etherlinked

Etherlinked is a term used in blockchain discourse to describe objects, records, or assets that carry an explicit, verifiable connection to the Ethereum blockchain. In practice, something etherlinked has at least one on-chain reference—such as a smart contract address, a transaction hash, an event identifier, or an anchored data pointer—that ties its current state to the Ethereum network. This linkage is intended to enable independent verification of provenance, history, authenticity, and state transitions.

Applications include etherlinked non-fungible tokens, where the on-chain token identifier or event confirms ownership, as well as etherlinked records in supply chains, where a product's origin or status is registered on Ethereum and retrievable via a tamper-evident link. Metadata for etherlinked assets may include on-chain pointers combined with off-chain data stored elsewhere (for example IPFS or a centralized database), with the on-chain reference serving as the proof anchor.

Methods to create etherlinks vary. Some implementations embed the link inside token contracts, such as ERC-721 or ERC-1155 tokens, while others attach proofs as transaction receipts, or use oracles to reflect off-chain state changes on-chain. Privacy, scalability, and data availability are common considerations, since on-chain references can expose information and require gas for writes.

The term is not a formal standard by itself but describes a design pattern used to bind digital or physical items to the Ethereum ledger. Related concepts include blockchain provenance, smart contracts, and digital twins.