Apillon Wiki

Asset Hub

The Asset Hub is a dedicated parachain within the Polkadot ecosystem specializing in creating, managing, and tracking assets. These assets can represent various types, from a parachain’s native tokens to NFTs or on-chain representations of off-chain reserves. The Asset Hub acts as a central "home base" for assets within the network, maintaining a secure and trusted environment.

Key Features

Asset Representation

  • Sufficient Assets: Assets deemed “sufficient” allow an account to exist without holding the native token (e.g., DOT or KSM).
  • Non-Sufficient Assets: Accounts holding non-sufficient assets require a minimum native token balance to remain on-chain.
  • Asset Conversion: Enables token conversions through an automated market maker (AMM) for any assets with sufficient liquidity.

Asset Creation and Management

Anyone with sufficient funds can create assets on the Asset Hub by reserving a deposit. When creating an asset:

  • Unique Asset ID: A unique AssetId (u32 integer) is assigned, serving as a canonical identifier.
  • Metadata: Each asset can have associated metadata, like links to off-chain resources (e.g., IPFS).
  • Privileged Roles: The asset creator can assign roles, such as owner, issuer, admin, and freezer, which determine permissions for tasks like minting, burning, and freezing.

Advanced Management and Features

Transaction Fees and Payments

  • Sufficient Asset Fees: Assets deemed sufficient can cover transaction fees without requiring the native token.
  • Polkadot-JS UI: Users must pay transaction fees in the native token on Polkadot-JS UI, regardless of sufficient asset holdings.

Cross-Chain Accounting and Asset Transfer

Asset Hub tracks cross-chain transfers and supports reserve-backed assets across parachains, allowing asset owners to monitor total issuance and manage transfers securely.

Application Development Interface

Developers can use approve_transfer, transfer_approved, and cancel_approval functions for user-authorized transfers, enabling controlled asset movements within applications.

Transferring and Destroying Assets

Transferring Assets

  • Simple Transfers: Users can transfer both fungible and non-fungible assets, with additional functions like transfer_keep_alive to ensure accounts remain active post-transfer.
  • NFT Transfers: NFTs can be transferred and approved for third-party transfers by applications.

Freezing Assets

Asset creators can freeze assets via specific function (assets.freezeAsset).

Application and Advanced Use Cases

Multisig and Proxy Accounts

Although the Asset Hub does not support smart contracts, users can leverage Multisig and Proxy accounts to replicate common contract functions such as multi-signature approvals and delegations.

Reserve-Backed Transfers

The Asset Hub tracks assets sent across parachains, maintaining accurate reserves and preventing over-issuance by ensuring that cross-chain transactions follow network protocols.

Additional Resources

For additional technical guidance, video tutorials, and step-by-step instructions on creating, transferring, and managing assets, please refer to the official Asset Hub documentationopen in new window.