SNEAK PEEK
- The SpiritDao DAOComic NFT contract can be optimized to reduce gas costs by leveraging ERC721A.
- The optimization involves removing mappings and utilizing the aux parameter of ERC721A to track whitelist mint counts.
- By reducing storage writes, significant gas savings can be achieved.
In a recent analysis of the SpiritDao DAOComic NFT contract, several improvements have been identified to optimize its code and significantly reduce gas costs. While the contract implemented various effective mechanisms, key areas could benefit from enhancement, including a hidden feature of ERC721A that offers substantial gas savings.
Just took a pass through the @spiritdao DAOComic NFT contract.
They did a lot of things right, but there are a couple ways that the code could be improved upon, including a “hidden” feature of ERC721A that can save large amounts of gas.
Here’s a quick and simple walkthrough 🧵: pic.twitter.com/AXh3wmd5VU
— cygaar (@0xCygaar) May 31, 2023
The primary recommendation for gas optimization involves removing the two mappings on L12 and 13, which are responsible for tracking the whitelist and public mint counts. Then, leveraging the power of ERC721A, a solution emerges. ERC721A already tracks the number of tokens minted by each address, and this information can be obtained by calling a specific function.
A closer examination of ERC721A reveals an auxiliary field associated with each address, capable of storing 64 bits of additional data, making it ideal for tracking whitelist mint counts. Utilizing the aux parameter within the SpiritDao contract, whitelist mint counts can be accurately recorded. Furthermore, upon a whitelist mint event, the _setAux function can be invoked to increment the value, avoiding the need for separate mappings.
ERC721A already tracks how many tokens an address has minted. You can get that count by calling this function: https://t.co/ma469ZyWLb.
It also happens to include an “aux” field for each address that can be used to store 64 bits of extra data, perfect for tracking WL mint count.
— cygaar (@0xCygaar) May 31, 2023
The significance of this optimization lies in eliminating a storage write operation during each mint. Storage writes are known to be one of the most expensive operations within the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Therefore, reducing these operations results in substantial gas savings. In addition, it is worth noting that ERC721A consolidates all address-related information within a single storage slot. As a result, additional writes to this slot within the same transaction are significantly more cost-effective.
Implementing these improvements will have a twofold impact on the SpiritDao DAOComic NFT contract. Firstly, it will streamline the contract’s codebase, making it more efficient and easier to maintain. Secondly, it will generate substantial user gas savings and incentivize further contract adoption.
As SpiritDao embraces these gas optimization techniques by leveraging the hidden capabilities of ERC721A, it sets a promising precedent for other projects within the NFT ecosystem.
By continuously seeking ways to optimize gas usage and reduce transaction costs, the broader blockchain community can pave the way for more scalable and cost-effective decentralized applications.
