When speaking about certain cryptocurrencies, people often use the terms coin and token interchangeably. But that would be wrong because there is an important distinction.

Cryptocurrencies that are coins, such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum, have their own respective blockchains. In contrast, tokens are cryptocurrencies that don’t have their own blockchains. Instead, tokens utilize another coin’s blockchain.

For example, GameCredits (GAME) and SushiToken (SUSHI), among thousands of others, are tokens that use the Ethereum blockchain. Cryptocurrency tokens that exist on the Ethereum blockchain are also known as ERC20 tokens. ERC20 is the Ethereum standard for creating cryptocurrency tokens.

GameCredits is an interesting case because it was initially a coin with its own blockchain. But to take advantage of the greater functionality that the Ethereum network offers, it switched to become an ERC20 token.

So, now all GameCredits transactions (and all other ERC20 token transactions) are recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. This is the reason why Ethereum processes so many transactions a day.

So, the token in NFT is a cryptocurrency token. An NFT exists on a blockchain. Currently, most NFTs are created on and live on the Ethereum blockchain. Some NFTs are created on and exist on WAX, the Binance Smart Chain, and some other blockchains. When speaking about certain cryptocurrencies, people often use the terms coin and token interchangeably. But that would be wrong because there is an important distinction.

Cryptocurrencies that are coins, such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum, have their own respective blockchains. In contrast, tokens are cryptocurrencies that don’t have their own blockchains. Instead, tokens utilize another coin’s blockchain. For example, GameCredits (GAME) and SushiToken (SUSHI), among thousands of others, are tokens that use the Ethereum blockchain. Cryptocurrency tokens that exist on the Ethereum blockchain are also known as ERC20 tokens. ERC20 is the Ethereum standard for creating cryptocurrency tokens.

GameCredits is an interesting case because it was initially a coin with its own blockchain. But to take advantage of the greater functionality that the Ethereum network offers, it switched to become an ERC20 token. So, now all GameCredits transactions (and all other ERC20 token transactions) are recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. This is the reason why Ethereum processes so many transactions a day.

So, the token in NFT is a cryptocurrency token. An NFT exists on a blockchain. Currently, most NFTs are created on and live on the Ethereum blockchain.

Some NFTs are created on and exist on WAX, the Binance Smart Chain, and some other blockchains. 

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Coins vs Tokens