# SPL token

> Solana's token standard — the shared program every fungible and non-fungible token on the chain uses, so wallets and apps speak one format.

Where Ethereum writes a new contract per token, Solana ships one canonical token program: mints define the token, token accounts hold balances, and every wallet already knows how to display them. New token? Create a mint, not a program.

The operational detail that surprises people: balances live in per-user token accounts derived from mint plus owner — 'does this wallet hold token X' is an account lookup, and sending to a wallet that has never held X means creating its token account first. Extensions (interest-bearing, transfer hooks) keep extending the same program rather than forking it.

## Related terms

- https://dfieldsolutions.com/en/glossary/solana.md
- https://dfieldsolutions.com/en/glossary/pda.md
- https://dfieldsolutions.com/en/glossary/crypto-wallet.md

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Source: https://dfieldsolutions.com/en/glossary/spl-token
DField Solutions — Dunakeszi, Hungary — dezso@dfieldsolutions.com
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