What is ERC
ERC stands for "Ethereum Request for Comments". It is a technical standard used for smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. ERC standards are designed to improve interoperability between different applications built on the Ethereum blockchain by ensuring that they all follow a set of rules and guidelines.
ERC standards define the rules for creating, deploying, and interacting with smart contracts. For example, the ERC-20 standard defines the basic set of functions that an Ethereum token must implement to be considered an ERC-20 token. This ensures that ERC-20 tokens are compatible with each other and can be traded on decentralized exchanges and other platforms that support the standard.
There are many ERC standards, each with its own set of rules and guidelines. Some of the most popular ERC standards include ERC-20, ERC-721 (for non-fungible tokens), ERC-1155 (for multi-token contracts), and ERC-777 (for improved token transfer functionality).
What is ERC-20?
ERC-20 is a technical standard for tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. It is a set of rules and guidelines that define how new tokens can be created on the Ethereum network and how those tokens can be transferred between accounts. ERC-20 tokens are fungible, meaning that each token is interchangeable with every other token of the same type and value. This makes them useful for creating digital assets such as utility tokens, security tokens, and other types of tokens. ERC-20 tokens have become the most common type of token on the Ethereum network and are used by a wide range of projects, including many popular cryptocurrencies and decentralized applications (dApps).
What is ERC-721?
ERC-721 is a non-fungible token (NFT) standard on the Ethereum blockchain. Unlike ERC-20 tokens, which are interchangeable and represent units of value, each ERC-721 token is unique and has its own distinct value. This makes ERC-721 tokens well-suited for representing assets such as collectibles, real estate, and other unique items.
ERC-721 tokens are managed by smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, which define the ownership and transfer rules for each token. This allows developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) that utilize unique, verifiable assets with their own provenance and history.
The ERC-721 standard was proposed by William Entriken, Dieter Shirley, Jacob Evans, and Nastassia Sachs in 2018, and has since been widely adopted by NFT projects on the Ethereum blockchain.
What is ERC-777?
ERC-777 is a newer token standard for Ethereum that aims to improve upon the widely used ERC-20 token standard. One of the main differences between ERC-777 and ERC-20 is that ERC-777 tokens can support advanced features such as token hooks and operator overloading.
Token hooks allow smart contracts to be triggered when certain events occur, such as a token transfer, which can help enable more complex token functionalities. Operator overloading, on the other hand, allows for more flexible authorization and delegation of token transactions.
Overall, ERC-777 is designed to be more efficient and versatile than ERC-20, while still maintaining compatibility with existing ERC-20 applications and infrastructure.
What is ERC-1155?
ERC-1155 is a token standard on the Ethereum blockchain that allows for the creation of fungible and non-fungible tokens within the same smart contract. It was proposed in 2018 as a more efficient and flexible alternative to the existing ERC-20 and ERC-721 token standards.
ERC-1155 tokens are unique because they can represent both fungible (identical and interchangeable) and non-fungible (unique and distinct) assets within a single contract, which makes them highly versatile. This is achieved through the use of a new type of data structure called a "semi-fungible" token, which combines elements of both fungible and non-fungible tokens.
Semi-fungible tokens have a unique ID that distinguishes them from each other, but also allow for multiple instances of the same ID to be created. This makes them ideal for representing assets such as in-game items or collectibles, where there may be multiple identical copies of an item but each one has its own unique attributes and value.
In addition to their flexibility, ERC-1155 tokens are also more gas-efficient than their predecessors, meaning that they require less computational power to execute transactions on the Ethereum network. This makes them an attractive option for developers who want to create complex token ecosystems while minimizing costs and optimizing performance.