ETHGlobal Prague Celebrates Progress Amid Rising Ethereum Exploits

ETHGlobal Prague 2025 finalists show Web3's creative momentum even as Ethereum's latest upgrade exposes major security risks.

EIP-7702, designed to simplify wallet use, now powers over 80% of wallet-draining attacks due to malicious delegation exploits.

Despite groundbreaking innovations like Karma Proof and Yetris, Ethereum must address urgent security flaws revealed by Pectra’s rollout.

ETHGlobal Prague 2025 showcased breakthrough ideas with 10 finalist projects out of 217, signaling innovation despite rising security risks. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s latest upgrade, Pectra, intended to simplify wallet use, now faces serious concerns. Malicious actors have exploited EIP-7702, a key feature in the upgrade, raising alarms across the ecosystem. Wintermute’s latest analysis reveals over 80% of EIP-7702 delegations support wallet-draining attacks. The situation underlines the tension between innovation and vulnerability within the Ethereum ecosystem.

Innovation Thrives at ETHGlobal Prague

ETHGlobal highlighted ten standout projects pushing Web3 utility forward. Among them, Yetris uses Yellow state channels to prove top scores on-chain with a transferable NFT crown. DUST.OPS offers privacy-preserving cross-chain token sweeping by routing trades through Railgun. Meanwhile, Wrld Map validates travel history using zk-proofs tied to real-world receipts.

Other finalists include Karma Proof, turning real-world actions into on-chain Karma Points and soulbound NFTs. Detox-Hook enhances LP earnings by redirecting MEV profits using Uniswap V4 and Pyth data. Moreover, 0xCollateral enables uncollateralized loans using Web2 credit data—without KYC or identity checks.

Projects like MCPay.fun innovate on HTTP 402, enabling pay-per-use APIs with stablecoins and zero logins. Pomodoki gamifies focus sessions with staking and pet care, using Flow blockchain. Additionally, Conduct.chat and Decycle address collaborative AI workspaces and on-chain trash data cleanup, respectively.

EIP-7702 Creates New Attack Vectors

Despite innovation, Ethereum’s EIP-7702 reveals troubling misuse. Designed for account abstraction and smoother transactions, it enables wallets to temporarily act as smart contracts. Initially proposed by Vitalik Buterin, the feature supports gas sponsorship and improved wallet security.

However, scammers are now exploiting this capability. Wintermute identified “CrimeEnjoyor,” a malicious script using EIP-7702 to drain funds. It now powers the majority of wallet-draining delegations. One wallet lost $150,000 in a phishing attack linked to Inferno Drainer—a scam-as-a-service platform.

Consequently, developers must harden wallet protections before rolling out powerful features Users need clearer awareness of attack vectors. Moreover, ecosystem-wide improvements in smart wallet standards are urgently needed.

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