ERC 1155 Defined: What are ERC-1155 tokens?

ERC-1155 is a digital token standard created by Enjin that can used to create both fungible (currencies) and non-fungible (digital cards, pets and in-game skins) assets on the Ethereum Network. By using the Ethereum network, ERC-1155 tokens are secure, tradable and immune to hacking. To find out more about the specifications of the ERC-1155 standard, check out EIP 1155.

ERC-1155 a new way of creating tokens that allow for more efficient trades and bundling of transactions – thus saving costs. This token standard allows for the creation of both utility tokens (such as $BNB or $BAT) and also Non-Fungible Tokens like CryptoKitties.

For more information about the creators of ERC-1155, check out our Enjin Coin Guide.

ERC-1155 includes optimizations that allow for more efficient and safer transactions. Transactions could be bundled together – thus reducing the cost of transferring tokens. ERC-1155 builds on previous work such as ERC-20 (utility tokens) and ERC-721 (rare one-time collectibles).

Summary

• ERC-1155 tokens were developed by Enjin.
• It is a way of creating both fungible (currencies) and non-fungible (digital cards, pets and in-game skins) assets.
• They can be used to represent assets or items across Enjin’s ecosystem of blockchain games. So one asset can be used in multiple games.

What are Fungible vs Non-Fungible vs Semi-Fungible Tokens?

Fungible tokens: ERC-1155 can be used for the creation of fungible tokens- utility coins that act as currency for various platforms. The advantage of ERC-1155 is that it allows the creation of many different tokens under the same contract (with ERC-20, a new contract needs to be deployed for every token). ERC-1155 is more suitable for multi-token economics, for example if a project has one token is designated as a security token (STO) and another Utility token.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): NFTs can take the from of digital collectible cats (such as crypto kitties) or video game weapons. What sets NFTs apart is that each token is unique.

For example, every cryptokitty is unique with different stripes and patterns. This means that cryptokitties are not “fungible”, and cannot be replaced with one another (imagine if someone swapped your pet cat with another – you’ll notice the difference immediately). When it comes to cryptocurrencies, this property of being unique and not swap-able is called “non-fungible“.

With ERC-1155, NFTs hold unique metadata which can be modified with time. For example, this metadata can hold information about the lineage of a cryptokitty.

For more information about the creators of ERC-1155, check out our Enjin Coin Guide.

Semi-fungible tokens: This a new type of token that could “seat a concert” or a “$50 dollar Walmart coupon”. In the case of a Walmart coupon, each token is fungible (same as each other) until the token is redeemed or used in store. Once a coupon is redeemed, it no longer holds value and hence shouldn’t be traded as a normal token. In this example, the coupon is “fungible” until it is redeemed (“non-fungible”), hence the name semi-fungible token.

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