At first glance, both the SPL Token (Solana Program Library Token) and the Token 2022 (also known as Tax Token or Token Extensions) seem very similar, even their creation process is similar, but the Token 2022 has certain features that a standard token does not have.

The name Token 2022 was adopted by the community, as it actually refers to the SPL tokens made under the Solana library protocol update in 2022.

These newly introduced protocols have many new use cases, mostly with the added extensions (more on that later) but their use is not as widespread as normal SPL tokens.

What is an Token ?

Known as the Solana Token standard, the SPL Token meets the operational standards of the Solana Program Library, which defines how tokens relate to the Solana smart contract.

The SPL token is the most common option for Solana projects.

Its compatibility with the Solana ecosystem is almost absolute and it is indexable on absolutely all exchanges, being the most common choice for blockchain projects.

What is an token 2022 token ?

For its part, a 2022 Token meets the standards of the latest update to the token creation program introduced by Solana in its 2022 library.

This means that it includes all the features of an SPL token also enables new features known as“extensions.”

And this new standard makes a lot of sense.

This arises because the Solana developers felt that, while the SPL has been terribly versatile and has worked for them to get them this far, they felt that the previous token was limited in its potential.

This is why the idea of the 2022 library arises, to enable an operational standard that is capable of having new functionality added to it as required.

Differences Between Token and Token

I want to go into the substantial differences that exist between both types of tokens, without talking only about the extensions that, by the way, we cover one by one in this post.

Here are some of the technical and practical differences between the two types of tokens.

1. Extensions

Obviously, this point should be the first and most emphasized. This is because token are often referred to as “Tax Tokens,” even though transaction fees are just one of the features of this protocol.

These are called "extensions" rather than "updates" because the core remains exactly the same; it is the Token SPL Token with a few key features added.

The extensions will allow you to add transfer fees, interest accrual rates, optional transfer capabilities and various other functions.

The most prominent feature is the ability to add a fee per transfer.

The most outstanding feature and the reason why it is chosen by several token project creators is the ability to add a fee per transfer, so when transacting with it, two commissions will be imposed on the operator, the Solana blockchain and the one defined by the token creator.

Extensions are divided into two categories: at the "Token mint" level and per account. Extensions at the "Token mint" level will apply to all token holders, token the latter are configured per account and must be accepted by the account owner.

2. indexability

indexability the main issue with Token ; since it is not listed on many exchanges and has issues on platforms like SolScan, this protocol has not been widely adopted by developers.

In this video, Jorge creates a tax token reviews the results. Although the token Smithii successfully created token the Smithii tool, there were some indexing issues on platforms like SolScan.

At the same time, it is well known that there are issues when creating a Token liquidity pool on Raydium Orca. It is expected that these issues will be resolved over time.

3. Rewards and airdrops

It is more common for Tax tokens to have a fairly robust system of rewards and aidrops in order to justify the fees charged.

For example, the token created by the developers ofBONK, called $BERN, charges a 6.9% fee on transfers. This fee (according to them) is used to reward holders of bothBONK $BERN.

4. Comparison with Ethereum

The comparison between the two blockchains has existed since the creation of Solana. And the main disadvantage in which Solana is immersed in front of Eth is the limitations that the previous protocol had.

The 2022 protocol allows Solana developers to get much closer to the flexibility currently offered by Eth, thanks to extensions.

5. Wallets that support Token

A significantly smaller number of wallets support token compared to SPL.

One of the early adopters of Token was the wallet as Backpack, which functions as a browser extension.

One of the most famous of all is Phantom Wallet. Phantom has partial support for 2022 tokens. Some tokens like BonkEarn and SolarMoonSol can be viewed and sent from wallet. But others like $BERN are listed as "Unknown Tokens". They are expected to be accepted soon.

Solflare, the other well-known extension, on the other hand, has supported Token for some time now.

Conclusions

Solana's new protocol tokens, known as the 2022 Tokens, undoubtedly enable a synergistic combination of functionalities for developers, leading to the creation of Solana tokens in niches never seen before.

Indeed, the main obstacle that 2022 tokens currently face is indexability. The problems with the Solana ecosystem that they present leads to a vicious cycle where, in turn, developers opt for regular SPL tokens.

It remains to be seen, and more interesting projects supporting Token continue to emerge; this bodes well for the protocol’s future, as it undoubtedly has much, much more to offer.

Remember that with Smithii tools, Smithii work on every stage of your SPL Token your Token . You won’t need any coding knowledge either.

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