Generating Deterministic Ethereum Addresses Without create2
In Solidity, generating a deterministic (i.e., unique) address is crucial when dealing with private keys and accounts. However, Truffle’s create2 function provides an alternative way to generate addresses, especially when you don’t plan to deploy new contracts. In this article, we’ll explore how to generate deterministic Ethereum addresses without the create2 function.
Understanding Deterministic Addresses
In Solidity, a deterministic address is an address that always produces the same output for the same input (private key). This ensures that users can trust their private keys and reduces the risk of accounts being compromised.
create2 function
Truffle’s create2 function allows you to generate addresses with a fixed prefix, such as 0x, 0xA, or 0xB. However, when using create2, you are limited to the available prefixes and cannot create custom prefix combinations.
Creating Deterministic Addresses Without create2
If you want to create deterministic addresses without using the create2 command, you need to take a different approach. One solution is to use a library such as ethers-polyfill-accounts' ortryffele-ethers’. These libraries provide a way to work with Ethereum accounts and create custom prefixes.
Here is an example of how to create a deterministic address without the “create2” command:
Install the required library
First install the required library:
npm install ethers-polyfill-accounts
Create a custom address function
Create a new Solidity file (e.g. addressFunction.sol) and add the following code:
pragma solidity ^0,8,0;
import "
contract CustomAddress {
function createDeterministicAddress() public returns (address) {
// Generate a random number to ensure uniqueness
uint256 random = uint256(keccak256(abi.encodePacked(block.timestamp)));
// Create a custom prefix
address newPrefix = 0x...; // Replace with your desired prefix
// Return the generated address
return keccak256(abi.encodePacked(newPrefix, random));
}
}
Use the custom address function
Now you can call the createDeterministicAddress function to create a custom deterministic address:
CustomAddress memory address = CustomAddress(addressFunction);
addressAddress = address.createDeterministicAddress();
In this example, we define a custom contract called “CustomAddress”. The function “createDeterministicAddress” generates a random number and uses it as the seed for the custom prefix. This ensures that all addresses generated are unique.
Conclusion
While using create2 can simplify your workflow in some cases, there are situations where generating deterministic addresses without it is necessary. By following this tutorial, you have learned how to create custom deterministic addresses in Solidity without relying on the create2 function. Be sure to choose a library such as ethers-polyfill-accounts or tryffele-ethers to work with Ethereum accounts and create custom prefixes.