FAQ

Frequently asked questions about light-token.

What is light-token?

Light token is a high-performance token standard that is functionally equivalent to SPL, but stores mint and token accounts more efficiently. This reduces account creation cost while being more CU efficient than SPL on hot paths.

Creation Cost

	Light-Token	SPL-Token
Mint Account	0.00001 SOL	0.0015 SOL
Token Account	0.00001 SOL	0.002 SOL

CU Performance

	Light-Token	SPL-Token
ATA Creation	4,348	14,194
Transfer	312	4,645
Transfer (rent-free)	1,885	4,645

Can I start using the Light Token Standard?

Yes! Light Token is deployed on devnet — start integrating today with our Quickstart and Toolkits.

For production on mainnet, use Compressed Tokens V1, which are live and supported by leading wallets such as Phantom and Backpack.

Do I need to change my client code significantly?

No. The light-token-sdk methods are a superset of the SPL-token API. Find examples below.

	Light	SPL
Get/Create ATA	getOrCreateAtaInterface()	getOrCreateAssociatedTokenAccount()
Derive ATA	getAssociatedTokenAddressInterface()	getAssociatedTokenAddress()
Transfer	transferInterface()	transferChecked()
Get Balance	getAtaInterface()	getAccount()

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Can light-token accounts hold SPL tokens?

Yes, light-token accounts can hold tokens from light, SPL, or Token 2022 mints.

SPL tokens can be deposited into light-token accounts and withdrawn back to SPL token accounts via the transferInterface method.

Do light-token accounts require rent?

The token standard pays rent-exemption cost for you. To prevent griefing, “rent” is paid over time to keep an account in memory. This is dealt with under the hood in a way that doesn’t disrupt the UX of what your users are used to with SPL-token.

1. The rent-exemption for light account creation is sponsored by the Light Token Program.
2. Transaction payer’s pay rent per rent-epoch (388 lamports for 1.5h)
   to keep accounts “active”.
3. “Inactive” accounts (rent below one epoch) get automatically compressed.
4. The account’s state is cryptographically preserved and will be loaded into hot account state in-flight, when the account is used again.
   

The hot state fee is paid for by the transaction payer when writing to the respective account.

What happens if my light-token account runs out of rent?

The account is automatically compressed. Your tokens are cryptographically preserved as a compressed token account (rent-free). The account is loaded into hot account state in-flight when someone interacts with it again.

Does light-token support extensions?

Extensions are under development. Additional extensions can be requested.

Coming soon:

• MetadataPointer
• TokenMetadata
• InterestBearingConfig
• GroupPointer
• GroupMemberPointer
• TokenGroup
• TokenGroupMember
• MintCloseAuthority
• TransferFeeConfig
• DefaultAccountState
• PermanentDelegate
• TransferHook
• Pausable
• ConfidentialTransferMint
• ConfidentialTransferFeeConfig
• ConfidentialMintBurn

What is the difference between light-token and compressed token?

• light-token: Solana account that holds token balances of light-mints, SPL or Token 22 mints.
• Compressed token: Compressed account storing token data. Rent-free, for storage and distribution.

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