An NFT stored as a leaf in an on-chain Merkle tree via State Compression, reducing minting cost by ~1,000-5,000x. Only the tree root hash is stored on-chain; leaf data is indexed off-chain. A 1M cNFT collection costs ~50 SOL vs ~12,000 SOL for standard NFTs. Created via the Bubblegum program; transfers require Merkle proofs.
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An NFT stored as a leaf in an on-chain Merkle tree via State Compression, reducing minting cost by ~1,000-5,000x. Only the tree root hash is stored on-chain; leaf data is indexed off-chain. A 1M cNFT collection costs ~50 SOL vs ~12,000 SOL for standard NFTs. Created via the Bubblegum program; transfers require Merkle proofs.
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SPL assets, token standards, metadata, and NFT primitives.
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Compressed NFT (cNFT) (compressed-nft) Category: Token Ecosystem Definition: An NFT stored as a leaf in an on-chain Merkle tree via State Compression, reducing minting cost by ~1,000-5,000x. Only the tree root hash is stored on-chain; leaf data is indexed off-chain. A 1M cNFT collection costs ~50 SOL vs ~12,000 SOL for standard NFTs. Created via the Bubblegum program; transfers require Merkle proofs. Aliases: cNFT Related: NFT (Non-Fungible Token), State Compression, Bubblegum
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A non-fungible token on Solana—an SPL token with 0 decimals, supply of 1, and revoked mint authority. The NFT's metadata (image, attributes) is stored off-chain (Arweave/IPFS) linked via the Metaplex metadata account's URI field. NFTs can be standard, compressed (cNFT), programmable (pNFT), or Core assets, each with different trade-offs.
State Compression is Solana's technique for storing the cryptographic fingerprint (root hash) of a Merkle tree on-chain while keeping the actual leaf data off-chain in the Solana ledger's account data logs, reducing the cost of storing large datasets by orders of magnitude. A compressed NFT collection of 1 million items costs roughly 50 SOL to mint versus ~12,000 SOL with standard SPL accounts, because only a single Concurrent Merkle Tree account occupies on-chain storage. Any data change requires updating the root hash and supplying a Merkle proof to the on-chain program, which verifies inclusion without reading the full dataset.
The Metaplex program for creating and managing compressed NFTs. Bubblegum wraps the SPL Account Compression program, providing NFT-specific instructions: mint_to_collection, transfer, burn, delegate, redeem, and decompress (convert to standard NFT). It stores creator arrays and collection info in the Merkle tree leaf schema.
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A non-fungible token on Solana—an SPL token with 0 decimals, supply of 1, and revoked mint authority. The NFT's metadata (image, attributes) is stored off-chain (Arweave/IPFS) linked via the Metaplex metadata account's URI field. NFTs can be standard, compressed (cNFT), programmable (pNFT), or Core assets, each with different trade-offs.
An NFT whose metadata, image, or attributes can change based on on-chain events, oracle data, or program logic. Unlike static NFTs with fixed metadata, dynamic NFTs evolve over time—a gaming character gaining experience, artwork changing with seasons, or stats updating from real-world data. On Solana, Metaplex Core's plugin system and Token-2022 metadata extension facilitate dynamic NFT implementations.
Metaplex's latest NFT standard (mpl-core) that uses a single account per asset instead of multiple accounts (mint + metadata + master edition + token account). Core NFTs are cheaper to mint (~0.003 SOL), have built-in plugin support (royalties, freeze, attributes, app data), and native collection-level operations. Designed to replace the legacy Token Metadata standard.
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A non-fungible token on Solana—an SPL token with 0 decimals, supply of 1, and revoked mint authority. The NFT's metadata (image, attributes) is stored off-chain (Arweave/IPFS) linked via the Metaplex metadata account's URI field. NFTs can be standard, compressed (cNFT), programmable (pNFT), or Core assets, each with different trade-offs.
State Compression is Solana's technique for storing the cryptographic fingerprint (root hash) of a Merkle tree on-chain while keeping the actual leaf data off-chain in the Solana ledger's account data logs, reducing the cost of storing large datasets by orders of magnitude. A compressed NFT collection of 1 million items costs roughly 50 SOL to mint versus ~12,000 SOL with standard SPL accounts, because only a single Concurrent Merkle Tree account occupies on-chain storage. Any data change requires updating the root hash and supplying a Merkle proof to the on-chain program, which verifies inclusion without reading the full dataset.
The Metaplex program for creating and managing compressed NFTs. Bubblegum wraps the SPL Account Compression program, providing NFT-specific instructions: mint_to_collection, transfer, burn, delegate, redeem, and decompress (convert to standard NFT). It stores creator arrays and collection info in the Merkle tree leaf schema.
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The original Solana Program Library token program (TokenkegQfeZyiNwAJbNbGKPFXCWuBvf9Ss623VQ5DA) that implements fungible and non-fungible token operations. It manages mints (token definitions) and token accounts (balances). Core instructions include InitializeMint, MintTo, Transfer, Burn, Approve (delegation), and Revoke. All SPL tokens on mainnet before Token-2022 use this program.
Solana Program Library—a collection of on-chain programs and client libraries maintained by Solana Labs. Key SPL programs include Token, Token-2022, Associated Token Account, Memo, Name Service, Stake Pool, and Account Compression. SPL programs are deployed to well-known addresses and serve as the standard building blocks for Solana applications.
The next-generation token program (TokenzQdBNbLqP5VEhdkAS6EPFLC1PHnBqCXEpPxuEb) that extends SPL Token with configurable extensions. Extensions include transfer fees, confidential transfers, transfer hooks, permanent delegate, non-transferable tokens, interest-bearing tokens, metadata, and more. Token-2022 is backwards-compatible with SPL Token for basic operations.
An on-chain account defining a token type. A mint specifies: supply (total minted), decimals (0 for NFTs, 6 for USDC, 9 for most tokens), mint authority (who can mint), and optional freeze authority. Each unique token (USDC, JitoSOL, etc.) has exactly one mint account. Mint address serves as the token's unique identifier.