Skip to main content

Token Types

The Elastos mainchain-sidechain architecture is designed in such a way that ELA is the native token on the mainchain and all supported sidechains. ELA can be mapped between the mainchain and its various sidechains at a 1:1 ratio.

In addition, wrapped versions of ELA may be available on other public blockchains. The table below lists the different existing versions of ELA.

BlockchainTypeDescription
Elastos MainchainNative assetA UTXO-model chain in which ELA is used to pay transaction fees, stake, register a validator, and participate in governance. The mainchain is the trust zone for the ecosystem on account of it being secured by Bitcoin.
Elastos Smart Chain (ESC)Native assetAn EVM-compatible chain in which ELA is used to execute smart contracts. ESC is the primary place to deploy dApps (DeFi, NFTs, etc.).
EthereumERC20 tokenA Wrapped version of ELA available on Ethereum (created by bridging ELA from ESC to the Ethereum blockchain). [Contract Address]
Elastos Identity Chain (EID)Native assetAn EVM-compatible chain specifically designed to support W3C compliant decentralized identifiers (DIDs).
tip

To learn which token types are supported by various exchanges, please see the Custody section.