Overpass: DOT Gateway to Ethereum

Hi everyone,

The Fusion3 team and I would like to introduce Overpass, a new initiative we’ve started developing with the goal of making access to the Ethereum ecosystem significantly more seamless for Polkadot users.

Context

We believe Polkadot users would gain value from easier, more direct access to Ethereum applications. With reliable bridges now available between Polkadot and Ethereum, the timing is right to meaningfully improve this experience.

Thanks to ERC-4337 (Account Abstraction) on the Ethereum side, it is possible to abstract gas payments entirely. This opens the door for Polkadot users to interact with Ethereum applications without needing to acquire or manage ETH, and instead use assets they already hold in the Polkadot ecosystem (such as DOT).

Our goal with Overpass is to make the experience feel familiar to Polkadot users:

  • no complicated setup

  • no need to buy ETH just to start using applications

Instead, users should be able to bridge assets and begin interacting with Ethereum dApps through a smooth, guided onboarding flow.

Some of the use cases we’re particularly excited about include access to:

  • blue-chip DeFi protocols

  • prediction markets

  • major Ethereum applications such as Aave, Polymarket, Uniswap, and others

We’ve been part of the Polkadot ecosystem for more than three years, largely because we believe in a multi-chain future rather than chain maximalism. Overpass builds on the progress made across ecosystems in recent years, with the aim of enabling a more connected and user-friendly cross-chain experience.

Proposed Approach

Overpass is designed to operate through a set of smart contracts deployed on Ethereum.

At a high level, the flow works as follows:

  1. A user transfers DOT (or another supported asset) from Polkadot to Ethereum using Hyperbridge intents.

  2. The bridged assets are sent directly to a deterministically derived Ethereum smart account address that is not yet deployed.

  3. When the user is ready to start using Overpass, their smart account is deployed on Ethereum and the deposited assets are moved into the Overpass vault.

  4. This deployment and the initial interaction are sponsored by the Overpass Paymaster, provided the account transfers funds into the vault and has sufficient value to cover gas costs.

From the user’s perspective, the flow is simple:
bridge assets → start using Ethereum — without holding ETH.

Gas Abstraction & Vault Model

The Overpass vault manages user balances and gas abstraction:

  • A small fee is taken from each deposit to support long-term sustainability.

  • A portion of the deposit is allocated as gas credit.

  • The remaining balance is tracked as the user’s spendable balance.

As long as gas credit is available, the Overpass Paymaster covers transaction fees from its ETH pool, allowing the user’s smart account to interact with Ethereum applications without holding ETH directly.

The spendable balance remains fully usable within the Ethereum ecosystem. Users can:

  • transfer assets

  • supply liquidity

  • trade on DEXs

  • participate in prediction markets

  • interact with other Ethereum applications as they wish

We believe Overpass can become a useful piece of infrastructure for Polkadot users who want access to Ethereum without additional friction, and we’d appreciate thoughts, questions, or early feedback from the community.

Thanks for reading.

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Is it designed to come on OpenGov ?

Or is it just an introduction of a solution to go live soon ?

This is an early introduction to the project, with the goal of gathering thoughts and feedback from the community.

It could potentially go to OpenGov if the community is aligned, as we believe this initiative could provide meaningful value.

I think it could be an interesting one.

I don’t know to what extent it could be supported but for Defi apps it’s interesting.

Have you considered to get in touch with Velocity Labs?

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Yeah, one of the biggest benefits would be access to Ethereum’s DeFi.

I’ve just reached out. Depending on the status of the DeFi bounty, this could potentially be supported by it.

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