Understanding Tokens

What is token?

A typical blockchain supports at least 1 cryptocurrency natively, cryptocurrencies on the ArcBlock chain are called tokens, a token is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend.

The native token on main chain is ABT
The native token on beta chain is TBA

Developers can create as many tokens as needed on the ArcBlock chain by sending CreateTokenTx.

Users can do more with tokens on ArcBlock chain than other blockchains without any smart contract, such as:

Transfer tokens to his/her friend
Pay with tokens to purchase digital properties in NFT format
Exchange between tokens at some fixed rate

What is foreign token?

Foreign token is used to correlate a token on ArcBlock chain with a token on EVM compatible chain. The token on both chains has the same symbol, decimal, and supply.

For example: ABT on Arcblock main chain and Ethereum mainnet are the same

The foreignToken field is defined when sending CreateTokenTx and can not be updated after creation:

type ForeignToken = {
  type: string;
  contractAddress: string;
  chainType: string;
  chainName: string;
  chainId: number;
};

A token with a valid foreign token should set up an ArcBridge to allow users to move their tokens between ArcBlock and Ethereum chain.

Move Token Across ArcBridge

TODO: more about ArcBridge should be added here