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What is a token standard?
A token standard is a published set of functions a token contract agrees to provide, so wallets, exchanges and apps can handle any token that follows it the same way. On Ethereum the main ones are ERC-20 for interchangeable tokens, ERC-721 for unique tokens and ERC-1155 for both.
What it means for you
The standard decides how your wallet shows and sends a token and which approvals apps ask for. Following a standard says nothing about who controls the contract or whether the token can be sold: two ERC-20 tokens can behave very differently behind the same interface.
How it works
Token standards are proposed as ERCs through the EIP process and specify an interface: for ERC-20, functions such as balance lookups, transfers and approvals; for ERC-721, ownership of individually numbered tokens; for ERC-1155, many fungible and non-fungible token types in one contract; for ERC-4626, yield-bearing vaults. Because every compliant token answers the same calls, a new token works with existing wallets, exchanges and applications without custom code. Extensions such as ERC-2612 add functions, like signed permits, on top of a base standard.
Sources: ethereum.org: Token standards, ethereum.org: Ethereum development standards, ERC-2612: Permit extension for EIP-20 signed approvals · checked 4 October 2026
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