Coins and tokens
Tell a network’s native coin apart from a token that runs on the network.
A native coin belongs to its network
A native coin is built into a blockchain’s rules. Ether, or ETH, is Ethereum’s native coin. The network uses it to pay transaction fees.
A token follows a contract’s rules
On Ethereum, a smart contract can define a token and record who holds how much. Imagine a game issues Meadow Tickets. The ticket contract records each player’s ticket balance, and Ethereum processes the transactions that update that balance.
A name is only part of the identity
Two token contracts can give their tokens the same name and symbol. A token on Ethereum is identified by its contract address on that network. A wallet can show ETH and several tokens together while keeping each balance separate.