ARCIPEDIA · ON-CHAIN · INTERMEDIATE

Plain English

An Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) is a formal document that describes a proposed change to Ethereum — new opcodes, fee mechanism updates, standards like ERC-20. Famous ones: EIP-1559 (fee market reform), EIP-4337 (account abstraction), EIP-4844 (proto-danksharding/blobs).

How it actually works

EIPs go through a defined process: Draft → Review → Last Call → Final, or Stagnant if abandoned. Core EIPs change the protocol itself and require client implementations + a hard fork. ERC (Ethereum Request for Comment) EIPs are application standards like ERC-20 (fungible tokens) and ERC-721 (NFTs) — they do not require a fork, just developer adoption.

What it means for you

Watching the EIP pipeline gives you a forward look at where Ethereum is headed. Account abstraction (EIP-4337) is enabling smart-contract wallets at scale. EIP-7702 (Pectra) brought programmable EOAs in 2025. For an HNW holder, knowing which EIPs are landing — and what they enable — is the difference between strategic positioning and reactive scrambling.

Will this information be valuable to you?

Already a member? Send this term to your coach inside the community and tell them exactly what you need help with — we will build a plan around it.

New here? Join the membership, become a student, or sit in on the community. Your starting point is one short call.

Hop on a call →

← Back to ARCipedia

Educational content only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice.