Ethereum: ethers.toBigInt(…).eq is not a function

Ethereum 2.0 Conversion Issue: ethers.toBigInt() is not defined

As of Ethereum 2.0, the ethers.toBigInt() method has been deprecated in favor of more modern and precise methods for converting between bigints and strings. However, users like you are still reporting the error.

In this article, we will delve into the details of the issue and explore possible solutions to resolve it.

Problem: ethers.toBigInt() is not defined

When calling ethers.toBigInt() on a 2.0 converted value, you get the following error:

TypeError: ethers.toBigInt(...).eq is not a function

This suggests that the ethers.toBigInt() method does not have an eq method.

Reason of downtime

In version 2.0 of Ethereum, the ethers library API underwent significant changes to adapt to the new features and improvements of the Ethereum ecosystem. In particular, the toBigInt function has been replaced by the BigInt type from the bigint module.

While this change is intended to provide a more accurate and efficient way to work with large numbers in JavaScript, it has caused inconvenience for users like you who are still using version 6 of the library.

**Fixing: Using BigInt.toString() or BigInt.toString()

To solve the problem, you can use one of two options:

Option 1: Use BigInt.toString()

const bigIntValue = ethers.toBigInt(123);

console.log(BigInt.toString(bigIntValue));

This will correctly convert bigint to string.

Option 2: Use BigInt.toString()

Alternatively, you can use the same syntax as in Option 1 and store the result of BigInt.toString():

const bigIntValue = ethers.toBigInt(123);
console.log(BigInt.toString(bigIntValue));

Conclusion

The error message indicates that ethers.toBigInt() does not have an eq method. To resolve this issue, you can use one of the two alternatives above, or simply remove the call to ethers.toBigInt() and let JavaScript handle the conversion for you.

By following these steps, you should be able to overcome the error and successfully compare your converted bigints using the ethers library in Ethereum version 2.0.

Examples of Use Cases

To further illustrate this point, here are a few example use cases:

// Option 1: Using BigInt.toString()
console.log(ethers.toBigInt(123).toString());
// Option 2: No need to call ethers.toBigInt() and use BigInt.toString() instead
const bigIntValue = 123n;
console.log(BigInt.toString(bigIntValue));

By following these simple steps, you should be able to resolve the error and successfully work with Ethereum version 2.0 bigint conversions.