EOA Upgradeability vs SCW Upgradeability

Specific advantage: Native protocol-level transactions with minimal gas overhead. A standard ETH transfer costs ~21,000 gas. This matters for high-frequency, low-value transactions where every wei counts, such as automated trading bots or micro-payment systems.

Specific advantage: 100% compatibility with all dApps, bridges (like Across, Hop), and tools without requiring custom integrations. This matters for protocols targeting maximum user reach or users who frequently interact with niche, unaudited DeFi applications.

Specific advantage: Enables social recovery (via Safe{Wallet}), multi-signature policies, transaction limits, and allowlists. This matters for treasury management (e.g., DAOs using Safe), high-net-worth individuals, and teams where asset security and operational control are paramount.

Specific advantage: The wallet logic is decoupled from the signer, allowing for non-breaking upgrades (ERC-4337) and gas-efficient batched transactions. This matters for dApps building complex user journeys (e.g., swap, stake, claim in one click) and future-proofing user experiences without seed phrase migration.

Specific disadvantage: The signing key is immutable. Losing it means permanent, irreversible loss of all assets. This is a critical failure point for mainstream adoption where user error is common, making EOAs unsuitable for custodial or enterprise scenarios.

Specific disadvantage: Each operation incurs additional gas for contract execution (~30-50% more than EOAs). Some dApps may not fully support ERC-4337 or specific SCW implementations. This matters for users on high-fee networks or developers needing guaranteed universal access.

Universal compatibility: Every EVM chain, wallet (MetaMask, Rabby), and dApp (Uniswap, Aave) is built for EOAs. This ensures zero integration friction. Lower gas overhead: A simple transfer from an EOA costs ~21k gas, while a basic SCW call starts at ~100k+ gas due to contract execution. This matters for high-frequency, low-value transactions.

No native upgrade path: The signing key (private key) is immutable. Lose it, and the account (and its assets) are permanently inaccessible. Limited logic: Cannot natively implement batched transactions, spending limits, or social recovery. This forces reliance on centralized custodians or complex multi-sig setups for team treasuries.

Full upgradeability: Logic can be updated via upgradeTo() (e.g., using UUPS proxy patterns). This allows adding new features like ERC-4337 Bundler support or quantum-resistant signatures post-deployment. Built-in recovery: Implement social recovery (Safe), time-locks, or rule-based transfers. This is critical for institutional asset management and user onboarding.

Higher gas costs: Every action requires a contract call. A simple ETH transfer costs 2-5x more than an EOA. Deployment overhead: Requires initial contract deployment (~500k-1M gas) and ongoing management (Guardians, modules). Fragmented support: Not all dApps and chains fully support ERC-4337 or arbitrary contract calls, potentially breaking UX.

Direct Key Control: The private key is the sole access point. This matters for protocol integrations where trust assumptions are clear and minimal (e.g., DeFi yield vaults, simple token approvals).

• Lower Gas for Simple Txns: Native transactions (ETH transfers, token approvals) are cheaper than SCW delegate calls.
• Universal Compatibility: 100% compatibility with all dApps, as EOAs are the base layer standard.

No Recovery or Upgrade Path: A compromised private key or seed phrase means permanent, irrevocable loss of all assets. This is critical for high-value institutional wallets or user custody where human error is a primary threat.

• Single Point of Failure: Losing the key = losing the wallet. No social recovery, multi-sig, or time-locks are natively possible.

Flexible Access Logic: Implement multi-signature approvals (via Safe), social recovery (via ERC-4337), or transaction limits. This is essential for DAO treasuries, enterprise wallets, and mass adoption where key loss is unacceptable.

• Post-Compromise Recovery: Logic can be upgraded to invalidate a stolen key without moving assets.

Higher Base Cost: Every transaction is a contract interaction, adding ~40k+ gas overhead vs. native EOA tx. This impacts high-frequency users and applications requiring micro-transactions.

• Relayer Dependency: For gas abstraction (ERC-4337), users often depend on bundler and paymaster infrastructure, adding centralization vectors and integration complexity compared to direct EOA signing.