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Satheesh Kumar
Satheesh Kumar

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Exploring ERC-4337 Shared Mempools: A Decentralized Future for Account Abstraction on the XDC Network

In the Web3 ecosystem, decentralized applications (dApps) drive innovation, but user experience remains a key barrier to mass adoption. Account abstraction (AA) is a game-changing concept designed to simplify user interactions with blockchain, making them as intuitive as using traditional applications. However, existing implementations of account abstraction often lean on centralized infrastructure, introducing vulnerabilities like system bugs, faulty relayers, and even censorship.

To address these challenges, the concept of ERC-4337 shared mempools has emerged, offering a decentralized approach to handling user operations (UserOps). This article delves into the mechanics and benefits of shared mempools and how they can revolutionize the XDC Network’s account abstraction capabilities.

If you are new to the topic of Account Abstraction refer to my previous articles.
https://www.xdc.dev/satz07/unlocking-blockchain-usability-with-account-abstraction-and-chain-abstraction-on-the-xdc-network-3jk7
https://www.xdc.dev/satz07/unlocking-blockchain-usability-with-account-abstraction-and-chain-abstraction-on-the-xdc-network-3jk7

What Are Shared Mempools in ERC-4337?

ERC-4337 introduced a decentralized architecture for account abstraction, comprising two key innovations:

  1. A separate mempool for managing UserOps from smart contract wallets.
  2. Bundlers, entities responsible for validating and submitting UserOps to the blockchain. Shared mempools enable bundlers to collaborate in a peer-to-peer network, ensuring seamless UserOp processing across different bundlers. By decentralizing the UserOp handling process, shared mempools eliminate single points of failure and censorship risks associated with centralized relayers.

How Shared Mempools Work

1. User Operation Submission:
A user initiates a transaction via a smart account. The transaction is packaged as a UserOp and submitted to a bundler.
2. Peer-to-Peer Propagation:
The bundler validates the UserOp and propagates it to other bundlers connected to the shared mempool through a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.
3. Resilience in Processing:
If one bundler fails (due to bugs, downtime, or malicious behavior), other bundlers in the network pick up the UserOp, ensuring it is processed and added to the blockchain.
4. Canonical and Custom Mempools:
Each blockchain network typically maintains a canonical mempool, adhering strictly to ERC-4337 rules. Bundlers can also establish custom mempools to accommodate specific needs, such as integrating a paymaster for gasless transactions or bypassing certain checks for specialized use cases.

Benefits of Shared Mempools

1. Decentralization:
Shared mempools eliminate the reliance on centralized relayers, enhancing the censorship resistance and trustlessness of account abstraction.
2. Resilience and Redundancy:
The P2P nature of shared mempools ensures that even if some bundlers experience issues, others can take over, reducing the risk of failed transactions.
3. Scalability:
Shared mempools allow bundlers to process UserOps efficiently, enabling higher transaction throughput across the network.
4. Flexibility:
Bundlers can join or leave a shared mempool dynamically and create custom mempools tailored to specific requirements.
5. Improved User Experience:
By enabling features like gasless transactions through paymasters, shared mempools make blockchain interactions smoother and more intuitive, bringing blockchain closer to mainstream usability.

How to Connect a Bundler to Shared Mempools on XDC

1. Unique Mempool IDs:
Each shared mempool is identified by a unique ID, referencing its metadata stored on IPFS.
2. Bundler Configuration:
To connect to a shared mempool, a bundler includes the mempool ID in its metadata. This allows peer bundlers to determine compatibility and share UserOps seamlessly.
3. Canonical Shared Mempool:
Developers can refer to the canonical mempool ID for XDC, which will adhere strictly to ERC-4337 rules, ensuring interoperability with other networks like Ethereum and Goerli.
4. Active Collaboration:
Any of the community can ru the bundlers like Skandha and join the XDC bundler network, enabling a robust ecosystem for UserOp processing.

The Future of Shared Mempools on XDC

As the XDC Network prepares to integrate ERC-4337 shared mempools, it will open up new possibilities for developers and users alike. By decentralizing account abstraction infrastructure and enhancing the reliability of UserOps, XDC can offer a superior user experience and position itself as a leader in blockchain innovation.

With shared mempools and account abstraction, the XDC Network is poised to become a hub for seamless, decentralized interactions, driving mass adoption of Web3 technologies.

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