Tokens and NFTs: ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC-1155, Utility Design, and Tokenomics

Fungible Tokens and NFT Basics

Fungible tokens are interchangeable units such as payment tokens, governance tokens, or reward points. NFTs represent unique items such as collectibles, tickets, certificates, or game assets. Both are usually implemented using token standards so wallets, marketplaces, and applications can interact with them consistently.

Important Token Standards

• ERC-20 for fungible token balances and transfers
• ERC-721 for unique non-fungible assets
• ERC-1155 for flexible multi-token contracts supporting both fungible and non-fungible patterns

Knowing the standard is not enough. Strong developers also understand approval flows, transfer hooks, metadata conventions, and wallet UX implications.

Simple ERC-20 Example

pragma solidity ^0.8.20;

import "@openzeppelin/contracts/token/ERC20/ERC20.sol";

contract StudyToken is ERC20 {
    constructor() ERC20("StudyToken", "STDY") {
        _mint(msg.sender, 1_000_000 ether);
    }
}

This example uses a battle-tested library to avoid rewriting core token logic from scratch.

Tokenomics and Real Product Thinking

A token is not useful just because it exists. Teams need to define why the asset exists, how it is minted, distributed, governed, or burned, and what behaviors it is supposed to incentivize. Poor tokenomics can destroy adoption even when the code works correctly. Good token design aligns utility, incentives, governance, and long-term sustainability.