What Is Precompile?

A precompile (or precompiled contract) is a smart contract whose logic is implemented natively in the blockchain node software rather than in EVM bytecode. Precompiles are deployed at fixed, low-numbered addresses and execute much faster and cheaper than equivalent Solidity code because they bypass EVM interpretation entirely.

On Ethereum, standard precompiles (addresses 0x01–0x0a) provide cryptographic primitives like ecrecover (ECDSA signature recovery), SHA-256 hashing, modular exponentiation, and elliptic curve operations. These operations would be prohibitively expensive if implemented in EVM bytecode.

Some EVM-compatible chains extend the precompile set for chain-specific functionality. For example, HyperEVM uses precompiles to expose read-only views of HyperCore state — such as the vault equity precompile at 0x0802, which returns vault equity and lock-up status from the native trading engine. These precompile reads return data from the start of the current block, meaning they show stale state if a HyperCore Writer action was submitted in the same block.

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