In today’s NFT craze, ERC-1155 has emerged as a golden standard for marketplaces to list new tokens. Let’s take a look at why ERC-1155 is preferred today.

There are various token standards that can be adopted for trading non-fungible tokens (NFTs). A token standard is used to create and issue smart contracts which specify that an NFT you own on a blockchain is truly unique, and belongs to you only. For many early NFT marketplaces, the ERC-721 (Ethereum Request for Comments 721) was the token standard they used. This was because it was the first popularized NFT token standard, which came to prominence with the CryptoKitties project.

Above: Featuring a CryptoKitty that has an active bid

To better understand why developers prefer ERC-1155, let’s first look at ERC-721.

What is ERC-721?

The ERC-721 token standard was released in January 2018, creating a smart contract standard that could tokenize any asset on the blockchain. It became the most popular standard for NFT Marketplaces to implement, creating platforms for artists to assume ownership of their work. Digital artists could access new revenue streams by listing their digital creations on the blockchain as unique digital assets, and even profit off resale royalties.

Here are some key characteristics of the ERC-721:

• Each ERC-721 token is unique and separate from one another, so you can prove ownership of an NFT on the blockchain.
• The token standard allows you to transfer NFTs between addresses, which means NFTs can be traded for other currencies.
• It is able to track digital ownership of NFTs on the blockchain, so you are able to check where it originated from or who owned it in the past. 

What is ERC-1155?

The ERC-1155 token standard was developed by Enjin – a blockchain tech company that focuses on creating solutions for game developers – to overcome the limitations of both ERC-20 and ERC-721.

Enjin identified a few limitations ERC-721 had and sought to widen its capabilities. They drew ideas from ERC-20 (standard for fungible tokens) and ERC-721 (standard for non-fungible tokens) to create the multi-token standard that is ERC-1155. 

Key Characteristics of ERC-1155

• Unlike ERC-20 and ERC-721 where you had to deploy a smart contract for each fungible or non-fungible token, ERC-1155 provided a way for one smart contract to govern an almost infinite number of tokens.

“Think of this like a vending machine that holds a wide variety of soda, juices, and even snacks. A customer interacts with the machine using a single secure interface (inserting a coin, pressing a button), and the machine dispenses the goodies they have selected.”

~ Quoted from Enjin’s blog

• As a multi-token standard, ERC-1155 not only supports both fungible and non-fungible tokens but also supports the creation of semi-fungible tokens. 

What is a semi-fungible token? A semi-fungible token is able to change its state from being fungible to non-fungible. Let’s think of it like this: in-game currency may be considered a fungible asset since one unit of in-game currency is always equal in value to another. However, once the in-game currency is used to purchase an item or collectible with its own unique properties (such as a rare weapon), it turns into a non-fungible token. ERC-1155 is capable of representing both attributes, unlike its predecessors.

• With ERC-1155, multiple tokens can be transferred in one batch.

Since a single smart contract governs multiple assets, a single transaction can have multiple tokens. This leads to a less congested network (less waiting time) and subsequently lower gas costs up to 90%. 

On the other hand, minting or transacting with an ERC-721 token standard can be slow and inefficient, since each NFT would require a separate transaction. For instance, if you want to transfer a set of 5 NFTs to another address, you have to perform 5 separate transactions, with their corresponding gas costs. 

What does an ERC-1155 Marketplace mean for Digital Creators?

For digital creators who are looking to sell multiple copies of their work and need to mint en masse, it is definitely more cost-efficient and affordable to look for an ERC-1155 NFT Marketplace. 

Moreover, you could sell your artwork as a non-fungible token (i.e., supply is only one), and you could also sell several copies of your artwork as a fungible token. This gives you greater ownership over your work as a creator.

For buyers, an ERC-1155 NFT marketplace provides greater efficiency as compared to an NFT marketplace that implements the ERC-721 standard. This means that you might be able to market your creation to a bigger audience on an ERC-1155 NFT marketplace!

Where can I find ERC-1155 NFT Marketplaces?

If you are a digital creator looking to monetize your art, look no further! 

Niftyzone has its own ERC-1155 NFT Marketplace, providing a space for you to seek new audiences for your art. On top of the aforementioned benefits of using an ERC-1155 NFT Marketplace, we also allow you to specify your desired resale royalties.

At Niftyzone, we value your craft and wish to share it with the NFT Community!

Follow our Twitter and Telegram for more updates on our Marketplace.

For more information regarding the ERC-1155 NFT Marketplace, proceed to our FAQ!