EVM Account Addresses on Tangle

If you're interacting with a Frontier-enabled Substrate chain like Tangle Network, there are two account formats to be aware of: EVM accounts (H160) and Tangle native accounts (H256). You can hold Tangle assets in EVM addresses or native addresses and transfer them between the two, but it's important to understand how they are represented in relation to one another.

To help you navigate between these formats, we've provided a handy Address Converter tool in Resources. Simply enter your Ethereum address (H160), and the tool will generate the corresponding Substrate address used on the Tangle Network chain.

Address Formats in Frontier-enabled Substrate Chains

Frontier is a powerful toolset that allows Substrate-based blockchains to offer Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility. This means that developers can deploy and execute Solidity smart contracts on Substrate chains with minimal changes. When working with Frontier, it's essential to understand the different address formats and their relationships. In a Frontier-enabled Substrate chain, there are three primary address formats:

1. SS58 addresses: SS58 is a simple account format designed for Substrate-based chains. It is heavily based on Bitcoin's Base-58-check format with a few alterations. The SS58 address is a base-58 encoded value that identifies a specific account on the Substrate chain. It consists of an address type, the encoded address, and a checksum. In the case of the Tangle Network, the chain ID and custom prefix used is 5845, which yields the prefix tg when applied in conversion.

2. Ethereum-style addresses (H160): These addresses are 40 hex characters long (plus the "0x" prefix) and follow the Ethereum address format. They are derived from the private key used to sign transactions on the EVM side of the chain.

3. Substrate-style addresses (H256): These addresses are 256 bits long and are used natively by Substrate. They represent the raw, unencoded form of an account's public key or a hash value in Substrate.

To bind an Ethereum H160 address with a Substrate H256 address, a truncated hash scheme is used. The first 160 bits (20 bytes) of the H256 address are taken and used as the corresponding H160 address.

Interacting with Frontier-enabled Substrate Chains

When a user interacts with the EVM on a Frontier chain, they use their Ethereum-style address (H160). Behind the scenes, Frontier maps this H160 address to a corresponding Substrate-style address (H256) in the Substrate Balance pallet's storage. This mapping allows the user to hold and manage balances on the Substrate side.

However, it's important to note that the user only has direct control over their H160 address and its associated private key. They cannot directly perform transactions or interact with Substrate-specific features using the mapped H256 address. To fully utilize the Substrate side of the chain, the user needs to have a separate SS58 address with its own private key.

As a user, it's essential to understand the different address formats and their purposes when interacting with a Frontier-enabled Substrate chain. You'll need to manage your Ethereum-style address (H160) for EVM interactions and your SS58 address for Substrate-specific features.

For developers building on a Frontier-enabled Substrate chain, it's crucial to be aware of these address formats and their relationships. You may need to provide clear instructions and tools to help users manage their addresses, perform cross-address transfers, and interact with both the EVM and Substrate components seamlessly.

While the dual-address system may introduce some complexities, it also opens up a world of possibilities for interoperability and leveraging the strengths of both Ethereum and Substrate ecosystems.