Lesson 02 · Unit 6 · Solana
Token-2022 extensions
Most Solana tokens use the original SPL Token program. Token-2022 is its successor: same idea, plus optional extensions a creator can switch on at mint time — transfer fees, transfer hooks, permanent delegate, default-frozen accounts, and more. Each was designed for a legitimate use. Each also has a hostile use, which is why the scanner reads the extension list like a customs declaration.
Extension
Honest use
Hostile use
Transfer fee
Protocol revenue, e.g. 0.1%
Fee set to 99% — selling burns your money
Transfer hook
Compliance checks, royalties
Reject every sell: a honeypot
Permanent delegate
Regulated assets, clawbacks
Dev can seize tokens from ANY wallet, forever
Default frozen
KYC-gated assets
Buyers start frozen; only whitelisted wallets trade
The extension is the fine print
Extensions are set on the mint account — public, readable, permanent facts, exactly like the authorities in chapter 4. Nobody hides them; they simply bet you will not look. For a meme coin, there is almost no honest reason to carry any of the hostile-capable ones.
Token-2022
Solana's extended token program. Adds opt-in extensions to a mint — powerful for regulated assets, and the toolbox behind most modern token traps.
Where this goes next
Two extensions do most of the damage in practice: the transfer fee, and the frozen-by-default flag.