What is ERC 721x? ERC 721x is a new standard on Ethereum that adds multiple layers of security to NFTs to help users avoid having their personal wallet assets stolen. So what’s special about the ERC 721x standard? Let’s find out with Weakhand in this article.
Before jumping into the article, you can refer to the following articles to learn more about the standards for popular NFTs on Ethereum today:
- What is ERC 721? Standard for NFTs on Ethereum
- What is ERC 1155? Harmonious combination between ERC 20 and ERC 721
- What is ERC 4907? Ushering in a new era of NFT rentals
- What is ERC 6551? The new standard is a game changer in the NFT space
What is ERC 721x?
ERC 721x is a new standard on Ethereum introduced to the community on June 23, 2023 by CyberKongz lead Solidity developer OwlofMoistness developed in an effort to continuously improve Web3 technology. The reason for the introduction of ERC 721x is that currently there are too many NFTs whose assets are stolen, especially expensive NFTs. So CyberKongz developers want to create a new standard to protect NFT holders from bad actors, making their assets safer.
How ERC 721x Works
There are 2 layers in the ERC 721x standard
The ERC 721x standard essentially provides a user’s NFT with a 2-factor authentication (2FA) layer, designating the second wallet as “guard” prevents NFTs in personal wallets from being transferred to other wallet addresses without the user’s permission.
There are 2 layers for ERC 721x including: Locking layer and Guarding layer.
For the Locking class
When locking your NFT, you are using a locking registry – a system that is tied to NFTs based on the ERC 721 standard and requires very little gas fees that allows addresses in the registry to be locked. and unlock assets in your wallet. Assets cannot be moved to other wallet addresses until it is unassigned from the key registry.
The user can view the assets in the wallet as some kind of box to which the user can add as many locks as desired. As long as there is one, the user will not be able to open it but when there are no more locks left the user can open it. This is similar to NFTs but instead of opening it, users cannot transfer it.
Additionally, locking an NFT does not affect NFT ownership. Users can completely use their NFTs on different platforms such as: Staking, participating in games,…
For Guarding class
Guardian Contract – second layer of security
The Guarding class contains a Guardian Contract linked to the wallet in the Locking class. Guardian Contract will ensure the safety of users’ assets even if the private key is exposed. Here’s how it works:
- Users set up another wallet address to be their “guardian.” Ideally, this wallet address is also controlled by the user and is a Multi-sig or cold wallet to ensure maximum safety.
- Once set up, users cannot change the guardian wallet address, and if they want to change to a new wallet address as a guardian, they must give up the role of the old wallet address.
- The custodian wallet has the authority to lock, unlock, and transfer user assets. Once assets are locked by the custodian, they cannot be transferred to another wallet, but the user retains ownership of those assets.
- If a user’s private key is compromised, the call UnlockAndTransfer will allow the guardian to unlock the assets and transfer them to the recipient securely.
Benefits of ERC 721x
At the present time, most users are very familiar with hot wallets such as: Metamask, Trust Wallet,.. because of their convenience, so users love to use them in daily activities. But besides convenience, it is also a lucrative bait for bad guys to take advantage of to exploit users’ mistakes during the transaction process.
The ERC 721x standard allows users to enjoy the convenience of hot wallets while adding the security of cold wallets/Multi-sig wallets through a second layer of security. It even allows users to protect assets already on a cold wallet with a second cold wallet to add another layer of security from signing unwanted transactions or approvals.
Furthermore, ERC 721x helps users avoid most fraud methods on the market at the moment such as: email fraud, luring users to approve transactions on fraudulent platforms, approving some fraudulent Smart Contracts, Hot Wallet Hacks,… All of those methods will fail if the user’s assets are locked.
summary
ERC 721x will be a new beginning to help users’ assets be protected from attacks by bad actors in the market. In the future, ERC 721x can be integrated into any ERC 721 NFT allowing more systems to increase security, participate in more online games while still ensuring wallet assets are safe. Above is all the information I want to introduce about ERC 721x, hope everyone has received useful knowledge.
