Contents:
- What’s a network?
- What’s the difference between a blockchain and a network?
- What’s the difference between a primary asset and tokens?
- What are token standards?
What’s a network?
A network, also called a blockchain network, a blockchain, or just a chain, refers to all of the nodes (computers) that are linked together and contain a copy of the same blockchain.
It also refers to a whole crypto ecosystem, so everything that runs and is built on a network, including tokens and dapps.
Examples of different networks are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Algorand, and Cosmos.
What’s the difference between a blockchain and a network?
A blockchain is a distributed ledger, which is a record of all block data. This means a blockchain contains a chronological account of all the transactions that have ever occurred.
A network is all the connected nodes (computers) that have copies of the blockchain.
Nodes can only have a copy of one blockchain, so nodes on Ethereum will only have Ethereum data (and not Solana or Cosmos data).
Each chain is completely separate. This is why you can’t see an Ethereum transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain, or send an SPL token on Algorand.
Some networks are programmable, which means they have smart contract capabilities. Often these networks have a primary asset as well as tokens that are created by smart contracts.
The most famous example of this is Ethereum. Ethereum was also the first network to implement smart contracts, with ERC-20 tokens.
What’s the difference between a primary asset and tokens?
Each network will have one primary asset. The primary asset of the Bitcoin network is Bitcoin (BTC). The primary asset of Ethereum is Ether (ETH).
Networks with smart contract capabilities might also have tokens other than the primary asset.
These tokens will pay transaction fees in the primary asset. For example, if you send an ERC-20 token such as Quant (QNT), you will pay the transaction fee (aka gas) in ETH.
If you’d like an imperfect analogy, you can think of the network as train tracks, the primary asset as the caboose that pulls the train, and tokens as different train cars.
What are token standards?
Tokens standards are rules (i.e. smart contract code) that govern how crypto tokens operate on their respective networks.
Networks can also have more than one token standard.
For example, Ethereum has the ERC-20 standard for regular tokens. It also has token standards for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) such as ERC-1155 and ERC-721.
Tokens on EVM-compatible chains such as Polygon or Avalanche also use the ERC-20 token standard. However, they are commonly referred to as [network name] tokens: Polygon tokens, Avalanche tokens,
In the table below you can see popular networks, the primary asset, and the most popular type of tokens that run on each chain.
| Network | Primary asset (pays tranasction fees/gas) | Most common token type |
| Ethereum | Ether (ETH) | ERC-20 |
| Solana | Solana (SOL) | SPL |
| BNB Smart Chain | BSC BNB | BEP-20 |
| BNB Beacon Chain | BNB | BEP-2 |
| Algorand | Algorand (ALGO) | ASA |