What is ERC-20?
ERC-20 is the standard interface for fungible tokens on Ethereum and EVM chains like Monad, defining the functions (transfer, approve, balanceOf) every wallet and exchange expects a token to have.
ERC-20 is a technical specification, not a single contract. Any smart contract that implements its required functions — transfer, transferFrom, approve, allowance, balanceOf, and totalSupply — is an ERC-20 token. Because every token follows the same interface, wallets, DEXs, and explorers can support a new token without any custom code.
On Monad, ERC-20 works exactly as it does on Ethereum because Monad is EVM-compatible. A token you create with Monmint is a normal ERC-20 contract deployed on-chain, so it is immediately tradable on Monad DEXs and viewable in any EVM wallet.
Related terms
- Crypto tokenA crypto token is a unit of value recorded by a smart contract on a blockchain; on EVM chains most tokens follow the ERC-20 standard.
- Total supplyTotal supply is the number of tokens that currently exist for a contract — every minted token minus every burned token.
- Smart contractA smart contract is code deployed on a blockchain that runs exactly as written when called, with no operator able to alter or stop it.
- EVMThe EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) is the runtime that executes smart contracts; EVM-compatible chains like Monad run the same bytecode and tooling as Ethereum.