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Types of proxy

Proxy contracts in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) are a crucial mechanism for enabling smart contract upgradeability and modularity. They allow the logic of a contract to be updated without changing the contract's address or losing its stored data. This is achieved by separating the contract's logic from its data storage, using a proxy contract to delegate calls to an implementation contract where the actual logic resides. The proxy contract uses the DELEGATECALL opcode to forward calls to the implementation contract, ensuring that the state is maintained in the proxy contract while the logic can be updated independently. There are several types of proxy patterns used in the EVM, each with its own attributes:

  • Transparent Proxy Pattern: This pattern separates the logic for administration and user functions. Only the admin can call functions that upgrade the implementation, while all other calls are delegated to the implementation contract. This separation helps prevent function selector clashes between the proxy and implementation contracts.
  • Universal Upgradeable Proxy Standard (UUPS): In this pattern, the upgrade logic is included in the implementation contract itself, making the proxy contract smaller and cheaper to deploy. However, this also means that upgrading the contract is more costly, as it involves redeploying the implementation contract. UUPS proxies can be frozen, preventing further upgrades if not managed carefully.
  • Beacon Proxy Pattern: This pattern is used when multiple proxy contracts need to be upgraded simultaneously. All proxies point to a beacon contract, which holds the address of the implementation contract. This allows for synchronized upgrades across multiple proxies by updating the beacon contract, but introduces a centralized point of failure.
  • Minimal Proxy (EIP-1167): This pattern is designed for deploying a large number of lightweight proxies that share the same implementation. It is cost-effective but does not inherently support upgradeability or authorization features. Each proxy type has its own use cases and trade-offs, making it important for developers to choose the appropriate pattern based on their specific needs for upgradeability, cost, and security. Understanding these patterns and their attributes is essential for effectively implementing and interacting with proxy contracts on the Ethereum network.

All this types of proxy will be visible in transaction insights