What is xRING?

akiwu

Published in

DARWINIA NETWORK

3 min readApr 10, 2024

Introduction to xRING

xRING facilitates the seamless migration of RING from Ethereum to other Layer 2 solutions.

In the latest update of the Darwinia-Ethereum Bridge, numerous significant changes were introduced, such as the adoption of the more streamlined and abstract XToken v3 protocol, with the underlying messaging service switching to Msgport and ORMP. However, one critical yet often overlooked update is the introduction of a new optional xRING token on Ethereum, enhancing support for Ethereum Layer 2 solutions. This xRING can be wrapped 1:1 into RING or unwrapped from RING, effectively making them equivalent.

Why Do We Need xRING?

The original RING token on Ethereum, which was implemented a long time ago based on the ds-token library as an ERC20 contract, had its name and symbol as bytes32 types. This became less compatible with many Ethereum Rollup official bridges, such as OP and Base, which use string types for token names. Therefore, the recent Darwinia-Ethereum Bridge upgrade addressed this compatibility issue.

Should I use RING or xRING?

One advantage of xRING is its lower gas consumption. The notorious high gas fees on Ethereum have deterred usage, so the gas optimizations of xRING might become increasingly favored over time. In essence, the choice between using xRING or RING, similar to ETH and WETH, is left to personal preference and use case. Currently, xRING is not widely included in token lists on information platforms, DEX liquidity pools, or DApps, but it’s expected to become more integrated over time. This article aims to explain the rationale behind xRING’s introduction and facilitate community understanding of its purpose.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

RING and xRING Contracts on Ethereum

RING: 0x9469D013805bFfB7D3DEBe5E7839237e535ec483

xRING: 0x81e32d4652Be82AE225DEdd1bD0bf3BCba8FEE07

XRINGLockBox: 0x00000000062D35A6F9F82305c47A786527896578

💡 Users are able to wrap xRING to RING by invoking the deposit function of the XRINGLockBox contract, and correspondingly, they can unwrap RING back to xRING by executing the withdraw function.

How should I interpret the statement “One advantage of xRING is its lower gas consumption”?

Both RING and xRING can be transferred on Ethereum, meaning that transactions with these tokens require ETH to pay for gas fees. When you perform transactions, such as transfers, xRING is designed in a way that makes it consume less gas compared to RING. For example, a transfer transaction using xRING might cost you around $1 in gas fees, whereas executing the same transaction with RING could cost you about $1.1. This efficiency in gas consumption makes xRING a more economical choice for users engaging in frequent transactions on Ethereum.

Why Can’t We Directly Bridge RING Between Ethereum and L2s, and Why Is xRING Necessary?

Due to historical compatibility issues with the name and symbol of the RING contract, we recommend cross-chain transfer of xRING to L2s. For more details, please refer to the ‘Why We Need xRING’ section.

Can the Original RING (Ethereum) Still Be Used?

Absolutely, its use remains unaffected. The only time you might consider swapping to xRING(Ethereum) is when transferring RING(Ethereum) to Rollups other than Arbitrum, from where xRING can also be easily converted back to RING.

Will xRING Exist on Other Chains? What Token Do I Receive When Crossing xRING from Ethereum to Another L2?

Users can bridge xRING across chains to L2s; xRING was created specifically to facilitate this operation. The token bridged to L2s is managed by the cross-chain bridge. It is an xRING token that is custodied and issued by the L2 cross-chain bridge.

About Darwinia Network

Darwinia is the community-run technology and service powering the cross-chain capabilities of decentralized applications.