What is EIP-7702? The Ethereum Upgrade Behind the $6.4B Binance Hack
Summary
EIP-7702, introduced in Ethereum’s May 2025 Pectra upgrade, lets existing wallets temporarily execute smart-contract code without changing their address. It enables features such as account recovery and alternative fee payment, but delegated code can access wallet funds. Within weeks, over 80% of observed delegations reportedly pointed to malicious wallet-draining contracts. In an October 2026 theft of about $6.4 billion from Binance wallets across 10 blockchains, attackers used EIP-7702 to drain an Ethereum hot wallet after obtaining 50 signed authorizations. Reports attributed the breach to compromised Binance signing infrastructure, not an Ethereum protocol flaw. The proposal is an early step toward broader Ethereum account abstraction.
