Token standard
What is ERC20?
ERC20 is the token standard for Ethereum, Base and Polygon PoS: the common set of functions a token contract implements so that wallets and exchanges can hold, send and receive it in the same way.
What ERC20 means in practice
A token that follows a standard is not a coin of its own network. It is a contract that keeps a record of balances, so sending it moves a record inside that contract, and the network fee is paid separately, in the network’s own coin.
Which tokens Unheld lists under ERC20
Read from the same catalogue every page of this site is built from. Decimals and confirmation depth are each network’s own.
| Supported assets | Supported networks | Decimals | Confirmations |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDC | Ethereum | 6 | 12 |
| USDT | Ethereum | 6 | 12 |
| USDC | Base | 6 | 12 |
| USDC | Polygon PoS | 6 | 12 |
The same token can use different decimals and a different confirmation depth on another network. Take both figures from the row you invoice on.
What is different when you send ERC20
- An address is 0x followed by 40 hexadecimal characters, 42 in all, the same form as on Ethereum.
- The network fee is paid in ETH and POL, not in the token you are sending.
- Unheld credits a payment only after enough confirmations on the network: Ethereum (12), Base (12) and Polygon PoS (12).
- ERC20 belongs to its own network. The same token can exist on another network under another standard, and a transfer sent on the wrong one may not be recoverable. Pay on the network the invoice names.
How Unheld handles it
Every Unheld invoice names one exact network and shows it to the payer, so ERC20 payments are detected on that network only, credited after its confirmation depth, and settled straight to an address that belongs to your own wallet. Unheld never holds them.
ERC20 questions
Which networks use ERC20?
Among the networks Unheld lists, ERC20 tokens live on Ethereum, Base and Polygon PoS.
Which ERC20 tokens can I accept with Unheld?
USDC and USDT, each on the network shown in the table above.
What happens if a payer sends on the wrong network?
The transfer lands on a network the invoice did not name and may not be recoverable. The invoice page states the network for exactly this reason.
Who pays the network fee?
The payer pays the network fee to the blockchain. Unheld takes no share of the payment.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from one of these documents. Each was read on the date shown rather than recalled.