost key recovery, the ability to opt-out of seed phrases, and gasless transactions. These features are designed to make it easier for buyers and sellers to create wallets and attract a mainstream audience.
By launching this new standard, Ethereum is again demonstrating its commitment to innovation and leadership in the blockchain space. ERC-4337 is expected to become the new standard for high-value NFTs on the Ethereum network, providing a new level of usability for digital collectibles.
One of the key features of ERC-4337 is its ability to recover lost private keys through a “social recovery system.” This method significantly improves wallet creation and management by allowing designated users to restore access to a wallet if private keys are lost. Additionally, ERC-4337 supports secure wallets that don’t rely on seed phrases, providing a more user-friendly way of storing tokens.
Automated trading is another important feature of ERC-4337, allowing NFT owners to trade their tokens without manual intervention. This is achieved through smart contracts, which can be programmed to execute trades automatically based on predetermined conditions. Lastly, ERC-4337 supports gasless transactions, which reduces the load on the network, increases transaction speed, and eliminates the need for users to pay gas fees in ether.
As the NFT market continues to grow and evolve, standards like ERC-4337 will play an increasingly important role in integrating mass adoption of this exciting new market into Web3. Overall, ERC-4337 brings significant improvements to the usability and accessibility of NFTs on the Ethereum network, making it easier for users to manage their assets and participate in this rapidly expanding market.