Ethereum to allow gas fees without holding ETH by 2027

Ethereum’s 2027 Hegotá upgrade will let users pay gas fees with ERC-20 tokens, not just ETH, via EIP-8141 Frame Transactions. Apps or sponsors can cover fees, making Ethereum more accessible.

Ethereum is planning a major protocol upgrade, known as the Hegotá hard fork, set for 2027. This update will let users pay gas fees without needing to hold ETH, thanks to EIP-8141, which introduces Frame Transactions. These new transactions split operations into programmable frames for validation, gas payment, and execution. With this change, users can pay gas fees using ERC-20 tokens like USDC, or have applications and third parties sponsor their fees. This aims to make Ethereum more user-friendly, especially for newcomers and dApp users, by removing the requirement to hold ETH for transactions. Validators will still receive fees in ETH, but how that ETH is managed will depend on wallet and app support. The proposal is still in draft form and may change before the 2027 Hegotá upgrade. This innovation is expected to simplify Ethereum interactions for millions of users.