ERC-20
The Ethereum standard that defines how fungible tokens behave, letting wallets and apps support them uniformly.
ERC-20 is the rulebook for fungible tokens on Ethereum. It sets a common interface, functions like transfer and balanceOf, so any wallet or exchange can handle a new token without custom code. USDT and USDC are ERC-20 tokens, as are most governance and utility tokens.
The standard's simplicity drove an explosion. During the 2017 ICO boom, anyone could deploy a token in minutes, fueling both real projects and a great deal of junk.
ETH itself is not an ERC-20, since the network handles it natively. Wrapped ETH (WETH) exists to give ether an ERC-20 form.
Related terms
A digital asset issued on top of an existing blockchain, usually through a smart contract rather than its own network.
ERC-721The Ethereum standard for non-fungible tokens, giving each one a unique identifier so no two are alike.
Wrapped TokenA token that represents another asset one-to-one on a different chain, letting it move where it natively cannot.
EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine)The runtime that executes smart contracts on Ethereum and many other chains, defining how their code runs.