In this tutorial we’ll be showing how to find and add any custom SPL and ERC20 tokens to your Solana wallet. For this we’ll be using Sollet and Solflare wallets.
SPL known as Solana Program Library is a collection of on chain programs maintained by the Solana team. Similar to to ERC20 token on the Ethereum blockchain and BEP20 tokens on Binance Smart Chain; SPL token is the token standard of the Solana network. These tokens are designed specifically for DeFi applications.
While BSC is EVM compatible which was launched with the goal to provide support for Ethereum tools and DApps Solana is a new kind of blockchain with a completely different mechanism. One of the main advantages of Solana is that it significantly solves scalability issues found on the other blockchains. It supports large number of transactions per second with significantly lower fees.
Due to this Solana ecosystem is growing rapidly and a large number of good projects are being implemented on the Solana network.
Some of the popular projects that are available on the Solana blockchain are:
SRM (Serum), Waves, REN, RAMP, GRT (The Graph), OXY (Oxygen), KIN, RAY (Raydium), FIDA (Bonfida), MAPS, COPE, ROPE etc.
Not only SPL tokens but ERC20 tokens such as USDT, LINK and projects that are built on other ecosystem is also getting listed on Solana.
Tokens on Solana
Just like how users can create and deploy their own ERC20 token on the Ethereum blockchain anybody can create their own custom SPL token using the token program on the Solana blockchain.
You can create and issue your own fungible and non fungible tokens (NFT) similarly to the way how tokens are implemented on the ETH network.
Soon we’ll make a guide on how you can create and launch your own SPL tokens on the Solana blockchain. For now advanced users can check the following links for reference and use the below tools for the creation and management of SPL tokens.
SPL token configuration & management:
Solana Token Program: https://spl.solana.com/token – This page has detailed instructions on creating, managing and implementing SPL tokens. It explains command line utility. Plus this technical doc has SPL token wallet integration guide and the list of JSON RPC methods available for use with SPL Token.
Also here is an UI where you can mint and manage your own tokens. It allows you to create new SPL token and edit your existing tokens.
SPL Token creator:
SPL tokens (Solana’s ERC-20 equivalent) are essentially the same as erc20 tokens. It is similar to how ERC20 tokens are implemented on the Ethereum network.
You can create custom Solana tokens (SPL tokens) in just a few minutes by connecting your wallet. Once created you can issue the tokens by listing it on the DEX like Serum and Bonfida. Users can then connect their wallets to these DEX and start trading.
While the concept of Solana custom tokens works the same as ERC20 on Ethereum there are quite some differences.
Custom tokens SPL
On Ethereum wallets such as MetaMask and My Ether Wallet you can send / receive ERC 20 tokens to your ETH receiving address. This cannot be done with SPL tokens.
SOL is the native token of the Solana Blockchain. Similar to how ETH is to Ethereum blockchain SOL is used to interact and transact on the Solana blockchain.
However you cannot send SPL tokens to SOL address like you do with ERC20 tokens because each SPL tokens on Solana blockchain will have their own address on-chain.
Due to this you’ll have to add each SPL tokens separately before you can receive them in your wallet.
Lets see how to add custom tokens to your Solana wallet.
Adding SPL / ERC 20 custom tokens to Solana wallet
For this tutorial we’ll be using Sollet and Solflare wallets – Two popular non-custodial browser based wallets built specifically for Solana. Both the wallets gives users the ability to send / receive SOL (native token) and any SPL tokens.
Setting up the wallet
Since both the wallets are client side web based wallets setting them up is very simple.
Sollet Wallet
Go to https://www.sollet.io/ and the wallet will generate a mnemonic seed for you. Copy that, enter a password and create a new wallet.
Make sure to save the backup seed word safely.
Solflare
Go to https://solflare.com/create-wallet and click create a new wallet.
You can create wallet using Keystore file or you can create a new wallet by connecting your Ledger wallet (Ledger Nano S or Nano X).
If you are using keystore file make sure to choose a strong password. Once you’ve set the password download the keystore file.
Note: If you lose your Keystore file or the password which you used to encrypt it, any funds in that wallet will be lost permanently. Neither the SolFlare developers nor the Solana team can help you recover your wallet. So make sure to keep the information secure.
Upon creating a new wallet both the wallets will generate a new SOL receiving address for you by default.
Note: Do not send / receive SPL tokens to your SOL address. You’ll not receive your tokens if you send it to your SOL address. The tokens will be lost. Also adding each tokens will cost a small amount of SOL. So make sure you have enough SOL in your wallet to cover the fees. Both the wallets will present you with the information on how much SOL it will cost to add the SPL token.
You can buy SOL from Binance or FTX.
Finding and adding tokens – SPL and ERC20
Adding SPL / ERC20 tokens to Solana wallet is same as adding custom tokens to MetaMask wallet. To add a token to your wallet you need to find the token contract address also known as mint address.
Before finding the token address first ensure if the token which you are looking for is already available in the wallet list.
Sollet – On Sollet wallet click the + icon to add tokens. Now in popular tokens tab look for the token that you are looking to add.
Solflare – On Solflare wallet navigate to tokens tab and click create tokens account. A popup screen will open where you can chose a popular token from the list or enter a Mint public key.
You’ll find both SPL as well as ERC20 tokens. ERC20 tokens are basically wrapped tokens on the Solana chain.
If the token which you are looking for is available in the list then select it and click next to add the token to your wallet.
Note: As we said to add each token to your wallet it will cost you 0.002039 SOL (minimum 0.0025 SOL per token). Make sure you have SOL to cover the fees. Obtain SOL either from Binance or FTX and then send it to you wallet SOL deposit address.
If you do not have SOL then upon adding the token you’ll get this error message:
“failed to send transaction: Transaction simulation failed: Attempt to debit an account but found no record of a prior credit.”
Adding custom tokens
If the token which you are looking for is not available in the list then you can add the custom token manually. All you need is the token address.
Finding token address:
There are two ways in which you can find the token mint address:
- Using block explorers, blockchain services and
- By asking the community.
To find SPL token address use the Solana block explorer: https://explorer.solana.com/
To find the ERC20 token address use the Ethereum block explorer: https://etherscan.io/
Use the search bar to find the token. Once you found the token copy its address.
Additionally you can also use services like CoinMarketCap and Coingecko to find the token address.
Top Solana ecosystem tokens: https://coinmarketcap.com/view/solana-ecosystem/
If you can’t find the token address by searching then ask the token community or the developers to share the address.
Once you have the address paste it in then manual input section on the Sollet wallet. Also enter token name and symbol (ticker).
On Solflare navigate to custom token and enter the token mint address.
Once entered click Add / Next to add the custom token to your wallet. Wait for a moment while the contract gets updated. You’ll then see your SPL token appear on your wallet home screen.
That’s it! You can now send / receive / stake SPL tokens using your Solana wallet.
Your Solana wallet will now display the token address for you. Use that to deposit that particular SPL token. Receiving SOL or any other SPL tokens to that address will result in loss of tokens. Remember that SPL Tokens will generate different addresses for every SPL Token.
Also If you delete and restore your SOL wallet back all your SPL tokens which you’ve added will also be also be restored completely irrespective of whether or not you have tokens in your account.
Hope it is helpful.
