ERC-20
Also known as: Ethereum Fungible Token, ERC-20 Standard Token, DeFi Compatible Token
A widely adopted Ethereum token standard defining rules for fungible tokens used across DeFi and dApps.
ERC-20 is a technical standard on Ethereum that defines how fungible tokens should behave. It specifies functions like transfer, approve, and totalSupply, ensuring token interoperability across wallets, exchanges, and smart contracts. Most crypto tokens—such as USDC, UNI, and LINK—use the ERC-20 standard. This uniformity facilitates integrations and composability in DeFi, where tokens interact seamlessly with lending platforms, DEXs, and DAOs. ERC-20 is foundational to the Ethereum ecosystem, although limitations like lack of native metadata and gas inefficiency have led to newer standards like ERC-777.