Token Ecosystem

Decimals

The number of decimal places for a token, stored on the mint account. Determines how raw integer amounts map to human-readable values: a mint with 6 decimals means 1,000,000 raw = 1.0 token. Common values: 0 (NFTs), 6 (USDC/USDT), 9 (SOL, most DeFi tokens). Cannot be changed after mint creation.

IDdecimals

Plain meaning

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The number of decimal places for a token, stored on the mint account. Determines how raw integer amounts map to human-readable values: a mint with 6 decimals means 1,000,000 raw = 1.0 token. Common values: 0 (NFTs), 6 (USDC/USDT), 9 (SOL, most DeFi tokens). Cannot be changed after mint creation.

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SPL assets, token standards, metadata, and NFT primitives.

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Decimals (decimals)
Category: Token Ecosystem
Definition: The number of decimal places for a token, stored on the mint account. Determines how raw integer amounts map to human-readable values: a mint with 6 decimals means 1,000,000 raw = 1.0 token. Common values: 0 (NFTs), 6 (USDC/USDT), 9 (SOL, most DeFi tokens). Cannot be changed after mint creation.
Related: Mint, Token Account
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Concept graph

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Branch

Mint

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.

Branch

Token Account

An account that holds a balance of a specific token for a specific owner. Token accounts store: mint (which token), owner (who controls it), amount (balance), delegate (optional), and state (initialized/frozen). Each wallet needs a separate token account per token type. Token accounts require ~165 bytes and rent-exempt minimum of ~0.002 SOL.

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Token Ecosystem

Mint

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.

Token Ecosystem

Token Account

An account that holds a balance of a specific token for a specific owner. Token accounts store: mint (which token), owner (who controls it), amount (balance), delegate (optional), and state (initialized/frozen). Each wallet needs a separate token account per token type. Token accounts require ~165 bytes and rent-exempt minimum of ~0.002 SOL.

Token Ecosystem

Default Account State

A Token-2022 extension that sets the initial state of all new token accounts for a mint to either Initialized or Frozen. When set to Frozen, new token accounts are frozen by default and must be explicitly thawed by the freeze authority before they can receive or send tokens. Enables KYC/AML gating.

Token Ecosystem

CPI Guard

A Token-2022 extension that protects token accounts from certain actions during CPI. When enabled, it blocks approve, close, and transfer operations via CPI while still allowing them in top-level instructions. This prevents malicious programs from draining or closing token accounts during composable calls.

Related terms

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Token Ecosystemmint

Mint

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.

Token Ecosystemtoken-account

Token Account

An account that holds a balance of a specific token for a specific owner. Token accounts store: mint (which token), owner (who controls it), amount (balance), delegate (optional), and state (initialized/frozen). Each wallet needs a separate token account per token type. Token accounts require ~165 bytes and rent-exempt minimum of ~0.002 SOL.

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Token Ecosystem

SPL Token Program

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.

Token Ecosystem

Solana Program Library (SPL)

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.

Token Ecosystem

Token-2022 (Token Extensions)

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.

Token Ecosystem

Mint

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.