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What is an SPL token?
An SPL token is a token on the Solana blockchain, created through Solana's Token Program. Each token is defined by a mint account that records its supply and decimals, and a wallet holds each token in a separate token account.
What it means for you
A token's mint account can name a mint authority, which can create new units, and a freeze authority, which can stop tokens in your account from moving or being burned. Check whether those authorities are still set, and check the mint address itself, since names and symbols can be copied.
How it works
On Solana, a token is defined by a mint account that records total supply, decimals, a mint authority that can create new units, and a freeze authority that can stop a token account from transferring or burning. Balances live in separate token accounts, each recording which mint it holds, its owner and the amount, where an ERC-20 contract keeps every balance itself. A wallet's standard token account for a mint has an address derived from the owner's and the mint's addresses, and creating it takes a refundable minimum balance for storage.
Sources: Solana docs: Tokens on Solana, EIP-20: Token Standard · checked 4 October 2026
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