BEP-20 Tokens Explained
Home › Guides · By BscScan.Support Editorial · 4 min read · Updated July 2026
BNB is the native coin of the BNB Smart Chain — it pays gas and exists in the protocol itself. Everything else you hold on BSC, from USDT to CAKE to the newest meme coin, is a BEP-20 token: a smart contract that keeps a spreadsheet of who owns how much.
A token is a contract, not a coin
BEP-20 is a standard interface — a set of functions every token contract agrees to implement: checking a balance, transferring, approving a spender. Because they all speak the same language, one wallet or exchange can support thousands of tokens without custom code for each. The standard is intentionally compatible with Ethereum's ERC-20, which is why BSC tooling felt familiar from day one.
What a token transfer really is
When you "send 100 USDT," no USDT moves through your wallet the way BNB does. Instead you send a transaction to the USDT contract asking it to subtract 100 from your row and add 100 to the recipient's row. On the explorer this looks distinctive: the transaction's Value field shows 0 BNB — the actual token movement appears in the event logs, which our transaction pages decode into readable lines like "Transfer 100 USDT from A to B."
Approvals — the permission most people forget
To let a DApp like PancakeSwap move your tokens, you first sign an approve transaction granting its contract an allowance. Many DApps request unlimited allowances for convenience. These permissions persist until revoked — a compromised or malicious contract with an old unlimited approval can drain that token later. Reviewing and revoking stale approvals occasionally is basic hygiene.
Anyone can create a token — literally anyone
Deploying a BEP-20 costs a few cents, and the ticker symbol isn't unique or protected. A token named "USDT" is not necessarily Tether. Identity lives in the contract address, nothing else — always verify it against the project's official site before buying or adding a token to your wallet. Our Top Tokens page lists verified contract addresses for the major ones.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between BEP-20 and ERC-20?
The standards are functionally near-identical; BEP-20 lives on BNB Smart Chain, ERC-20 on Ethereum. The same token often exists on both chains as separate contracts — never send one chain's token to the other chain's address.
How do I revoke an old token approval?
Send an approve transaction for that token setting the spender's allowance to zero, or use a reputable allowance-management tool. Each revocation costs a small gas fee.