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Smart Account

Smart Accounts extend your EOA wallet with ERC-4337 Account Abstraction capabilities — batch transactions, gas abstraction, session keys, and programmable rules. Built on Alchemy’s audited LightAccount contract. For an overview of how Smart Accounts fit into the wallet architecture, see Wallet Architecture. This page goes deeper into the specific features.

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How It Works

When you deploy a Smart Account:

1. Your EOA wallet stays unchanged — same address, same balances, same functionality
2. A LightAccount smart contract is deployed on your chosen chain
3. Your EOA becomes the owner of that contract
4. You now have two accounts — the original EOA and the new Smart Account
5. The Smart Account has its own address and can hold its own assets

The Smart Account is a contract account — its behavior is defined by code rather than a single private key. This is what enables batch transactions, gas abstraction, and session keys.

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Batch Transactions

Execute multiple operations in a single atomic transaction. All succeed or all revert — no partial execution. Why this matters for agents:

• Swap USDC to ETH and transfer ETH to a recipient in one transaction
• Approve a token and deposit into a vault atomically
• Reduce gas costs by combining operations
• Eliminate the risk of one step succeeding while another fails

Example use case: An agent performing a DeFi strategy that requires approve → swap → deposit. Without batching, a failure at the deposit step leaves the agent with swapped tokens in an unintended state. With batching, the entire sequence either completes or reverts cleanly.

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Gas Abstraction

With a standard EOA, your agent needs native tokens (ETH, MATIC, etc.) on every chain just to pay for gas — even if your agent only works with stablecoins. Gas abstraction eliminates this friction. What gas abstraction enables:

• Pay gas in stablecoins — use USDC for gas instead of managing ETH balances
• Sponsor gas — a paymaster covers gas fees on behalf of your agent
• Eliminate gas management — your agent doesn’t need to maintain native token balances across chains

This is particularly useful for agent deployments where funding and monitoring native token balances on multiple chains adds operational complexity.

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Session Keys

Session keys provide time-limited, scoped access to Smart Account operations. Instead of granting full wallet control, you create a temporary key that can only perform specific operations within a specific time window. Parameters you can set:

• Duration — how long the session key is valid (hours, days)
• Allowed operations — which wallet operations the key can perform (transfers only, swaps only, etc.)
• Spending limits — maximum amount per transaction or per session
• Token restrictions — which tokens the key can interact with

Use case: Grant a specific agent 24-hour access to swap up to 100 USDC, with no ability to transfer funds out. When the session expires, access is automatically revoked.

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Programmable Rules

Define on-chain rules that constrain what the Smart Account can do:

• Maximum transaction value — cap the amount per operation
• Allowlisted addresses — restrict which addresses the account can send to
• Token restrictions — limit which tokens the account can interact with
• Time-based constraints — only allow operations during specific time windows

These rules are enforced by the smart contract itself — they can’t be bypassed by the agent or by any API call. They’re on-chain guarantees.

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Deploying a Smart Account

Deployment is self-service through the MCP Server, AI Assistant, or Web App:

1. Choose a chain — select which EVM chain to deploy on (e.g., Base, Ethereum, Polygon)
2. Ensure gas availability — your EOA must hold enough native tokens on that chain to cover deployment gas
3. Deploy — trigger deployment through your preferred interface
4. Fund the Smart Account — transfer assets from your EOA or external sources

After deployment, both your EOA and Smart Account continue to function. Use the EOA for simple operations and the Smart Account when you need batch transactions, gas abstraction, or session keys.

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When to Use a Smart Account

Rule of thumb: if your agent does straightforward transfers, swaps, and payments, an EOA is all you need. Consider a Smart Account when you need atomicity, gas flexibility, or scoped access.