What Are SPL Tokens?
SPL tokens are the fungible tokens of the Solana blockchain. The name comes from the Solana Program Library, the set of on-chain programs that includes the Token Program: one shared program that creates, mints, and transfers every standard Solana token. A token is defined by its mint account, whose address (the mint address) identifies it, and which records the supply, the decimals, and the authority allowed to mint more.
Solana has a second token program, Token-2022, also called Token Extensions. It works like the original one and adds optional features such as transfer fees, interest-bearing balances, and on-chain metadata. Stablecoins, governance tokens like JUP, and meme coins like BONK and TRUMP are all SPL tokens. More background is in our guide What Is SPL.
What Is an SPL Token Wallet?
An SPL token wallet holds the private key of a Solana address and signs token transfers with it. Unlike a SOL balance, an SPL token balance is not stored in your address account itself: each token you hold lives in a separate token account that belongs to your address. The wallet finds these accounts, shows their balances, and creates a new one when a token arrives for the first time.
Gem Wallet is an SPL token wallet built into a self-custodial multi-chain app. It derives your Solana address from a 12-word recovery phrase and keeps the key in your phone’s secure storage, so USDC, USDT, and every other SPL token stay under your control rather than in an exchange account. The same address also holds SOL; the native coin, staking, and network details are on the Solana wallet page.
Tokens you can keep in Gem Wallet include:
USDC and USDT on Solana
The main SPL tokens are stablecoins issued natively on Solana by their own issuers, not bridged copies from another network: USDC by Circle and USDT by Tether. Both use 6 decimals.
| Token | Issuer | Official mint address |
|---|---|---|
| USDC | Circle | EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v |
| USDT | Tether | Es9vMFrzaCERmJfrF4H2FYD4KCoNkY11McCe8BenwNYB |
Data source: Circle developer docs and Tether supported protocols, as of November 2026.
Creating a token on Solana takes minutes, so fake tokens named USDC or USDT appear often, sometimes sent unasked to look like a payment. Only the mint address is proof: compare the first and last characters with the table before you accept a token as payment or buy it. Gem Wallet runs a token security check before you confirm a transfer or swap. The networks these stablecoins run on and how to pick one are covered on the USDT wallet and USDC wallet pages.
Token Accounts and Rent
A token account stores one token balance for one owner. Its address is derived from your Solana address and the token’s mint, so it is called an associated token account. You never need to share it: people and exchanges send tokens to your main Solana address, and the transfer finds the right token account.
Every Solana account must hold a minimum amount of SOL, called rent, to stay on chain. A token account takes 165 bytes, and the rent is (128 + 165) bytes x 5,080 lamports = 0.00148844 SOL as of November 2026. Solana lowers the rent in steps under SIMD-0437: a token account cost 0.00203928 SOL before September 2026, and further steps will reduce it again.
| Situation | Who pays the token account rent |
|---|---|
| You send a token to an address that already holds it | No rent, only the network fee |
| You send a token to an address that has never held it | You, the sender, about 0.0015 SOL |
| Someone sends you a new token | The sender |
| You swap into a token you do not hold yet | You, as part of the swap transaction |
Data source: Solana rent rules and SIMD-0437, as of November 2026.
Rent is a deposit, not a fee. It stays in the token account, and when an empty token account is closed, the SOL in it goes back to the owner. When you send to a new recipient, Gem Wallet includes the token account amount in the network fee on the confirm screen, so you see the full cost before you sign.
Fees Are Paid in SOL
Every SPL transfer, swap, or approval is a Solana transaction, and Solana takes its fee only in SOL. The base fee is 5,000 lamports (0.000005 SOL) per signature; a priority fee on top raises the chance of fast inclusion when the network is busy. A wallet with USDT but no SOL cannot move the USDT.
Keep a small amount of SOL on the same address as your tokens. If you have none, buy SOL with a card in Gem Wallet, or withdraw some from an exchange together with your tokens. Gem Wallet shows the fee before you confirm, lets you choose Normal or Fast priority, and tells you how much SOL to add when the balance is too low.
Swap SPL Tokens in Gem Wallet
The built-in swap compares quotes from Solana’s own exchanges for the exact amount you enter: Jupiter, OKX DEX, Orca, Raydium, Meteora, and PumpSwap. Orca and Raydium quotes can also route in two hops through SOL or USDC when that pays more than a direct pool. The swap creates the token account for the token you receive in the same transaction.
- Stablecoins to SOL and back: swap USDT to SOL or SOL to USDT when you need SOL for fees.
- Between stablecoins: USDC to USDT and back on Solana, without leaving the network.
- Meme coins and new tokens: pump.fun coins that have graduated to PumpSwap, with the security check before you confirm.
- Across networks: Relay, THORChain, Mayan, and Chainflip swap tokens between Solana and other blockchains.
Download Gem Wallet to get your Solana address in under two minutes and keep USDC, USDT, and every SPL token under your own keys on iOS and Android.
