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Comparison Table
| Standard | Type | Unique IDs | Batch Transfer | Best For | Gas (mint) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ERC-20 | Fungible | No (all identical) | Yes (via ERC-20 transfer) | Currencies, governance tokens, LP tokens | ~50,000 gas |
ERC-721 | Non-fungible | Yes (each unique) | No (one at a time, unless ERC-721A) | 1/1 art, unique collectibles, certificates | ~100,000–200,000 gas each |
ERC-1155 | Multi-token | Yes (multiple per ID) | Yes (native batch) | Game items (multiple copies), semi-fungible | ~50,000–100,000 gas/token type |
ERC-20 Deep Dive
The standard for every fungible digital asset: USDC, DAI, LINK, UNI, AAVE. `transfer(address, uint256)` moves tokens. `approve(address, uint256)` + `transferFrom` enables protocol integrations. Fully interoperable with all DeFi protocols that expect ERC-20 tokens.
ERC-721 Deep Dive
Each token has a unique ID. `ownerOf(tokenId)` returns the current owner. `tokenURI(tokenId)` returns the metadata URI. Not natively batch-mintable in the original standard (each mint is a separate transaction). ERC-721A (Azuki) adds batch minting.
ERC-1155 Deep Dive
One contract, multiple token types. `balanceOf(address, id)` for each token type. `safeBatchTransferFrom` moves multiple token types in a single transaction (significant gas saving for gaming applications moving many items simultaneously). Used for: game items (100 copies of "Iron Sword" = token ID 1), multi-edition art collections, tokenized commodities.