Understanding ERC-7710: The Delegation Standard

February 12, 2026 — Sam DevRel

A deep dive into how ERC-7710 enables account-to-account delegations with cryptographic proof. Perfect for AI agent wallet infrastructure.

What is ERC-7710?

ERC-7710 defines a standard way for one account to delegate specific permissions to another account. Think of it as a "permission slip" that's verifiable onchain.

Key Insight: Unlike simple approvals (ERC-20 approve), ERC-7710 delegations are scoped, time-limited, and revocable without gas in many implementations.

Why Do AI Agents Need This?

When you give an AI agent access to your wallet, you're trusting it with:

Your funds (potentially all of them)
Your identity (it can sign messages as you)
Your reputation (it can interact with any dapp)

Without ERC-7710, you have two bad options:

Share your private key → Full compromise if leaked
Give unlimited approval → Agent can drain approved tokens

ERC-7710 lets you say: "You can spend up to 0.1 ETH on Uniswap, until Friday, and I can revoke this instantly."

Core Concepts

1. Delegations

A delegation is a signed permission grant from Account A to Account B:

{
  "delegator": "0xAlice...",
  "delegate": "0xAgentBot...",
  "permissions": [...],
  "expiry": 1708992000,
  "nonce": 42
}

2. Permission Scopes

Permissions can be granular:

Asset limits — "max 100 USDC"
Contract restrictions — "only Uniswap Router"
Function restrictions — "only swap(), not approve()"
Time windows — "only weekdays 9am-5pm"

3. Revocation

The delegator can revoke at any time by:

Onchain revocation (immediate, costs gas)
Nonce invalidation (batch revoke all delegations)
Expiry (automatic, no action needed)

How It Works with ERC-7702

ERC-7702 lets your regular wallet (EOA) temporarily become a smart contract. Combined with ERC-7710:

Your wallet "upgrades" to smart account mode
You sign an ERC-7710 delegation to an agent
The agent uses the delegation to transact on your behalf
Permission checks happen in the smart contract code
If the agent exceeds limits, the transaction reverts

Real Example: Trading Agent

You want an AI to rebalance your portfolio:

Delegation:
  Delegate: 0xTradingAgent
  Permissions:
    - Asset: USDC, Limit: 1000
    - Asset: ETH, Limit: 0.5
    - Contracts: [Uniswap, Aave]
    - Functions: [swap, supply, withdraw]
  Expiry: 7 days
  Revocation: Immediate via nonce bump

The agent can now:

✅ Swap up to 1000 USDC on Uniswap
✅ Supply ETH to Aave
❌ Cannot send funds to random addresses
❌ Cannot spend more than limits
❌ Cannot interact with unknown contracts

ERC-7715: The Permission Language

ERC-7710 defines the delegation structure. ERC-7715 defines how to express complex permissions:

Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT)
Conditional rules (if balance > X, then allow Y)
Rate limits (max N transactions per hour)

Together, they create a complete permission system for autonomous agents.