Community Forex Questions
How does ERC-721 differ from ERC-1155?
ERC-721 and ERC-1155 are both Ethereum token standards used for NFTs, but they are designed for different use cases and levels of efficiency.
ERC-721 is the original NFT standard. Each token is unique and exists as a separate contract entry. One token represents one asset, such as a single piece of digital art or a unique collectable. This clear one-to-one structure makes ownership and provenance easy to understand. However, it also makes ERC-721 less efficient. Transferring or minting multiple NFTs requires multiple transactions, which increases gas costs and network load.
ERC-1155 was created to solve these limitations. It is a multi-token standard that allows a single smart contract to manage both fungible and non-fungible tokens. Instead of deploying a new contract or transaction for every item, ERC-1155 can mint, transfer, and manage multiple token types in one transaction. This significantly reduces gas fees and improves scalability.
Another key difference is batch operations. ERC-1155 supports batch transfers and approvals, making it ideal for gaming, metaverse assets, and large NFT collections where users interact with many items at once. ERC-721 does not support this natively.
In simple terms, ERC-721 focuses on pure uniqueness and simplicity, while ERC-1155 prioritises flexibility and efficiency. Developers choose ERC-721 for straightforward collectables and ERC-1155 for complex ecosystems that require lower costs and higher performance.
ERC-721 is the original NFT standard. Each token is unique and exists as a separate contract entry. One token represents one asset, such as a single piece of digital art or a unique collectable. This clear one-to-one structure makes ownership and provenance easy to understand. However, it also makes ERC-721 less efficient. Transferring or minting multiple NFTs requires multiple transactions, which increases gas costs and network load.
ERC-1155 was created to solve these limitations. It is a multi-token standard that allows a single smart contract to manage both fungible and non-fungible tokens. Instead of deploying a new contract or transaction for every item, ERC-1155 can mint, transfer, and manage multiple token types in one transaction. This significantly reduces gas fees and improves scalability.
Another key difference is batch operations. ERC-1155 supports batch transfers and approvals, making it ideal for gaming, metaverse assets, and large NFT collections where users interact with many items at once. ERC-721 does not support this natively.
In simple terms, ERC-721 focuses on pure uniqueness and simplicity, while ERC-1155 prioritises flexibility and efficiency. Developers choose ERC-721 for straightforward collectables and ERC-1155 for complex ecosystems that require lower costs and higher performance.
Jan 12, 2026 03:16