Protocol-Level Tokens: The Backbone of Smart Money

Programmable, secure and chain-native: redefine how finance and blockchain intersect.

The Limits of Smart Contracts

The promise of seamless, automated finance has been undermined by the systemic flaws of smart contracts: security holes, costly exploits, skyrocketing gas fees, and zero compliance safeguards. For finance to scale on-chain, programmable money must be trustworthy, secure, cost-efficient, and ready for demands of the real-world economy.

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Concordium PLTs: The Smarter Tokens

While smart contract-based tokens such as ERC-20 and SPL are flexible and customizable, they are also costly, prone to hacks and inconsistent across projects. Protocol Level-Tokens are built directly into the Concordium protocol, eliminating the risks and inefficiencies of tokens held in a vulnerable honey pot.

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Efficient & Cost Effective

Most tokens, like ERC-20s require custom contract code for every token function, driving up gas fees. PLTs replace that with standard, native functionality, making minting, burning and transferring tokens faster, simpler and cheaper.

Enhanced Security

Smart contracts expand the attack surface, leaving tokens vulnerable to exploits. PLTs are vetted and issued through modules at the protocol layer, drastically reducing risks and ensuring predictable behavior.

Compliance-Ready

Tokens bolted onto smart contracts lack compliance tooling, forcing issuers to patch in controls. PLTs come with the Concordium identity layer and built-in allowlists/denylists, enabling jurisdictional compliance from conception.

PLT Lifecycle

Vetting Process

Issuers go through due diligence before assigning a unique Token ID, metadata, governance account, and parameters for minting, burning, and access control.

Core Features

Supports mint, burn, transfer, allowlists/denylists, and issuer-level pausing. Extensible by design for future upgrades.

Issuer Control

Issuers retain control over their PLTs. Wallets automatically detect PLTs, no need to enter contract addresses manually.

Where Smart Money Meets Real-World Trust

Stablecoins & TMMFs

PLTs are a compelling foundation for regulated stablecoins and tokenized assets, including money market funds, with built-in auditability and compliance-readiness.

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Verify & Pay

Concordium’s zero-knowledge identity capabilities enable seamless age or jurisdiction verification in payment flows with no extra UX complexity.

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PayFi Applications

From programmable payment rails and mechanisms to control fund issuance and settlements, PLTs underpin a new breed of secure financial tools.

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Roadmap & Future Innovation

Concordium continues to expand PLT capabilities
with upcoming enhancements

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Modular &
Custom

Advanced, repository-free payout triggers & conditional transfers.

Enhanced Compliance Infrastructure

Sponsored transactions, portable KYC, account-level access control, and DeFi enablement without sacrificing custody.

Interoperability &
SDK Support

Cross-chain integrations, wallet SDKs, and support for third-party wallets and merchants.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Protocol-Level Tokens (PLTs) in a nutshell.

How are PLTs different from ERC-20 or other smart contract tokens?

Unlike ERC-20 and similar standards that rely on smart contract logic, PLTs are embedded at the protocol layer. This reduces vulnerabilities, gas fees, and ensures standardized functionality across all tokens.

What is the vetting process for PLTs?

Token issuers send off-chain requests to the Concordium Foundation outlining the monetary script (i.e. allowlist/denylist parameters, mint and burn functionality). Upon approval a governance transaction is then submitted to the chain to initiate the new PLT with the parameters provided. See PLT documentation for further details.

What wallet providers support PLTs?

To transact with PLTs, a Concordium wallet is necessary. To choose the right one for your needs, read the following guide: Concordium wallets.

Is ID verification mandatory for all PLT holders?

Yes. As Concordium integrates ID verification into the protocol itself, every wallet holding PLTs is tied to an identity. However, no personal information is stored on-chain. And once verified, users can transact and interact with various applications anonymously. Zero-knowledge proof technology allows proof of identity without revealing personal information. Learn more.

Why are PLTs important for regulated finance and PayFi?

PLTs support built-in compliance features such as allowlists, denylists, and identity verification through the Concordium identity layer. This makes them ideal for stablecoins, tokenized funds, and other financial products or payment platforms that need to meet regulatory requirements.

What can issuers do with PLTs?

Issuers can mint new tokens, burn tokens and manage compliance lists as well as control supply directly at the protocol level.

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