Token Contract

A token contract is the smart contract that creates and manages a token on a blockchain such as Ethereum. It stores the balance of every address, sets the total supply and contains the functions that move units between holders. On Ethereum-compatible chains most fungible tokens follow the ERC-20 token standard, which defines functions such as transfer, balanceOf, approve and transferFrom, so wallets and exchanges can support any compliant token in the same way. The contract's address identifies the token, which is why users are warned to check it: a fake token can copy a real token's name and ticker but not its address. Many contracts also include functions for minting and burning, pausing transfers or freezing addresses, controlled by the issuer. Stablecoin and tokenised asset issuers rely on these admin functions, which is why a smart contract audit usually examines who holds those powers.