The base cryptocurrency of a blockchain network that is used to pay transaction fees, participate in consensus (staking), and compensate validators for securing the network. Native tokens are protocol-level assets — not created by smart contracts — and their issuance is governed by the blockchain's monetary policy. Examples: SOL (Solana), ETH (Ethereum), BTC (Bitcoin).
Start with the shortest useful explanation before going deeper.
The base cryptocurrency of a blockchain network that is used to pay transaction fees, participate in consensus (staking), and compensate validators for securing the network. Native tokens are protocol-level assets — not created by smart contracts — and their issuance is governed by the blockchain's monetary policy. Examples: SOL (Solana), ETH (Ethereum), BTC (Bitcoin).
Use the quick analogy first so the term is easier to reason about when you meet it in code, docs, or prompts.
Think of it as a building block that connects one definition to the larger Solana system around it.
Place the term inside its Solana layer so the definition is easier to reason about.
Shared crypto concepts that frame the broader ecosystem.
Turn the term from vocabulary into something operational for product and engineering work.
This term unlocks adjacent concepts quickly, so it works best when you treat it as a junction instead of an isolated definition.
Use this compact block when you want to give an agent or assistant grounded context without dumping the entire page.
Native Token (native-token) Category: Blockchain General Definition: The base cryptocurrency of a blockchain network that is used to pay transaction fees, participate in consensus (staking), and compensate validators for securing the network. Native tokens are protocol-level assets — not created by smart contracts — and their issuance is governed by the blockchain's monetary policy. Examples: SOL (Solana), ETH (Ethereum), BTC (Bitcoin). Related: SOL, Gas, Transaction Fee
Use glossary context, relationships, mental models, and builder paths to get structured answers instead of generic chat output.
Optional: paste Anchor, Solana, or Rust code so the Copilot can map primitives back to glossary terms.
The Copilot will answer using the current term, related concepts, mental models, and the surrounding glossary graph.
These branches show which concepts this term touches directly and what sits one layer beyond them.
The native token of the Solana blockchain, used for paying transaction fees, staking, and rent. 1 SOL equals 1 billion lamports. SOL has an inflationary supply schedule starting at 8% annually, decreasing by 15% per year, with a long-term floor of 1.5%. Transaction base fees (5,000 lamports) are partially burned.
A unit measuring the computational effort required to execute operations on a blockchain. On Ethereum, gas is priced in gwei (10^-9 ETH) and varies with network demand. Users set gas limits and gas prices; unused gas is refunded. Solana uses 'compute units' as its equivalent, with much lower costs (~$0.00025 per transaction vs. $1-100+ on Ethereum).
The cost paid by the sender to have a transaction processed and included in a block. Fees compensate validators/miners for computation and prevent spam. Fee models vary: Ethereum uses dynamic gas pricing (EIP-1559 base fee + tip), Solana uses base fee (5,000 lamports) + optional priority fee, Bitcoin uses fee-per-byte.
These are the next concepts worth opening if you want this term to make more sense inside a real Solana workflow.
These entries are easy to mix up when you are reading quickly, prompting an LLM, or onboarding into a new layer of Solana.
An Ethereum standard that assigns a smart contract account (wallet) to every ERC-721 NFT, enabling NFTs to own other tokens, NFTs, and interact with protocols directly. Token-bound accounts (TBAs) are created through a permissionless registry using CREATE2 for deterministic addresses. Use cases include gaming inventories, bundled DeFi positions tradable as single NFTs, and identity-linked portfolios.
A token that grants holders voting power over protocol decisions. Governance tokens enable decentralized control of DeFi protocols, DAOs, and blockchain parameters. Examples on Solana: JUP (Jupiter), MNDE (Marinade), RAY (Raydium). Voting power is typically proportional to token holdings, though some systems use quadratic voting or delegation.
Glossary entries become useful when they are connected. These links are the shortest path to adjacent ideas.
The native token of the Solana blockchain, used for paying transaction fees, staking, and rent. 1 SOL equals 1 billion lamports. SOL has an inflationary supply schedule starting at 8% annually, decreasing by 15% per year, with a long-term floor of 1.5%. Transaction base fees (5,000 lamports) are partially burned.
A unit measuring the computational effort required to execute operations on a blockchain. On Ethereum, gas is priced in gwei (10^-9 ETH) and varies with network demand. Users set gas limits and gas prices; unused gas is refunded. Solana uses 'compute units' as its equivalent, with much lower costs (~$0.00025 per transaction vs. $1-100+ on Ethereum).
The cost paid by the sender to have a transaction processed and included in a block. Fees compensate validators/miners for computation and prevent spam. Fee models vary: Ethereum uses dynamic gas pricing (EIP-1559 base fee + tip), Solana uses base fee (5,000 lamports) + optional priority fee, Bitcoin uses fee-per-byte.
These entries live beside the current term and help the page feel like part of a larger knowledge graph instead of a dead end.
A distributed, append-only ledger that records transactions in cryptographically linked blocks. Each block contains a hash of the previous block, forming an immutable chain. Nodes in the network maintain copies of the ledger and reach agreement through consensus mechanisms. Blockchains enable trustless, decentralized record-keeping without a central authority.
The protocol by which nodes in a distributed network agree on the current state of the ledger. Common mechanisms include Proof of Work (Bitcoin), Proof of Stake (Ethereum, Solana), and BFT variants. Consensus ensures all honest nodes converge on the same transaction history despite potential network delays or malicious actors.
A consensus mechanism where validators are selected to produce blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they have staked (locked) as collateral. PoS is energy-efficient compared to Proof of Work. Misbehaving validators risk losing their stake (slashing). Solana, Ethereum (post-Merge), Cosmos, and Cardano use PoS variants.
A consensus mechanism where miners compete to solve computationally expensive puzzles to produce blocks and earn rewards. PoW provides strong security (51% attack resistance) but is energy-intensive. Bitcoin and pre-Merge Ethereum use PoW. The difficulty adjusts to maintain target block times regardless of total network hash power.