{
  "$schema": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/schemas/article-v1.json",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "id": "smart-account-paymasters",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/smart-account-paymasters/",
  "collection": "ethereum",
  "title": "Paymasters: who pays for a smart-account operation?",
  "description": "Understand how an ERC-4337 paymaster covers gas under a policy and why gas sponsorship does not mean unlimited free transactions.",
  "aliases": [],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "An ERC-4337 paymaster can agree to cover a user operation’s gas through the EntryPoint, subject to its validation and payment policy. It may sponsor selected actions or charge the user in another way. “Gasless” usually describes the user experience; network execution still has a cost and sponsorship can be refused.",
    "claimId": "smart-account-paymasters-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "eip4337"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Validation",
      "value": "The paymaster participates in validating whether it will cover an operation.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eip4337"
      ],
      "id": "validation",
      "claimId": "smart-account-paymasters-fact-validation"
    },
    {
      "label": "Funding",
      "value": "EntryPoint deposits support paying applicable gas charges.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eip4337"
      ],
      "id": "funding",
      "claimId": "smart-account-paymasters-fact-funding"
    },
    {
      "label": "Policy",
      "value": "Sponsorship conditions are implementation-specific.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eip4337"
      ],
      "id": "policy",
      "claimId": "smart-account-paymasters-fact-policy"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "smart-account-bundlers"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "payer",
      "heading": "Move the payment responsibility, not the computation cost",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eip4337"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "A user can interact without holding native ETH for the immediate gas charge if a suitable paymaster funds the operation. The paymaster may receive compensation elsewhere or treat the charge as a service expense.",
        "This does not remove gas metering or make every smart-account action free. Identify who pays, which operations qualify and whether another token is charged."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "conditions",
      "heading": "Authorization to execute differs from authorization to sponsor",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eip4337"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "An account may validly authorize an operation while the paymaster refuses it because of policy, insufficient funding or changed conditions. Conversely, available sponsorship does not give the paymaster unrestricted authority over the account.",
        "The exact powers depend on the account, paymaster and any allowances or additional contracts involved. Review those relationships rather than the marketing label."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "failure",
      "heading": "Failed work can still create costs",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eip4337"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Validation and execution have distinct stages and accounting rules. Paymasters need to handle the specified post-operation flow and potential execution failure.",
        "A user interface should distinguish a sponsorship rejection from a contract execution revert, and show any user-paid token charge before authorization."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Can a paymaster guarantee that I will never need ETH again?",
      "answer": "No. Coverage depends on the supported account stack, funding and policy for each operation. A service can change or refuse sponsorship.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eip4337"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "smart-account-paymasters-quick-answer",
      "articleSlug": "smart-account-paymasters",
      "statement": "An ERC-4337 paymaster can agree to cover a user operation’s gas through the EntryPoint, subject to its validation and payment policy. It may sponsor selected actions or charge the user in another way. “Gasless” usually describes the user experience; network execution still has a cost and sponsorship can be refused.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-0bc8df50fb6b85e4"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-0bc8df50fb6b85e4",
          "locator": "Specification; Bundlers; Paymasters; Security Considerations"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
        "reviewer": "Codex independent automated reviewer /root/verify_ethereum_100",
        "notes": [
          "Read ERC-4337 paymaster willingness/funding validation, EntryPoint gas deposits, conditional postOp and opReverted gas-payment behavior. Deposits are not confused with locked stakes.",
          "Sponsorship and token compensation are policy-dependent; no limitless gasless claim or inherent paymaster signing authority is asserted."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "smart-account-paymasters-fact-validation",
      "articleSlug": "smart-account-paymasters",
      "statement": "Validation: The paymaster participates in validating whether it will cover an operation.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-0bc8df50fb6b85e4"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-0bc8df50fb6b85e4",
          "locator": "Specification; Bundlers; Paymasters; Security Considerations"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
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      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
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        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
        "reviewer": "Codex independent automated reviewer /root/verify_ethereum_100",
        "notes": [
          "Read ERC-4337 paymaster willingness/funding validation, EntryPoint gas deposits, conditional postOp and opReverted gas-payment behavior. Deposits are not confused with locked stakes.",
          "Sponsorship and token compensation are policy-dependent; no limitless gasless claim or inherent paymaster signing authority is asserted."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "smart-account-paymasters-fact-funding",
      "articleSlug": "smart-account-paymasters",
      "statement": "Funding: EntryPoint deposits support paying applicable gas charges.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-0bc8df50fb6b85e4"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-0bc8df50fb6b85e4",
          "locator": "Specification; Bundlers; Paymasters; Security Considerations"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
        "reviewer": "Codex independent automated reviewer /root/verify_ethereum_100",
        "notes": [
          "Read ERC-4337 paymaster willingness/funding validation, EntryPoint gas deposits, conditional postOp and opReverted gas-payment behavior. Deposits are not confused with locked stakes.",
          "Sponsorship and token compensation are policy-dependent; no limitless gasless claim or inherent paymaster signing authority is asserted."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "smart-account-paymasters-fact-policy",
      "articleSlug": "smart-account-paymasters",
      "statement": "Policy: Sponsorship conditions are implementation-specific.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-0bc8df50fb6b85e4"
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      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-0bc8df50fb6b85e4",
          "locator": "Specification; Bundlers; Paymasters; Security Considerations"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
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        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
        "reviewer": "Codex independent automated reviewer /root/verify_ethereum_100",
        "notes": [
          "Read ERC-4337 paymaster willingness/funding validation, EntryPoint gas deposits, conditional postOp and opReverted gas-payment behavior. Deposits are not confused with locked stakes.",
          "Sponsorship and token compensation are policy-dependent; no limitless gasless claim or inherent paymaster signing authority is asserted."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "eip4337",
      "label": "Account Abstraction Using Alt Mempool",
      "publisher": "Ethereum Improvement Proposals",
      "url": "https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-4337",
      "locator": "Specification; Bundlers; Paymasters; Security Considerations",
      "note": "User operations, bundler transaction submission and paymaster validation.",
      "version": "EIP/ERC-4337; retrieved document hash recorded",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:42.486Z",
      "contentSha256": "ba69db925f98b811c8b73915af67c25fa70fc8d5d8c8f2c4166ab376e0fcb115",
      "recordId": "source-0bc8df50fb6b85e4"
    }
  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "ethereum-gas-fees",
      "smart-account-bundlers",
      "ethereum-wallet-requests"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and independent automated verification."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Paymasters: who pays for a smart-account operation?.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/smart-account-paymasters/"
}