We are welcoming you to our weekly digest! Here, we discuss the latest trends and advancements in account abstraction, chain abstraction and everything related, as well as bring some insights from Etherspot’s kitchen.
The latest news we’ll cover:
- SOCKET and Polygon Labs Unveil Chain Abstraction for Agglayer
- Ethereum Sets Pectra Upgrade Dates
- OneBalance Launches BTC-to-EVM Fast Swaps
- Fragmented Chain Abstraction Slows Crypto Adoption
- Etherspot x Rootstock Account Abstraction Webinar
Please fasten your belts!
SOCKET and Polygon Labs Unveil Chain Abstraction for Agglayer
SOCKET, in collaboration with Polygon Labs, has announced a chain abstraction protocol for Agglayer, aiming to streamline cross-chain development and reduce friction for both developers and users. This initiative addresses the growing complexity of the blockchain landscape, where multiple networks and emerging chains often require cumbersome bridging processes.
By allowing contracts to communicate asynchronously, the new protocol enables developers to deploy Solidity contracts on SOCKET as an app-gateway. Users then interact using signed messages, which are executed securely on-chain through Agglayer’s pessimistic proofs.
This approach removes the need for traditional cross-chain messaging and bridging, allowing seamless interoperability without exposing developers to intricate messaging protocols. The result is a more unified user experience across networks like Ethereum, Solana, and new entrants such as MegaEth, Berachain, and Monad.
A central feature of this collaboration is Chain Abstracted Accounts, which eliminate isolated balances across multiple chains. Users can maintain a unified balance that spans different networks, reducing transaction failures and waiting times tied to manual bridging. This development also paves the way for intent-based protocols, DeFi automation, and other innovative use cases that benefit from a streamlined cross-chain environment.
In celebration of the launch, a limited NFT collection capped at 5,000 mints has been introduced.
Ethereum Sets Pectra Upgrade Dates
Ethereum developers have released the schedule for Pectra, the network’s next major upgrade, confirming two key testnet forks ahead of a targeted mainnet launch in March.
Holesky will fork at slot 3,710,976 on February 24, while Sepolia will follow at slot 7,118,848 on March 5.
If the Sepolia upgrade runs without issues, developers will finalize the Pectra mainnet date on March 6 during the All Core Developers (ACD) call.
Pectra bundles several EIPs designed to enhance speed and efficiency, including EIP-7702, which allows wallets to function more like smart contracts. Another highlight is EIP-7251, which increases the maximum validator stake from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, a change aimed at expanding participation in Ethereum’s security.
Originally planned as a larger fork, Pectra is now split into multiple phases. It represents Ethereum’s first major update since the Dencun upgrade in 2024. Meanwhile, developers have already started preparing for the subsequent Fusaka upgrade, potentially including enhancements like EOF and PeerDAS to further refine the network’s functionality and scalability.
Fragmented Chain Abstraction Slows Crypto Adoption
Avail co-founder Anurag Arjun, previously part of the Polygon layer-2 scaling solution, warns that current chain abstraction strategies are causing further fragmentation in the crypto ecosystem.
“They have their own set of validators and their own crypto-economic security. So you have to create infrastructure called a light client, for example, bidirectional light clients. That is the main bottleneck in general,” he explained, pointing to bridging complexities that isolate users and liquidity into separate pools.
Arjun notes that merely bridging liquidity across chains can introduce significant security risks. High-profile hacks, such as the Wormhole Bridge exploit, underscore the vulnerabilities of existing solutions. He argues that fragmentation driven by multiple protocols and bridging methods hampers user experience, ultimately slowing widespread blockchain adoption.
By moving toward a unified chain abstraction model, Arjun believes developers could provide a more streamlined experience that conceals technical details while enhancing security and scalability — a crucial step for broader acceptance of dApps.
OneBalance Launches BTC-to-EVM Fast Swaps
OneBalance has introduced its new OneBalance Toolkit, promising a seamless experience for developers to integrate Bitcoin, Ethereum, and EVM networks.
The toolkit aims to enable users to manage a single account across multiple chains without bridging, gas fees, or network switching, featuring what OneBalance calls “One Click, One Integration, One Balance, All Chains.”
OneBalance highlights the role of Resource Locks in reducing transaction times “from hours to seconds.” By temporarily locking source-chain assets with a credible commitment, Solvers can instantly fund the destination chain, bypassing lengthy finality waits. The toolkit also integrates Turnkey’s Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) and policy-based controls for secure authentication, ensuring a streamlined signing experience. Reservoir’s solver further enhances order fulfilment speed and reliability.
Targeting wallets, payment providers, DEXs, and emerging decentralized applications, OneBalance positions its solution as a way to “eliminate chains, bridges, and gas for your users.”
Future expansions plan to incorporate Solana, indicating a broader push toward unified, scalable cross-chain interactions in the near term.
Etherspot x Rootstock Account Abstraction Webinar
Etherspot and Rootstock Labs have hosted a webinar highlighting new ways to streamline Web3 development through account abstraction.
The session featured Nikhil Kumar from Etherspot and Olia Dukova from Rootstock Labs, who emphasized Rootstock’s EVM compatibility and showcased Etherspot’s tools, including the Skandha Bundler, modular SDKs, and multi-chain APIs. Designed to simplify blockchain building, these resources address key developer challenges such as gasless transactions, session keys, and advanced features under ERC-4337 and ERC-7579.
During the webinar, the speakers underscored Rootstock’s position as the first and longest-running Bitcoin sidechain, spotlighting how its full EVM compatibility allows developers to write Solidity smart contracts while leveraging familiar Ethereum-based tools.
Etherspot’s account abstraction approach aims to improve user experience by eliminating the need for seed phrases, enabling social logins, and offering flexible payment methods for transaction fees. Nikhil provided live demonstrations to illustrate how the Skandha Bundler processes user operations efficiently, while the modular SDK supports the installation of validated modules for enhanced wallet security and functionality.
This joint effort aims to encourage broader adoption of decentralized solutions by making Web3 development more accessible.
🐞Etherspot’s New Chain Abstraction Solution Demo Is Live! Build a seamless, cross-chain Web3 user experience with us.
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