How Many ERC20 Tokens Are There?; As opposed to NFTs (Non-fungible tokens) that are not interchangeable, there are fungible tokens that permit interchangeability. Although fungible tokens vary and are created on different networks; the fungible tokens that are created on the Ethereum network, and exist therein, are referred to as the ERC-20 tokens.
An interesting thing is happening due to the easily programmable nature of the Ethereum chain, people can easily leverage the smart contract and create these tokens on the Ethereum network. This is very much visible in the emergence of many different fungible tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.
This tells that you must be careful enough to understand what features and liquidity make the different ERC-20 tokens worth investing in. Let’s unlock how many ERC-20s there are and some of the various types that exist.
How Many ERC-20 Tokens Are Currently Available
Etherscan, an Ethereum data provider, in December 2020, stated that there were 829 projects of the ERC-20 standard, with 350,000 token contracts. However, in 2023, there are over 400,000 ERC-20 tokens, the most common of which are DAI Stablecoin (DAI), Basic Attention Token (BAT), HEX (HEX), Tether (USDT), Bitfinex LEO (LEO), USD Coin (USDC), Shiba Inu (SHIB) and others.
Factors Considered Before Creating ERC20 Tokens
Often, questions arise from this side of the page; what are the important factors to be met when creating ERC-20 tokens? The two core factors are
- Smart contract
- Third-party service compatibility
1. Smart contract
The smart contract, as it pertains to crypto and tokens, is a term that defines how a crypto or token is supposed to function on the blockchain network on which it is established. It determines tokens’ issuance, supply, transfer facilitation, and circulation. While writing the smart contract can be bulky, time-consuming, mentally tasking, and pretty complicated, it must be correctly coded by expert developers, otherwise, there’s going to be a problem in the long run. If this is the case, then it is not going to self-execute as the conditions are not met. A smart contract is very important because it determines the integral functionality of cryptos and tokens.
2. Third-party service compatibility
When it comes to tokens, accessibility is paramount in the grand scheme of things. As such, ERC-20 tokens must have compatible structures with third-party agents (read as wallets and exchanges) from whence the tokens can be accessible by users.
Is ERC-20 Only Available On Ethereum Network?
Yes. The ERC-20 tokens are only available on the Ethereum network. Here’s the thing, there are a set of established rules on the Ethereum network. The rules are mandatory for every developer to follow if they must code smart contracts that should embody a certain tokenomic. All of these rules put together form a giant figure of an Ethereum standard. This standard is responsible for users’ ability to participate in different Ethereum projects, applications, or services. This means tokens created following this standard are Ethereum-based utility tokens with unique functions specifically to find relevance in the Ethereum ecosystem.
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Conclusion
Understanding the various ERC-20 tokens necessitates that you understand that they are fungible (not distinguishable from other tokens) and are only functional on the Ethereum network. This token type comes in sets, and while it is true that they’re identical, they can only be distinguishable by the ticker symbol. Usually, the set number of the ERC-20 tokens is measured in thousands; a key reason why a token unit value is very low.
