Table of Contents
What Is a Fungible Token?
Fungible means interchangeable: any unit is identical to any other, so only the amount matters. A dollar is fungible — you don't care which dollar you hold. SOL, USDC, and every memecoin are fungible tokens; on Solana they're called SPL tokens (after the Solana Program Library that defines them).
Fungible tokens have the properties of currency:
- Identical units: your 1,000 BONK equals anyone else's 1,000 BONK, always.
- Divisible: tokens split into fractions, controlled by their decimals setting (explained in our beginner's guide).
- Priced per unit, traded in pools: because units are identical, they trade on DEXs against liquidity pools at a single market price.
This is what you create with CreateMyCoin: a fungible SPL token with the supply, decimals, and metadata you choose.
What Is an NFT?
Non-fungible means unique: each NFT is a distinct asset with its own identity, metadata, and history. NFTs answer the question "who owns this specific thing?" — a piece of art, a domain name, a game item, a membership pass, seat 14B at an event.
- Unique identity: each NFT is one specific asset; two NFTs from the same collection are still distinct (different numbers, traits, histories).
- Indivisible: you can't own 0.3 of an NFT — you own it or you don't.
- Individually priced: no pool sets a single price; each NFT sells on a marketplace (Magic Eden, Tensor) for whatever a buyer offers for that one.
NFT vs Token: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Property | Fungible Token (SPL) | NFT |
|---|---|---|
| Interchangeable | Yes — every unit identical | No — each one unique |
| Divisible | Yes (per decimals setting) | No — whole units only |
| Typical supply | Millions to billions | 1 (per NFT), collections of 1k–10k |
| Represents | Amounts: currency, shares, points | Things: art, items, passes, deeds |
| Where it trades | DEXs (Raydium, Jupiter) via pools | Marketplaces (Magic Eden, Tensor) per item |
| Price discovery | One market price per token | Individual sale price per NFT |
| Examples | SOL, USDC, BONK, your memecoin | Mad Lads, SMB, a game sword, an ENS-style domain |
How Does Solana Handle Both?
Here's the part most explainers skip: on Solana, NFTs and fungible tokens are built from the same primitives. Both are mints in the SPL Token Program, and both attach metadata through Metaplex. The difference is configuration:
- A fungible token has a large supply, divisible decimals (typically 6–9), and one shared metadata record.
- An NFT is a mint with supply exactly 1, 0 decimals, mint authority revoked (so no more can ever exist), and metadata pointing to that unique asset — usually with a Metaplex Master Edition marking it as one-of-one.
So when someone asks "is an NFT a token?" — technically yes, an NFT is a token, configured for uniqueness. That's also why concepts from token creation — metadata on IPFS, revoking mint authority — appear in both worlds; and what "minted" means is the same operation in both.
Which Should Your Project Use?
Use a fungible token when value is the product: a memecoin, a community currency, reward points, governance weight, or anything people should hold in variable amounts and trade at a market price. If your pitch includes "price," "market cap," or "holders," you want a fungible SPL token.
Use NFTs when identity is the product: membership passes, collectible art, game items, or credentials — anything where which one you own matters.
Many projects use both: an NFT collection for identity and membership plus a fungible token for economy and rewards is a standard Solana pattern (community access via NFT, rewards paid in the token). If that's your direction, the token side is a 60-second job — start with how to create a token.
"Fungible tokens answer 'how much?' NFTs answer 'which one?' Pick the question your project is actually asking."
FAQ
Is an NFT a cryptocurrency?
Not in the usual sense. Cryptocurrencies are fungible — identical, divisible units traded at a market price. An NFT is a unique, indivisible asset priced individually. Both live on the same blockchains and use related standards, but they serve opposite purposes.
Can an NFT become a fungible token?
Not directly — uniqueness is fixed at mint. What projects do instead is fractionalize: lock an NFT in a vault and issue fungible tokens representing shares of it. The NFT stays an NFT; the shares are a new fungible token.
Are memecoins tokens or NFTs?
Memecoins are fungible SPL tokens — billions of identical, divisible units traded against liquidity pools at a single market price. A meme-themed NFT collection is a different product: unique collectibles sold individually on marketplaces.
Do NFTs and tokens use the same wallet on Solana?
Yes — wallets like Phantom hold both, because both are SPL mints under the hood. Your wallet shows fungible tokens as balances and NFTs as individual items in a collectibles tab.