In this track: Digital value and units
What makes ETH different from tokens?
Native ETH is part of Ethereum’s accounting; a token follows its own contract.
A game can have a built-in score and player-created tickets. Seeing both in the same menu does not make them the same object.
1 ETH = 1000000000 Gwei = 1000000000000000000 Wei.
Native means built into the network
Ethereum accounts have an ETH balance recorded by the protocol. Ordinary execution fees are paid in ETH. An ERC-20 balance is usually a value maintained by a particular contract, with the contract deciding how transfers behave.
A symbol is just a label
Two contracts can both display the symbol COIN. They remain different assets. A token’s contract address and network identify the implementation more precisely than its name, logo or ticker. Your wallet may place them together for convenience.
Follow the raw amount
An ETH amount uses Wei, with 18 decimal places per ETH. A token uses its own decimal convention. A raw transfer amount of 1000000 can represent one token with six decimals, but something quite different with eighteen.
Keep the identities separate
Before interpreting a number, ask which network and asset it belongs to. Read tokens and allowances, then compare native ETH conversion with the raw integer shown by the ABI encoder. The encoder cannot infer a token’s decimals from a function call.
Does a token called ETH automatically become native ether?
Native ETH and a contract-managed token have different accounting, even when labels resemble each other.
Original explanations by EtherTools. Examples are educational and source-linked; this site is independent of the Ethereum Foundation. Our approach.