Ethereum users could eventually pay gas fees with stablecoins instead of keeping ETH in their wallets. Core developers have scheduled EIP-8141, known as Frame Transactions, for the Hegotá upgrade targeted for 2027, although the proposal remains a draft. The change could simplify transactions, support sponsored fees and remove a familiar hurdle for people entering the Ethereum ecosystem.
Rethinking gas payments
Frame Transactions would redesign how an Ethereum transaction works by separating validation, gas payment and execution into individual contract-call “frames.” Currently, one signed transaction handles all three, with ETH required to cover the network fee.
Separating the fee frame from the signature frame could allow users to pay gas with assets such as stablecoins without relying on a third-party service. Applications could also sponsor transaction fees for their users, while the proposal supports features including key rotation and batching several actions into one transaction.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is one of ten authors behind EIP-8141. On September 6, he said progress on Frames had been happening quietly over the previous few months. Core developers moved the proposal from “Considered for Inclusion” to “Scheduled for Inclusion” on August 27. That gives EIP-8141 a formal place in Hegotá alongside FOCIL, but does not guarantee its final form or mainnet deployment.
Remaining work before launch
Before Frame Transactions can launch, Ethereum clients must implement the technology, test networks need to run it, wallets must add support and the code has to undergo security reviews. Developers are also comparing EIP-8141 with competing account-abstraction proposal EIP-8130.
Technical questions remain around denial-of-service risks and how Frame Transactions would operate in Ethereum’s mempool. Hegotá itself is still being planned for 2027, following the Glamsterdam upgrade expected in late 2026.
Allowing stablecoin gas payments could reduce some demand for ETH held purely to cover fees. Validators would still receive fees in ETH, however, preserving the cryptocurrency’s settlement role. Until testing and implementation progress further, Frame Transactions remain a significant Ethereum engineering proposal rather than a live change to mainnet gas payments.
