Ethereum: Byte validation error when transferring ERC20 tokens using ethereumjs/tx

Ethereum Byte Validation Error When Sending ERC20 Tokens

As an Ethereum developer, you are probably familiar with the intricacies of interacting with the Ethereum blockchain. However, when it comes to sending ERC20 tokens using the ethereumjs library, you may encounter a rare and frustrating issue: a byte validation error.

In this article, we will dive into the details of what is happening and provide steps to resolve the issue, ensuring smooth communication between your application and the Ethereum network.

Issue

The error message indicates that there is a problem with the value field in the transaction payload. More precisely, it looks like a byte string is encountered at position 0x2,248,191,131,170,54,167,20,138,49,48… This may seem harmless, but trust us, it can lead to unexpected behavior or even a crash.

Code

To better understand the problem, let’s take a closer look at the code:

const tx = new Web3.eth Tranaction({
from: 'yourAddress',
to: 'recipientAddress',
value: '0x2,248,191,131,170,54,167,20,138,49,48...', // byte validation error
});

Notice that the value field is set to a string containing an invalid byte array (0x2,248,191,131,170,54,167,20,138,49,48...). This is likely due to the way the ERC20 token data is parsed or encoded.

Fixing

To fix this issue, we need to make sure that the value field is properly formatted as a hexadecimal string. Here are some steps to take:

• Verify token data: Double check that the ERC20 token data is valid and follows the standard ERC-20 schema (e.g. 0x1234567890abcdef etc.).

• Convert token data to hex string: Use a built-in library like ethers.js or implement a custom function to convert token data to hex string:

const tokenData = {
// ...
};
const hexValue = Buffer.from(tokenData, 'hex');
tx.value = hexValue.toString('hex'); // assume you have this library or implementation

• Check for encoding issues: Make sure all binary data is correctly encoded as a hex string using a library like buffer or buffer-electron.

• Update your Ethereum client configuration

  

  : Check that your Ethereum client (e.g. Web3.js) has the correct byte validation error handling settings.

Best practices

To avoid this issue in the future:

• Always validate token data before sending it over the network.

• Use a library like ethers.js or implement custom functions to convert token data to hexadecimal strings.

• Check for encoding issues using libraries like buffer or buffer-electron.

• Make sure your Ethereum client has the correct byte validation error handling settings.

By following these steps and best practices, you should be able to resolve the byte validation error and successfully send ERC20 tokens using ethereumjs.

Example use case

Here is an updated sample code snippet that shows how to fix the problem:

const Web3 = require('web3');
const ethers = require('ethers');
const web3 = new Web3(new Web3.providers.HttpProvider('
async function main() {
const address = 'yourAddress';
const receiverAddress = 'recipientAddress';
try {
const tx = new ethers.Transactions({
from: address,
to: receiverAddress,
value: '0x2,248,191,131,170,54,167,20,138,49,48...', // byte validation error
});
await web3.eth.sendTransaction(tx);
} catch (error) {
console.error(error);
}
}
main();

Make sure to replace YOUR_PROJECT_ID with the actual Infura project ID.

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