Token Ecosystem

Minting

The process of creating new tokens or NFTs on-chain by invoking the MintTo instruction on an SPL Token mint account. For fungible tokens, minting increases the supply by the specified amount. For NFTs, minting creates the single token and typically revokes mint authority afterward. Minting requires the mint authority's signature and a destination token account to receive the newly created tokens.

IDminting

Plain meaning

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The process of creating new tokens or NFTs on-chain by invoking the MintTo instruction on an SPL Token mint account. For fungible tokens, minting increases the supply by the specified amount. For NFTs, minting creates the single token and typically revokes mint authority afterward. Minting requires the mint authority's signature and a destination token account to receive the newly created tokens.

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

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Minting (minting)
Category: Token Ecosystem
Definition: The process of creating new tokens or NFTs on-chain by invoking the MintTo instruction on an SPL Token mint account. For fungible tokens, minting increases the supply by the specified amount. For NFTs, minting creates the single token and typically revokes mint authority afterward. Minting requires the mint authority's signature and a destination token account to receive the newly created tokens.
Related: Mint, Mint Authority, SPL Token Program
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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

Mint Authority

The pubkey authorized to mint new tokens via the MintTo instruction. Set at mint creation and can be changed or revoked (set to None) by the current authority. Revoking mint authority makes the supply fixed—critical for trust in fungible tokens. For NFTs, mint authority is typically revoked after minting the single token.

Branch

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.

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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

Mint Authority

The pubkey authorized to mint new tokens via the MintTo instruction. Set at mint creation and can be changed or revoked (set to None) by the current authority. Revoking mint authority makes the supply fixed—critical for trust in fungible tokens. For NFTs, mint authority is typically revoked after minting the single token.

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

Name Service (SNS)

The Solana Name Service (SNS) by Bonfida that maps human-readable .sol domain names to Solana addresses. Domains are NFTs that resolve to wallet addresses, enabling users to send tokens to 'alice.sol' instead of a pubkey. The registry supports subdomains, and domain records can store additional data (IPFS links, social handles).

Commonly confused with

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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.

AliasMint Account
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 Ecosystemmint-authority

Mint Authority

The pubkey authorized to mint new tokens via the MintTo instruction. Set at mint creation and can be changed or revoked (set to None) by the current authority. Revoking mint authority makes the supply fixed—critical for trust in fungible tokens. For NFTs, mint authority is typically revoked after minting the single token.

Token Ecosystemspl-token

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.

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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.