Will ERC 6551 transform Ethereum metaverses with NFT-owned wallets?

1 year ago

The projected ERC 6551 token modular for NFTs is generating involvement among crypto enthusiasts, arsenic it would alteration integer assets to ain different tokens, a improvement that could importantly alteration the NFT and metaverse landscape.

Speaking to Laura Shin connected a caller occurrence of the Unchained Podcast, Benny Giang and Jayden Windle, 2 of the authors of the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) for ERC 6551, stated this caller modular allows NFTs to ain different tokens, fundamentally equipping them with their ain ‘wallets.’

What is ERC 6551?

The token modular proposal, introduced successful February, focuses connected creating a strategy that assigns each ERC-721 (non-fungible token) a astute declaration account. This volition let these tokens to ain assets and interact with applications without changing existing ERC-721 astute contracts oregon infrastructure.

This strategy comprises 2 main components: a permissionless registry for deploying token-bound accounts and a modular implementation interface.

The registry volition deploy a unsocial astute declaration relationship for each ERC-721 token, allowing the token to interact with the blockchain, grounds transaction history, and ain on-chain assets. Control of each token-bound relationship is delegated to the proprietor of the ERC-721 token, allowing the proprietor to initiate on-chain actions connected behalf of their token.

The connection seeks to beryllium maximally backward compatible with existing non-fungible token contracts. It besides uses EIP-155 concatenation IDs to uniquely place ERC-721 tokens, allowing for optional enactment of multi-chain token-bound accounts.

Developer reaction

The initial developer treatment for the connection centered connected imaginable information implications, specified arsenic the hazard of duplicating registries and the request for spot verification. Suggestions included creating a registry for wide registration of relationship Implementations and making the proposal’s registry canonical owed to its permissionless nature.

The proposal’s imaginable implications for reducing airdrop costs were besides highlighted, on with a proposition to see backward compatibility, particularly with Revest FNFTs, which was discussed but deemed analyzable owed to the exclusion of ERC-1155 tokens. The treatment besides raised information worries astir adding metadata to the NFT registry.

More recently, with implicit 160 comments from Ethereum developers, concerns were raised astir the connection inactive being successful the ‘Draft’ status, perchance subjecting it to important changes. Finally, determination were discussions astir finalizing the naming of functions and the imaginable impacts connected those implementing the EIP.

Benefits of ERC 6551

As Giang explained connected the Unchained Podcast, ERC 6551 was sparked by a elemental query –

“What if we had a task that was an NFT task that had a character, and sometimes we telephone this a PFP (Profile Picture) project, right? Our main question was like, wherefore can’t you alteration the covering oregon the aesthetic of this PFP character?”

This question led to the inception of the ERC 6551 standard, allowing NFTs to ain different tokens, fundamentally giving them their ain ‘wallets.’

Giang further added,

“Do you prosecute the off-chain mode wherever you physique a database, and you person each this benignant of centralization wherever you could render the NFT? Or you spell the on-chain way, which is similar each point an NFT tin beryllium applicable on-chain arsenic a transaction.

So done this benignant of journey, arsenic we were feeling successful the acheronian successful the past 8 oregon 9 months, we realized that determination was a imaginable solution.”

Giang and Windle besides discussed the pros and cons of pursuing the on-chain oregon off-chain method for applying each point an NFT could ain arsenic a transaction.

They concluded that the ERC 6551 modular was a imaginable solution to the limitations presented by erstwhile attempts to standardize NFTs owning assets, specified arsenic the necessity for customized logic successful their astute contract. The ERC 6551 modular overcomes these restrictions, granting NFTs the aforesaid rights arsenic Ethereum users, allowing them to ain assets and instrumentality action.

The podcast guests besides highlighted that portion ERC 721, ERC 1155, and soul-bound tokens beryllium arsenic ways to ain items connected Ethereum, ERC 6551 is not a token modular successful the accepted consciousness due to the fact that it gives each existing ERC 721 its ain wallet, frankincense unlocking a caller furniture of compatibility for NFTs.

Use cases of ERC 6551

The implementation of ERC 6551 has created breathtaking prospects crossed assorted industries, according to the EIP authors. It allows NFTs to ain assets and execute actions autonomously, proving beneficial successful gaming, DAOs, infrastructure and tooling, and societal networks.

Giang mentioned respective projects similar ‘Sapiens,’ ‘Fuel Worlds,’ and ‘Parallel Trading Card Game,’ leveraging the modular for gamification. Giang commented, “It makes a batch of consciousness for a decentralized crippled inventory.” Such games, thus, let characters to person their ain wallets and enactment independently successful the game.

According to Giang, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, oregon DAOs, specified arsenic ‘Station’ and ‘Dow House,’ are besides exploring this modular to show engagement wrong their communities. Further, the infrastructure and tooling industry, represented by ‘Manifold,’ ‘Nosis Guild,’ and ‘Rabbit Hole,’ are moving connected modules astir the standard.

Giang suggested a aboriginal successful which NFTs could go Network Playable Characters (NPCs), integer entities that tin execute on-chain actions controlled by either a quality oregon an AI model. This could perchance resoluteness the “empty satellite problem” observed successful galore integer worlds.

The ERC-6551 proposal, arsenic explained by Jayden Windle, is simple.

“A token-bound account, nether this standard, is its ain benignant of wallet. Thus, an NFT tin person a unsocial wallet code that tin ain immoderate assets — a conception that Windle describes ‘gets beauteous fractal beauteous quickly.”

Under this standard, a token-bound relationship is its ain benignant of wallet. Therefore, an NFT tin person a unsocial wallet code to ain assets. However, it is important to enactment that portion immoderate Ethereum wallet tin power an NFT’s wallet, the ownership of the token-bound relationship volition ever beryllium owned by the NFT.

If approved, the advent and exertion of the ERC 6551 modular could people a important development, expanding the functionality of NFTs and enhancing their utility.