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What does 'Approve' mean when making a transaction?

'Approve', 'Enable', 'Authorize' – you'll come across these terms whenever interacting with a dapp for the first time

Updated over a year ago

When using Zerion, you may come across a transaction screen that requires you to 'approve' your token to complete your trade. Most interactions with your wallet require two transactions to go through:

  1. Allowing the Zerion interface to spend the asset

  2. Confirming the transaction

Why do I need to approve the transaction?

When clicking on 'Approve', you permit the smart contract to interact with the chosen DeFi token or NFT within your wallet.

This permission gives a third party like Zerion the right to facilitate a transaction with your token. Once you have enabled a token, you don't need to ever re-enable it unless the token developer's issue an update in the token's smart contract.

As Zerion aggregates various DEXes and AMMs to provide the best possible rates, it might be necessary to give a separate approval to every DEX.

This extra step my seem complicated and unnecessary, but it exists for security purposes. The permission helps ensure that your tokens are never traded without your consent.

‍🎓 Learn more about token allowances

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