ERC Standard Infomation
Support Information
ERC Standard
ERC-721
The ERC-721 token standard represents a single unique asset that cannot be interchanged. ERC-721 tokens represent a complete asset, such as a certificate or tokenized good, that cannot be divided. Each ERC-721 token holds its own unique contract values, such as a skillfully programmed piece of art, or ownership and identity details of a tokenized real-world asset such as a house. Though there is complete flexibility in the creation of a token, ERC-721 are solid in terms of immutability, transparency of ownership, and security. In being unique, ERC-721 tokens are commonly referred to as being “non-fungible”, hence they are non-fungible tokens (NFT).
ERC-1155
ERC-1155, brings the idea of semi-fungibility to the NFT world as well as it provides a superset of ERC-721 functionality, meaning that an ERC-721 asset could be built using ERC-1155. This standard outlines a smart contract interface that can represent any number of fungible and non-fungible token types. Existing standards such as ERC-20 require deployment of separate contracts per token type. The ERC-721 standard’s token ID is a single non-fungible index and the group of these non-fungibles is deployed as a single contract with settings for the entire collection. In contrast, the ERC-1155 Multi Token Standard allows for each token ID to represent a new configurable token type, which may have its own metadata, supply and other attributes.
Why ERC-1155
The ERC-1155 token standard could see much more prominent use than the ERC-721 token standard in the near future, thanks to its additional features. Both allow you to be able to mint new NFTs, but there are some key differences:
ERC-1155 permits the creation of both semi-fungible tokens and non-fungible tokens, whereas ERC-721 permits only the latter. An additional feature of ERC-1155 is that it supports the creation of semi-fungible tokens. SFTs trade as fungible tokens, but once redeemed, they convert into NFTs.
Currently, the minting of SFT occurs only on the Ethereum network using Ethereum’s EIP-1155 standard. The EIP-1155 standard on the network is a combination of EIP-20 (fungible) and EIP-721 (non-fungible) standards.
Most SFTs are being used in metaverse games for in-game assets. Still, the ability to use a single smart contract for fungible and non-fungible assets can lower transaction time and fees substantially.
For example, Imagine that you have a concert ticket for your favourite band. Before the concert takes place, you can exchange the concert ticket for another ticket for the same show, if the seating is in the same area. At this time, the concert ticket is a fungible asset. After watching the concert, the ticket does not have a traditional monetary value. Instead, it becomes collectable or memorabilia with a different value than what it had when it was bought.
Another major feature of this multi-token standard is it supports both fungible and non-fungible tokens - because of its ability to support multiple states - on the same address and contract. In practical terms, this means you can make in-game payments using a fungible token on that address and simultaneously transfer unique NFT assets as well.
ERC-1155 smart contracts support an infinite number of tokens, whereas ERC-721 needs a new smart contract for each type of token.
ERC-1155 also allows batch transfers of tokens, which can reduce transaction costs and times. With ERC-721, if you want to send multiple tokens, they happen individually.
ERC-1155, smart contracts are linked to multiple URI and do not store additional metadata (such as file names). In comparison, ERC-721 only supports static metadata stored directly on the smart contract for each token ID. Increasing deployment costs and limiting flexibility.
Lastly, token transfers on this standard can be reverted in the event of a mistake. On the ERC-721 standard, you can’t reclaim assets if they are sent to the wrong address. However, ERC-1155 contains a function that addresses this. The safe transfer function and a number of other rules are in place to prevent exploitation.
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