There are eight precompiled contracts in Ethereum Byzantium release.
Here is the list of these contracts and details: The elliptic curve public key recovery function: ECDSARECOVER (Elliptic Curve DSA Recover function) is available at address 0x1.
A Complete Guide to Understanding This Blockchain Concept
It is denoted as ECREC and requires 3,000 gas fees for execution.
If the signature is invalid, then no output is returned by this function.
Public key recovery is a standard mechanism by which the public key can be derived from the private key in elliptic curve cryptography.
The ECDSA recovery function is shown as follows: ECDSARECOVER (H, V, R, S) = Public Key It takes four inputs: H, which is a 32-byte hash of the message to be signed and V, R, and S, which represent the ECDSA signature with the recovery ID and produce a 64-byte public key.
The SHA-256-bit hash function: The SHA-256-bit hash function is a precompiled contract that is available at address 0x2 and produces a SHA256 hash of the input.
The gas requirement for SHA-256 (SHA256) depends on the input data size.
Why This Matters for Blockchain Technology
The RIPEMD-160-bit hash function: The RIPEMD-160-bit hash function is used to provide RIPEMD 160-bit hash and is available at address 0x3.
The gas requirement, similar to SHA-256, is dependent on the amount of input data.
The identity/datacopy function: The identity function is available at address 0x4 and is denoted by the ID.
It simply defines output as input; in other words, whatever input is given to the ID function, it will output the same value.
Key Points to Remember
- Native contracts There are eight precompiled contracts in Ethereum Byzantium release.
- Here is the list of these contracts and details: The elliptic curve public key recovery function: ECDSARECOVER (Elliptic Curve DSA Recover function) is available at address 0x1.
- It is denoted as ECREC and requires 3,000 gas fees for execution.
- If the signature is invalid, then no output is returned by this function.
Going Deeper: Advanced Concepts
The gas requirement is calculated by a simple formula: 15 + 3 [Id/32] where Id is the input data.
This means that at a high level, the gas requirement is dependent on the size of the input data albeit with some calculation performed,
Big mod exponentiation function: This function implements a native big integer exponential modular operation.
This functionality allows for RSA signature verification and other cryptographic operations.
Conclusion
Native contracts represents one of the many innovative layers that make blockchain technology so powerful and transformative. As distributed systems continue to evolve, a solid understanding of these core concepts becomes increasingly valuable — not just for developers, but for anyone building, investing in, or working alongside blockchain-powered systems.
Whether you are just starting your blockchain journey or deepening existing expertise, mastering these fundamentals gives you the tools to think clearly about decentralized systems and make smarter decisions in this rapidly evolving space.