Native SOL has no contract address. It is Solana's own coin, and balances are held in lamports (1 SOL = 1,000,000,000 lamports). When you see "the SOL contract address", it almost always means the Wrapped SOL (WSOL) native mint: So11111111111111111111111111111111111111112. Apps use this mint when SOL has to go through token instructions, for example in a swap. If a token calls itself SOL and its mint address is anything else, it is not SOL on Solana.
The addresses that matter
| What | Network | Address | Where it is documented |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrapped SOL native mint (Token Program) | Solana | So11111111111111111111111111111111111111112 | Solana Cookbook; Solana Program Library token docs |
| Wrapped SOL native mint (Token Extensions Program) | Solana | 9pan9bMn5HatX4EJdBwg9VgCa7Uz5HL8N1m5D3NdXejP | Solana Cookbook |
| Wrapped SOL (Wormhole), symbol SOL, 9 decimals | Ethereum | 0xD31a59c85aE9D8edEFeC411D448f90841571b89c | Etherscan token page. Wormhole's own docs do not list it |
The Ethereum token is a bridged version issued through the Wormhole bridge. It is not native SOL, and you cannot send it straight to a Solana wallet. Wormhole publishes its bridge contracts (on Ethereum, 0x3ee18B2214AFF97000D974cf647E7C347E8fa585) but has no page that names a canonical wrapped-SOL token address. For the Ethereum token, check the address against a current explorer listing before you use it.
How Wrapped SOL works
Solana's documentation defines Wrapped SOL as "SOL held in a token account for the Token Program's native mint". A few rules follow from that, and they explain things wallets often show:
- Wrapping. You send SOL to a token account on the native mint and then call
SyncNative. This updates the token amount to match the lamports in the account above its rent-exempt reserve. Until you call it, the account's lamport balance goes up but its token balance does not. - Unwrapping. According to the SPL Token docs, wrapped SOL "is only retrievable by closing the token account". You choose where the lamports go when you close it. On the command line,
spl-token wrap 1wraps 1 SOL andspl-token unwrap <token-account-address>unwraps it. - Supply reads zero. "The Native Mint supply will always report 0, regardless of how much SOL is currently wrapped." A zero supply on this mint is normal. It does not mean something is wrong.
- No burning. Burning is not supported for wrapped SOL accounts, and a wrapped SOL account can be closed with a non-zero balance.
Is this token really SOL?
Answer three quick questions about a token that calls itself SOL to see what it actually is.
Which network is the token on?
- Solana → next question
- Ethereum → next question
Open the mint in a block explorer. Does the full mint address match So11111111111111111111111111111111111111112 (Token Program) or 9pan9bMn5HatX4EJdBwg9VgCa7Uz5HL8N1m5D3NdXejP (Token Extensions Program)?
- Yes, every character matches → This is Wrapped SOL on Solana
- No, it is a different address → This is not SOL
- I only see the first and last few characters → Compare the whole string first
Does the contract address match 0xD31a59c85aE9D8edEFeC411D448f90841571b89c on a current explorer listing?
The mint is the native mint, so the token is SOL held in a token account. A supply of 0 on this mint is normal. You unwrap it by closing the token account.
Anyone can create a token named SOL with the SOL logo. Only the mint address tells it apart, and this one does not match. Do not connect a wallet or share a seed phrase.
Shortened addresses are not enough. Copy the full address from documentation or a page you have bookmarked, not from a chat or a reply under a post, and check it again.
This token was issued through the Wormhole bridge. You cannot send it straight to a Solana wallet, and the address rests on a single explorer listing that Wormhole's docs do not confirm.
This checks only the token's network and mint address. It cannot tell whether a website, airdrop or support contact is genuine, and it does not cover bridged SOL on other networks.
How to check a token before you interact with it
- Compare the full mint address. Wallets and explorers often show only the first and last few characters. Check the whole string against the addresses above. Copy it from documentation or a page you have bookmarked, not from a chat message or a reply under a post.
- Open the mint in a block explorer. Every SPL mint account stores its supply, decimals, mint authority and freeze authority. For any token that claims to be SOL, the deciding test is simple: the mint address must be the native mint. For other tokens, the mint authority tells you who can create more of the token, and the freeze authority tells you who can stop transfers from token accounts.
- Check the network. A Solana address and an Ethereum address are different formats on different chains. Buying or sending the bridged Ethereum token while thinking it is native SOL is a mistake you cannot reverse on-chain.
Scams that borrow the SOL name
- Same name, different mint. Anyone can create a token named "SOL" with the SOL logo. Only the mint address tells it apart from the real thing.
- Fake airdrops and claim sites. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) described this pattern in an alert dated 4 August 2023. Spoofed websites ask visitors to connect a wallet, and victims "unknowingly connect their cryptocurrency wallets to a drainer smart contract". IC3's advice is to check that a site "is real and not a clone of the legitimate website".
- Seed-phrase requests. Real support staff do not ask for a seed phrase. The CFTC, for example, states it "would never ask for your private keys or seed phrases". Anyone who asks for yours is trying to take the wallet.
In the US, you can report fraud to IC3 at ic3.gov or to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Limitations: the Solana addresses come from Solana's own documentation; the Ethereum Wrapped SOL address rests on a single explorer listing and could not be confirmed in Wormhole's documentation.
Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose your capital. Nothing here is investment advice.
