Ethereum devs advance proposal to let users pay fees without holding ETH

EIP-8141 would deliver several account abstraction benefits, including support for post-quantum cryptography and alternative ways to pay transaction fees without centralized third-party relayers.

Ethereum is advancing a proposal that could remove one of the biggest practical hurdles for users holding stablecoins: needing ETH to pay transaction fees.

Core developers recently scheduled EIP-8141, or Frame Transactions, for inclusion in a major upgrade expected in 2027.

Frames would separate transaction authorization, fee payment and execution, allowing a third party or payments app to cover gas while the user pays in stablecoins. It could also combine multiple actions into a single transaction and allow users to change the key or authorization rules controlling an account without moving funds to a new address.

Vitalik Buterin, one of the proposal’s authors, said progress had been made on the feature, though the specification remains a draft ahead of its planned 2027 implementation.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Ethereum is advancing a proposal that could remove one of the biggest practical hurdles for users holding stablecoins: needing ETH to pay transaction fees.

Core developers recently scheduled EIP-8141, or Frame Transactions, for inclusion in a major upgrade expected in 2027.

Vitalik Buterin, one of the proposal’s authors, said progress had been made on the feature, though the specification remains a draft ahead of its planned 2027 implementation.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.