ERC-6551: The Game-Changing NFT Standard?

NFTs are generally created using the ERC-721 standard, but new standards are being created one after another. In such a situation, an innovative standard “ERC-6551” has appeared, which changes the concept of NFT up to now.

ERC-6551 is a new token standard that greatly enhances the functionality of ERC-721, which was released on the main Ethereum on May 7th, 2023.

The key feature of ERC-6551 is associated with the concept of token-bound accounts (TBAs), which provide an NFT with an interface and registry for smart contract accounts.

In other words, with ERC-6551, one or more smart contract wallets can be created for NFTs, making them more composable, interactive, and dynamic.

We all know the NFT’s rising popularity has revolutionized the world of blockchain-based digital assets. Now with ERC-6551, NFTs act as wallets bringing a new paradigm to SocialFi.

 

 

As far as I am concerned, the main reason for the emergence of the ERC-6551 standard came from the idea of categorizing NFTs to help manage assets in your wallets.

What is ERC-6551?

Nowadays, many more and more people are using NFTs as a form of on-chain identity, paving the way for a multitude of unique use cases.

However, the current ERC-721 NFT does not function as a proxy or own other on-chain assets, which is out of sync with the real-world use cases of the digital assets that we’ve always called ‘irreplaceable’.

Furthermore, one significant limitation of the ERC-721 standard is in its traceability, making verifying the authenticity and ownership of digital assets more challenging.

Hence, ERC-6551 is a new token standard that solves this problem. This standard grants full functionality for an ETH account for each NFT while maintaining compatibility with the existing ERC-721 smart contracts.

Simply put, you can create contracts tied to any ERC-721 NFT, including existing ones, and attach various assets to them.

Unlocking the Potential of NFTs with Token-Bound Accounts

This update is based on Ethereum Improvement Proposal 6551 (EIP-6551) created by Benny Giang and Steve Jang of Future Primitive; Benny is known as a member of the team that founded the ERC-721 standard and the world-famous project CryptoKitties.

Recently, Benny Giang from Future Primitive has done an interview with On the Other Side Podcast, talking about how consumer experiences shape the protocol standards, sharing Cryptokitties story, and breaking down what ERCs and EIPs actually are, and the needs addressed by ERC-6551.

*(Prerequisite knowledge)What is NFT and What is ERC-721? : NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token and is the one and only irreplaceable token. It is the one and only digital asset that can prove ownership. They may look the same but have different token IDs; while ERC-721 is the standard for NFTs.

What is A Token-Bound Account (TBA)?

A token-bound account is technically a smart contract wallet owned by the ERC-721 NFT (a wallet that allows the creation of an interface and registry for smart contract accounts owned by ERC-721 tokens).

Yet, the token-bound account’s control is delegated to the owner of that NFT. The owner can use the token-bound account to perform on-chain actions.

A token-bound account can own native tokens and other ERC-20, 721, and 1155 tokens. Basically, anything that can be done to the wallet can be done.

What are Some Game Use Cases with a Token-Bound Account?

The possibilities for ERC-6551 are endless. There are a variety of applications, and some specific examples are listed below:

1. NFTs can be disassembled and configured in parts

You can create NFTs that are composed based on the NFTs in your token-bound account. You can easily change your clothes and the game character’s equipment.

For example:

• Avatars consisting of individual parts such as hats, faces, and clothing
• Game characters that are composed of items such as weapons and armor

2. Various benefits that can be tied to NFTs

Instead of selling NFTs on their own, you can add various benefits tied to them: not only can you tie NFTs to NFTs, but you can also add native tokens such as ERC-20 and ETH.

Specifically:

• Special offer for the first NFT purchasers in ETH
• NFT membership card with contents

3. Assets can be managed all at once

To be honest, NFTs are unique and no two are the same, as far as they grow they turn out cumbersome to manage.

Therefore,  if you want to easily manage them, putting all your assets, including different assets from different games, in a token-bound account, turns out to be a great solution.

• NFTs summarized by game
• Deck NFTs summarized by card

How to Create an ERC-6551 Account

ERC-6551 has an open-source tool called Tokenbound that makes it easy to integrate ERC-6551 accounts into your application. It currently offers the following

• ERC-6551 account implementation
• Front-end SDK to interact with ERC-6551 accounts
• Account Explorer UI for viewing and manipulating ERC-6551 accounts

Anyone can create a token-bound account by following the steps below, but the Ethereum mainnet only allows deployment and not yet the operation of moving another asset in and out of ERC-6551.

STEP One: Connect Wallet

On the upper right corner of the homepage, click ‘Connect Wallet‘.

 

STEP Two: Select a Network

You can select your network from the account symbol in the upper right corner.

• Goerli (testnet)
• Sepolia (testnet)
• Ethereum(Mainnet)

STEP Three: Deploy

Select NFTs from “MY NFTs” in the upper right corner and select “Deploy Account“.

STEP Four: Load and Unload NFTs (Coming Soon)

When the deployment is complete, the notation will change to “Use Wallet” and you can operate your wallet (token-bound account) from here.

*This is currently not available on the mainnet.

Examples of ERC-6551 Uses Cases

An example of a company that has already taken advantage of the ERC-6551 is SAPIENZ.

SAPIENZ is a collection of 15,000 playable characters created through a partnership between STAPLEVERSE and RHYMEZLIKEDIMEZ.

Various dress-up customizations are possible by adding NFTs from the transparent human state, and OpenSea already supports the ERC-6551 display to see the assets associated with the NFTs.

Bottom Line

The ERC-6551 not only compactly organizes NFTs, which are often overflowing and cumbersome to manage because they are unique, but also opens up new possibilities.

Not only will it make it easier for you to get acquainted with more NFTs, but it will also bring out new charms in NFTs, such as dress-up and customization that will tickle your desire to collect them.

We hope you find this article helpful.