Overview

Overview of the Cobalt hardfork, which brings native account abstraction (EIP-8130) into the Base protocol.

Summary

• Introduce native account abstraction (EIP-8130): accounts configure authorized actors and signature validation onchain, so smart accounts send ordinary transactions
• Apps get portable smart accounts, scoped session keys, atomic batching, and native gas sponsorship without bundler or relay infrastructure

Activation Timestamps

Network	Timestamp	Date
mainnet	TBD	TBD
sepolia	TBD	TBD
vibenet	Active	Previewing today

Cobalt has not been scheduled on mainnet or Sepolia. EIP-8130 is experimental and currently runs only on the vibenet devnet.

Required Software

Node software requirements will be published here once Cobalt is scheduled. To follow along today, connect to vibenet.

Native Account Abstraction (EIP-8130)

Cobalt brings account abstraction into the protocol. An account registers who can act for it, and how its signatures are checked, in an onchain system contract. The chain validates each transaction against that configuration, so smart accounts work without bundlers, relays, or a separate mempool.

• Native Account Abstraction: what it is, how it compares to ERC-4337 and EIP-7702, and what it unlocks
• Native Account Abstraction Reference: chain details, client setup, transaction structure, account configuration, authenticators, and payers