Ethereum ERC-1155 standard – NFT

Ethereum ERC-1155 is a standard for creating and managing both fungible and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain. It was proposed to improve upon the ERC-20 and ERC-721 standards for creating and managing fungible and non-fungible tokens, respectively.

The ERC-1155 standard allows for the creation of a single smart contract that can manage both fungible and non-fungible tokens. This allows for more efficient handling of token ownership and transfer, as well as the ability to bundle different types of tokens together in a single transaction.

The standard defines a set of smart contract functions that must be implemented in order for a token to be considered an ERC-1155 token. These functions include:

  • balanceOf(address _owner, uint256 _id): Returns the balance of a specific token type owned by a specific address.
  • ownerOf(uint256 _id): Returns the address that owns a specific token.
  • transfer(address _to, uint256[] _ids, uint256[] _values): Transfers ownership of a specific token from one address to another.

The ERC-1155 standard also allows for the creation of “safe” transactions, which allow for the execution of multiple transfers in a single transaction, with the ability to rollback the entire transaction in case of failure.

An example of a project that uses ERC-1155 standard is Enjin, which is a gaming platform that allows developers to create and manage NFTs, as well as fungible tokens (like in-game currencies) in a single smart contract.

Ethereum ERC-1155 is a standard for creating and managing both fungible and non-fungible tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. It allows for the creation of a single smart contract that can manage both fungible and non-fungible tokens, and it enables more efficient handling of token ownership and transfer, as well as the ability to bundle different types of tokens together in a single transaction.

What differentiate ERC-1155 from ERC-721

Token type, Batching, Gas cost

ERC-1155 and ERC-721 are both standards for creating and managing tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, but they have some key differences:

  • Token types: ERC-721 is a standard for creating and managing non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are unique digital assets that cannot be exchanged for an identical item. ERC-1155, on the other hand, allows for the creation of both fungible and non-fungible tokens within the same smart contract. Fungible tokens, like ERC-20, are interchangeable and can be divided into smaller units.
  • Batching and safe transactions: ERC-1155 allows for the execution of multiple token transfers in a single transaction, which can be useful in certain use cases, such as gaming or collectible applications, where multiple items need to be transferred at once. Additionally, ERC-1155 also allows for “safe” transactions, which allow for the execution of multiple transfers in a single transaction, with the ability to rollback the entire transaction in case of failure. ERC-721, on the other hand, typically requires a separate transaction for each token transfer.
  • Token ID: ERC-721 tokens are identified by a unique token ID, and the smart contract functions only accept a single token ID, whereas ERC-1155 tokens can be identified by an ID and a class ID which allows for the contract to have multiple types of tokens in the same contract.
  • Gas cost: ERC-1155 can be more cost-efficient than ERC-721 when it comes to gas cost, as it allows for multiple token transfers in a single transaction, thus reducing the number of transactions and the overall gas cost.

In summary, ERC-1155 is more flexible than ERC-721 as it allows for the creation of both fungible and non-fungible tokens within the same smart contract, also allows for batching and safe transactions, and it can be more cost-efficient. However, ERC-721 is a simpler standard and it is more widely adopted and understood, which can make it easier to integrate into existing systems.