In one sentence: ERC-7802 is a cross-chain standard that extends new features to existing ERC-20 tokens, enabling standardized cross-chain functionality through the ERC-7802 interface.

01 Background

ERC-7802 is a cross-chain token standard jointly proposed by the Optimism team and the Uniswap team, aiming to establish a unified token standard during cross-chain operations.

The collaboration between Uniswap and Optimism continues to deepen. Uniswap’s earlier announcement of Unichain, which belongs to the OP Superchain ecosystem, is one such example. Now, the two have proposed this cross-chain standard together.

ERC-7802 was introduced to standardize cross-chain operations, which is critically important for decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Uniswap and Layer-2 (L2) solutions like Optimism.

The token standards on Ethereum have been evolving, from ERC-20 to ERC-721 and ERC-1155. ERC-7802 is part of this evolution, specifically focusing on addressing cross-chain issues.

02 Design Principles

From a macro perspective, the design principle of ERC-7802 is “bridge-agnostic.” In cross-chain scenarios, this approach seeks to separate token contracts from specific cross-chain bridging technologies or protocols.

This modular design essentially transfers complexity to cross-chain bridges, separating cross-chain logic from token contracts, thereby simplifying and modularizing token contract structures.

Token implementations only need to focus on their basic functions, without considering the specific implementation of cross-chain transfers.

Bridging protocols handle all complexities related to cross-chain transfers, such as transaction verification, asset locking and releasing, and cross-chain communication protocols.

ERC-7802 defines a standardized interface for tokens to interact with cross-chain bridges but does not concern itself with the specific implementations of these bridges.

Any bridging protocol compliant with ERC-7802 can use this interface for cross-chain operations without requiring modifications to the token contract itself.

03 Implementation Details

ERC-7802 defines a standardized interface containing two key functions:

• crosschainMint: Mints tokens on the target chain for the recipient as a result of token burning on the source chain.
• crosschainBurn: Burns tokens on the source chain and initiates cross-chain transfers, usually marking the starting point of such transfers.

It is worth noting that cross-chain minting and burning differ from local minting and burning. In cross-chain operations, the total circulating supply across all chains remains unchanged, as tokens are transferred between chains rather than being truly created or destroyed.

ERC-7802 contracts support ERC-165, an interface detection standard that allows smart contracts to declare which interfaces they support. This helps ensure compatibility in cross-chain operation contracts.

More importantly, ERC-7802 is compatible with ERC-20. As ERC-20 is a widely used fungible token standard on Ethereum, compatibility with ERC-20 is crucial, making it easier for existing tokens to cross chains into new ecosystems.

This way, existing tokens can function as ordinary ERC-20 tokens while implementing cross-chain functionality through the ERC-7802 interface.

04 Protocol Value

Addressing multi-chain user experience challenges is a significant trend. ERC-7802 establishes a cross-chain standard at the protocol level, complementing the “chain abstraction” narrative.

By offering a standardized cross-chain token transfer protocol, ERC-7802 directly supports the goals of chain abstraction—enabling assets to flow seamlessly across different chains.

Chain abstraction relies on the collaboration of various technical standards and protocols. ERC-7802 can be seen as a critical building block within this framework.

Technically, ERC-7802 provides concrete solutions for cross-chain token transfers and resolving technical issues, while chain abstraction leverages these solutions to enhance user experience and application development frameworks.

Moreover, this standard proposed by OP lays a foundation for interoperability within the OP Superchain ecosystem.

Currently, this protocol standard remains under discussion, and we can continue to monitor its development.

Disclaimer：

1. This article is reprinted from [X], titled “What Is ERC-7802, Proposed Jointly by Optimism and Uniswap?” The copyright belongs to the original author [Yue Xiaoyu]. If there are objections to this reprint, please contact the Gate Learn Team, and the team will handle it promptly according to the relevant procedures.
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