What Is ERC-4337 and How Does BMIC Use It?

ERC-4337: Account Abstraction Explained

What Is ERC-4337?

ERC-4337 is an Ethereum standard that transforms how wallets work. Instead of a simple key-pair (private key → public key → address), ERC-4337 wallets are smart contracts with programmable logic.

The Problem With Traditional Wallets

Standard Ethereum wallets (EOAs) have major limitations:

• If you lose your seed phrase → funds gone forever
• Must always have ETH for gas fees
• One action = one transaction
• No custom security logic
• Can only use ECDSA signatures (quantum-vulnerable)

How ERC-4337 Solves This

ERC-4337 introduces "User Operations" — transaction-like objects processed by a new infrastructure layer called "Bundlers." This enables:

• Social recovery — Lose your phone? Recover via trusted contacts
• Gasless transactions — Paymasters sponsor gas fees
• Batch transactions — Multiple actions in one User Op
• Custom signature schemes — Use ANY signature algorithm, including PQC
• Spending limits — Programmable security rules
• Multi-sig — Require multiple approvals for large transactions

BMIC + ERC-4337: The Killer Combination

The "custom signature schemes" feature is why BMIC chose ERC-4337. Standard Ethereum only supports ECDSA. ERC-4337 smart contract wallets can use ANY signature algorithm — including CRYSTALS-Dilithium (FIPS 204).

This is how BMIC achieves quantum-safe transaction signing on Ethereum today, without waiting for Ethereum itself to upgrade to PQC.

ERC-7702: The Next Step

BMIC also implements ERC-7702, which extends account abstraction to existing EOAs, allowing any wallet to gain smart contract capabilities without migration. This dramatically expands BMIC's addressable market.