{"id":9285,"date":"2026-06-22T16:18:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T14:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/glossary\/technical-terms\/token\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T05:30:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T03:30:44","slug":"token","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/glossary\/technical-terms\/token\/","title":{"rendered":"Token"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.pterm{max-width:880px;margin:0 auto;font-family:inherit;padding-top:30px;}.pterm-hero{background:linear-gradient(135deg,#1a1a2e,#2d2d4a);border-radius:18px;padding:30px 34px;margin-bottom:28px;display:flex;align-items:center;gap:18px;flex-wrap:wrap;}.pterm-hero .ph-ico{width:56px;height:56px;border-radius:13px;background:rgba(245,135,31,.16);display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center;flex-shrink:0;}.pterm-hero h1{color:#fff;font-size:1.9em;margin:0;line-height:1.2;}.pterm-block{margin-bottom:24px;}.pterm-block h2{color:#1a1a2e;font-size:1.25em;margin:0 0 10px;}.pterm-def{background:#fff;border-left:4px solid #f5871f;border-radius:0 12px 12px 0;padding:18px 22px;color:#444;line-height:1.7;box-shadow:0 2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,.04);}.pterm-p{color:#444;line-height:1.7;margin:0 0 14px;}.pterm-ex{background:#fff7ef;border-radius:12px;padding:18px 22px;color:#5a4630;line-height:1.7;}.pterm-ex .lbl{display:inline-block;font-size:.72em;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.08em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#f5871f;margin-bottom:6px;}.pterm-see{background:#f7f7fb;border-radius:12px;padding:16px 22px;color:#444;line-height:1.7;}.pterm-see .lbl{display:inline-block;font-size:.72em;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.08em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#9a9aae;margin-bottom:6px;}.pterm-see a{color:#f5871f;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none;}.pterm a{color:#f5871f;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none;}<\/style>\n<p><a class=\"pterm-back\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; gap: 8px; margin: 0 0 18px; padding: 9px 16px; background: #fff7ee; border: 1px solid #f3d9b8; border-radius: 999px; color: #e08a1e; font-weight: 600; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"\/en\/glossary\/technical-terms\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 18px; line-height: 1;\">\u2190<\/span>Back to Technology and terms<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pterm\">\n<div class=\"pterm-hero\">\n<div class=\"ph-ico\"><\/div>\n<h1>Token<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pterm-block\">\n<div class=\"pterm-def\">Many crypto scams revolve around a token that appears valuable but is in reality worthless or manipulated. Identifying the type of token and its issuer is an important step in an investigation. A token in itself is neutral; the context determines whether fraud is involved.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pterm-block\">\n<h2>What is a token?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"pterm-p\">A token is a digital unit of value issued on an existing blockchain, for example on Ethereum. Unlike a coin such as bitcoin, a token uses the infrastructure of another network. Tokens can represent a balance, a voting right, a collectible or pure speculation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pterm-block\">\n<h2>How can a token be used in a scam?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"pterm-p\">Scammers often create their own token and artificially inflate its price, then dump their own holdings. Honeypot tokens, which you can buy but not sell, also occur. An investigation looks at the issuer, the distribution of the token and the transaction patterns around its launch.<\/p>\n<p><!-- pcb-faq start --><\/p>\n<div class=\"pcb-faq\" style=\"margin: 48px 0 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background: #243029; color: #fbf4ec; border-radius: 14px 14px 0 0; padding: 18px 24px;\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pterm-block\">\n<h2>More questions about tokens<\/h2>\n<p class=\"pterm-p\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background: #FBF4EC; border: 1px solid #eee; border-top: none; border-radius: 0 0 14px 14px; padding: 22px 24px;\">\n<h3 style=\"margin: 18px 0 6px; color: #243029; font-size: 1.05em;\">What is the difference between a token and a coin?<\/h3>\n<p>A coin runs on its own blockchain, such as bitcoin; a token is issued on top of an existing blockchain. The distinction matters because it affects how a token is created, moved and traced.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin: 18px 0 6px; color: #243029; font-size: 1.05em;\">Can token transactions be traced?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, tokens move across public blockchains and are therefore traceable in the same way as other transactions. Paucitas can map those movements in a traceable report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- pcb-faq end --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pterm-block\">\n<h2>What does it mean if you cannot sell your token?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"pterm-p\">That may be down to a lack of buyers or to restrictions built into the token. In the latter case the option to sell is blocked technically, which is a known feature of misleading projects.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pterm-block\">\n<h2>Which differences actually matter here<\/h2>\n<p class=\"pterm-p\">The label says almost nothing on its own, so the useful questions are about who stands behind it and what it entitles you to. Some represent a claim on a party that promises to redeem them, some represent a share in a project, and some represent nothing beyond the willingness of others to buy them. Those three sit in completely different places in a file: the first has an identifiable issuer who can be asked something, the second usually comes with documentation, and the third leaves only the market itself as evidence of value.<\/p>\n<p class=\"pterm-p\">The second difference that matters is where it lives. Anything issued on someone else&#8217;s network depends on that network continuing to run, and on the contract behind it doing what its authors intended. Contracts can contain limits that only become visible when you try to sell, which is why the ability to buy proves very little. In an investigation we therefore record the network, the contract address and the issuer where one exists, because those three determine what can still be verified years later and who, if anyone, is in a position to act.<\/p>\n<p class=\"pterm-p\">For anyone weighing a purchase rather than reconstructing one, the shortest useful test is to ask what you would show a bank if it asked where the value came from. If the honest answer is a screenshot of a price, that tells you where this one sits in the three categories above.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pterm-block\">\n<div class=\"pterm-src\" style=\"background: #f4f6fb; border-radius: 12px; padding: 18px 22px; color: #3a4152; line-height: 1.7; margin: 22px 0 8px;\"><span class=\"lbl\" style=\"display: inline-block; font-size: .72em; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: .08em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #5a6b8c;\">External source<\/span><span style=\"display: block; margin-top: 8px;\">HMRC publishes an internal manual on cryptoassets that sets out the categories it works with, from exchange and utility to security and stablecoins, and how it describes the underlying technology. It is a helpful reference when marketing language is vague, because it shows how a public authority is prepared to classify these instruments. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/hmrc-internal-manuals\/cryptoassets-manual\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HMRC: cryptoassets manual<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pterm-see\">\n<p><span class=\"lbl\">See also<\/span><\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/glossary\/signals-and-risks\/honeypot-token\/\">Honeypot token<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/glossary\/signals-and-risks\/pump-and-dump\/\">Pump and dump<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/glossary\/signals-and-risks\/rug-pull\/\">Rug pull<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/glossary\/technical-terms\/blockchain\/\">Blockchain<\/a>.<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 8px;\"><span class=\"lbl\">Related topic<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/topics\/crypto-fraud-investigation\/\">crypto fraud investigation<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top:8px;\"><span class=\"lbl\">Frequently asked question<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/questions\/dutch-tax-authority-questions-about-crypto\/\">The Dutch tax authority is asking about my crypto, who helps me substantiate it?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"DefinedTerm\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/glossary\/technical-terms\/token\/#term\",\"name\":\"Token\",\"description\":\"Many crypto scams revolve around a token that appears valuable but is in reality worthless or manipulated. 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Identifying the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":8865,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9285","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9285"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14415,"href":"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9285\/revisions\/14415"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paucitas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}