> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sei.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pointer Contracts

> Looking up and interacting with pointer contracts that bridge CosmWasm and EVM tokens on Sei

# Pointer Contracts

Sei runs two token execution environments side by side — EVM and CosmWasm. Pointer contracts are automatically deployed EVM contracts that proxy a CosmWasm token, and vice versa.

| Token                          | Pointer type    | EVM interface    |
| ------------------------------ | --------------- | ---------------- |
| CW20 (CosmWasm fungible token) | ERC-20 pointer  | Standard ERC-20  |
| CW721 (CosmWasm NFT)           | ERC-721 pointer | Standard ERC-721 |
| Native Sei token (bank module) | ERC-20 pointer  | Standard ERC-20  |

Once you have the pointer address, you interact with it using the standard ERC-20 or ERC-721 interface — no Sei-specific code needed.

For background on how pointer contracts work, see the [Pointers overview](/learn/pointers).

## Looking Up a Pointer Address

The pointerview precompile resolves pointer addresses by CosmWasm contract address or native denom. Its ABI and address are exported from `@sei-js/precompiles`.

<CodeGroup>
  ```ts viem theme={"dark"}
  import { createPublicClient, http } from 'viem';
  import { sei } from 'viem/chains';
  import {
    POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ABI,
    POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ADDRESS,
  } from '@sei-js/precompiles';

  const client = createPublicClient({ chain: sei, transport: http() });

  // CW20 → ERC-20 pointer
  const erc20Pointer = await client.readContract({
    address: POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ADDRESS,
    abi: POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ABI,
    functionName: 'getCW20Pointer',
    args: ['sei1...cw20ContractAddress'],
  });

  // CW721 → ERC-721 pointer
  const erc721Pointer = await client.readContract({
    address: POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ADDRESS,
    abi: POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ABI,
    functionName: 'getCW721Pointer',
    args: ['sei1...cw721ContractAddress'],
  });

  // Native denom → ERC-20 pointer
  const nativePointer = await client.readContract({
    address: POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ADDRESS,
    abi: POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ABI,
    functionName: 'getNativePointer',
    args: ['usei'],
  });
  ```

  ```ts ethers theme={"dark"}
  import { ethers } from 'ethers';
  import {
    POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ABI,
    POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ADDRESS,
  } from '@sei-js/precompiles';

  const provider = new ethers.JsonRpcProvider('https://evm-rpc.sei-apis.com');

  const pointerview = new ethers.Contract(
    POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ADDRESS,
    POINTERVIEW_PRECOMPILE_ABI,
    provider,
  );

  // CW20 → ERC-20 pointer
  const erc20Pointer = await pointerview.getCW20Pointer('sei1...cw20ContractAddress');

  // CW721 → ERC-721 pointer
  const erc721Pointer = await pointerview.getCW721Pointer('sei1...cw721ContractAddress');

  // Native denom → ERC-20 pointer
  const nativePointer = await pointerview.getNativePointer('usei');
  ```
</CodeGroup>

The return value includes the pointer address and an `exists` boolean. Check `exists` before interacting with the pointer — not all CosmWasm tokens have a deployed pointer.

## Interacting with a CW20 Pointer as ERC-20

Once you have the pointer address, use it as a standard ERC-20 contract.

<CodeGroup>
  ```ts viem theme={"dark"}
  import { parseAbi } from 'viem';

  const ERC20_ABI = parseAbi([
    'function balanceOf(address owner) view returns (uint256)',
    'function transfer(address to, uint256 amount) returns (bool)',
  ]);

  const balance = await client.readContract({
    address: erc20Pointer.addr,
    abi: ERC20_ABI,
    functionName: 'balanceOf',
    args: ['0xYourAddress'],
  });
  ```

  ```ts ethers theme={"dark"}
  const ERC20_ABI = [
    'function balanceOf(address owner) view returns (uint256)',
    'function transfer(address to, uint256 amount) returns (bool)',
  ];

  const token = new ethers.Contract(erc20Pointer.addr, ERC20_ABI, provider);
  const balance = await token.balanceOf('0xYourAddress');
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Interacting with a CW721 Pointer as ERC-721

<CodeGroup>
  ```ts viem theme={"dark"}
  import { parseAbi } from 'viem';

  const ERC721_ABI = parseAbi([
    'function ownerOf(uint256 tokenId) view returns (address)',
    'function tokenURI(uint256 tokenId) view returns (string)',
  ]);

  const owner = await client.readContract({
    address: erc721Pointer.addr,
    abi: ERC721_ABI,
    functionName: 'ownerOf',
    args: [1n],
  });
  ```

  ```ts ethers theme={"dark"}
  const ERC721_ABI = [
    'function ownerOf(uint256 tokenId) view returns (address)',
    'function tokenURI(uint256 tokenId) view returns (string)',
  ];

  const nft = new ethers.Contract(erc721Pointer.addr, ERC721_ABI, provider);
  const owner = await nft.ownerOf(1n);
  ```
</CodeGroup>

For full ERC-20 and ERC-721 examples including transfers, approvals, and events, see the [ERC-20](/evm/evm-parity/examples/erc20) and [ERC-721](/evm/evm-parity/examples/erc721) pages.