If you have ventured into the world of crypto-currency, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of an ERC-20 token that exists on the Ethereum network.
ERC-20 is a technical standard that is the basis for all smart contracts that exist on the Ethereum blockchain. ERC or Ethereum Request for Comments are methods created by developers to define a set of rules. The “20” comes from the proposal number.
These assets are available for trading or purchase along with coins like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. The primary difference between these types of assets is that ERC-20 tokens exist on Ethereum’s network, instead of their own blockchain. Generally, we can separate these classes of crypto assets by calling ERC-20 smart contract “tokens” and crypto-currencies like Bitcoin “coins.”
ERC-20 tokens have proven themselves extremely versatile since their inception. There are endless different projects which utilize this technology. Tether or USDT, is a 1:1 stable-coin that is pegged to the U.S Dollar. Tether operates a smart contract on the Ethereum network that allows users to send and receive stable-coins via their Ethereum address. Another example of an ERC-20 token is BAT or Basic Attention Token. BAT tokens are used to reward Brave Browser users for viewing promoted advertisements. You can find BAT’s smart contract address here. If you buy an ERC-20 token, storing it is easy. Simply send tokens to your Ethereum wallet address that supports ERC-20 tokens. Metamask or Ledger is a great user-friendly wallet solution.
