Conversions

Convert addresses between Ethereum and Polkadot formats seamlessly when building cross-chain applications with Pop CLI.

When building applications that bridge Ethereum and Polkadot ecosystems, you'll frequently need to convert addresses between formats. The pop convert address command provides a reliable way to transform Ethereum addresses to Substrate/Polkadot addresses and vice versa.

You can also run the command as pop cv address or pop convert a.

What you can use it for

• Convert Ethereum addresses to Polkadot/Substrate format for cross-chain operations.

• Transform Polkadot addresses back to Ethereum format for EVM compatibility layers.

• Generate addresses with different SS58 prefixes for various Substrate-based chains.

• Validate address formats and ensure proper cross-chain address mapping.

• Facilitate user experience in multi-chain applications by supporting both address formats.

Quick examples

# Convert an Ethereum address to Polkadot format (default prefix 0)
pop convert address 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc454e4438f44e

# Convert to a specific Substrate chain format (e.g., Kusama prefix 2)
pop convert address 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc454e4438f44e 2

# Convert a Polkadot address back to Ethereum format
pop convert address 13dKz82CEiU7fKfhfQ5aLpdbXHApLfJH5Z6y2RTZpRwKiNhX

# Convert addresses from different Substrate networks
pop convert address 5Eh2qnm8NwCeDnfBhm2aCfoSffBAeMk914NUs8UDGLuoY6qg

Input formats

<ADDRESS> can be one of:

• Ethereum address: 0x + 40 hex characters.

• Public key: 0x + 64 hex characters.

• Substrate address: SS58-encoded string.

How it works

The conversion uses a standardized mapping between Ethereum and Substrate address formats:

• Ethereum → Substrate: Takes the 20-byte Ethereum address and extends it with 12 bytes of 0xEE padding, then encodes it using SS58 format.

• Substrate/Public key → Ethereum:

  • If the last 12 bytes are 0xEE, Pop treats it as an Ethereum-derived address and returns the first 20 bytes.

  • Otherwise, Pop computes keccak256 of the 32-byte public key and returns the last 20 bytes.

Output

Pop prints the converted address to stdout. Ethereum outputs are 0x-prefixed lowercase hex.

Errors and constraints

• Ethereum inputs must be 0x-prefixed and exactly 40 hex characters.

• Public keys must be 0x-prefixed and exactly 64 hex characters.

• Invalid SS58 strings fail validation.

Tips

• SS58 prefixes: Different Substrate chains use different prefixes (Polkadot: 0, Kusama: 2, Generic Substrate: 42). The tool defaults to Polkadot (0) if no prefix is specified.

• Case sensitivity: Ethereum addresses are case-insensitive for conversion purposes.

• Validation: The tool validates address formats and will reject invalid inputs with clear error messages.

• Bidirectional: Pop automatically detects whether you're providing an Ethereum (0x-prefixed) or Substrate address and converts accordingly.

• Cross-chain compatibility: Only Substrate addresses originally derived from Ethereum addresses can be converted back (they must have the 0xEE padding in the last 12 bytes).