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The Subscription Economy Meets Crypto

Crypto has unlocked global value transfer - anyone, anywhere can receive payments. But there’s a critical gap: recurring payments.

Traditional Finance

Stripe and PayPal process >1% of world GDP through subscriptions

Crypto Today

Only push payments - no native subscription infrastructure
Source: Stripe crosses $1 trillion in payments

The Technical Challenge

Why Crypto Subscriptions Are Hard

Bitcoin’s scripting language isn’t Turing-complete - it can’t execute recurring payment logic on-chain.Only solution: Give your private key to a custodial service 😬Problem: That’s just rebuilding Stripe with extra steps.
Traditional payments: Pull-based (merchant pulls funds)
Crypto payments: Push-based (user must initiate)
The dilemma: Who triggers recurring payments if users must approve each one? If we automate it, doesn’t that require custody? If we make it custodial, aren’t we just recreating centralized finance?

The Ideal Solution Requirements

1

Self-custody

Users maintain control of their funds at all times
2

Censorship-resistant

No central authority can block transactions
3

Permissionless

Anyone can build or use it
4

Decentralized

No single point of failure or control
5

Secure

Smart contracts handle payments safely
The answer: Account Abstraction (ERC-4337) ✨

How Account Abstraction Solves It

Traditional wallets (EOAs):
  • User must manually approve every transaction
  • Can’t automate recurring payments
  • Push-only model
For subscriptions, you need:
  • Automated execution at intervals
  • User maintains control
  • No custodial service

Real-World Applications

SaaS Subscriptions

Monthly software payments in stablecoins

Content Memberships

Creators receive recurring support

Utility Bills

Automated payments for services

Streaming Services

Netflix-style subscription model

Payroll

Automated team payments

DeFi Strategies

Recurring DCA purchases

Industry Validation

Visa's Auto-Payments Proposal

Major payment networks are recognizing the need for crypto subscription infrastructure

Ready to Build?

1

Test the system

Try recurring payments for free before going live
2

Integrate into your app

Add subscription payments to your product
3

Start accepting recurring revenue

Launch your subscription business on Ethereum

Get Started


Learn More

Account Abstraction transforms Ethereum accounts into programmable smart contracts, enabling features like:
  • Automated transactions
  • Gasless transactions
  • Social recovery
  • Session keys
  • Batch operations
Read EIP-4337 →
Yes. Security features include: - User sets spending limits - Payments limited to approved merchants - Frequency restrictions enforced on-chain - User can cancel anytime - Smart contracts are audited - All code open source
Traditional approach (bad): Service holds your private key
Account Abstraction (good): You control keys, smart contract enforces rules
You never give up custody - you just pre-approve specific actions within strict parameters.