Introducing Ethscriptions
Ethscriptions are a new way of creating and sharing digital artifacts on Ethereum using transaction calldata.
Overview
Ethscriptions are digital artifacts created by encoding data in Ethereum transaction calldata. Unlike smart contract-based NFTs that store data in contract storage, ethscriptions use calldata—making them significantly cheaper while remaining 100% on-chain, permissionless, and censorship resistant.
The Ethscriptions protocol allows users to create and transfer digital artifacts at a fraction of the cost of traditional NFTs. Today, ethscriptions are used for images, tokens, and programmable assets.
The Ethscriptions AppChain
The Ethscriptions AppChain is a trust-minimized Ethereum L2 that provides cryptographic state, receipts, and EVM compatibility for ethscriptions. It uses a derivation pipeline that:
Observes Ethereum L1 calldata and events
Translates ethscription intents into deposit transactions
Executes them on an EVM with predeploy contracts
The AppChain is a Stage-2 rollup with no privileged roles—anyone can run a node and derive the canonical state from L1 data alone.
Two Ways to Consume Ethscriptions
Traditional Indexer
Off-chain service that indexes L1 transactions and maintains state in a database. Simple queries, existing integrations.
On-chain L2 with smart contracts, Merkle proofs, and EVM state. Enables protocol extensions, collections, and tokens.
Both approaches read the same L1 data and produce the same canonical ethscription state.
Links
What is Calldata?
Ethscriptions are cheaper than smart contracts because they store data on-chain using Ethereum transaction calldata, not smart contract storage.
When you send someone eth via an Ethereum transaction, calldata is the "notes field." Sometimes people write things in the notes field, but typically when you send eth to a person you leave it blank. When you interact with a smart contract, however, you add the information you're passing to the smart contract—the function name and parameters—to the calldata field.
Ethscriptions encode data into calldata as Data URIs, but this information is not directed at smart contracts on L1. Instead, the AppChain's derivation node observes these Data URIs and translates them into L2 transactions.
This video breaks it down:
FAQ
Are Ethscriptions secure and trustless?
Yes. The Ethscriptions AppChain is a trust-minimized L2 with no privileged sequencer or admin roles. Anyone can run their own node and derive the canonical state from Ethereum L1 data. The derivation is deterministic—given the same L1 blocks, every node produces identical L2 state.
Are Ethscriptions decentralized?
Yes. Ethscriptions reinterpret existing Ethereum data, which is decentralized by nature. No one's permission is required to use Ethscriptions and no one can ban you from using it. The AppChain uses based sequencing, meaning L2 block ordering is determined by L1 block ordering—not by a centralized sequencer.
How does the AppChain stay trust-minimized?
The AppChain achieves trust-minimization through:
Based sequencing - L2 blocks are anchored to L1 blocks, preventing sequencer manipulation
Deterministic derivation - State can be independently verified from L1 data
No admin keys - No privileged roles that can pause, censor, or modify the chain
Open source - All code is publicly available for verification
Who invented Ethscriptions?
The first ethscription was created in 2016, but the formal protocol was developed by Tom Lehman and Michael Hirsch. In addition to Bitcoin inscriptions, he was inspired by the famous "proto-Ethscription" from the Poly Network hacker that you can see in this transaction.
The author writes:
ETHEREUM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A SECURED AND ANONYMOUS COMMUNICATION CHANNEL, BUT ITS NOT FRIENDLY TO AVERAGE USERS. THE EXTRACTION OF MESSAGE REQUIRES SOME THEQUINIES, THE ENCRYPTION OF MESSAGE IS A MORE ADVANCED SKILL. I HAVE NO RESEARCH ON EXISTING PROJECTS. AND THE GAS FEE STOPS MOST USERS, THOUGH IT DOES NOT STOP REFUGEES. IS IT POSSIBLE TO ULTILIZE THE ETH NETWORK FOR FREE BY USING EXTREMELY LOW GAS? A SNAPCHAT ON CHAIN?
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