Q-Assets (Native Tokens on the Qortal Chain)

While not extremely well-known (as the focus on assets for Qortal has not been typically a priority given the extensive additional functionality provided by the core network and primary protocols), Qortal has the ability to create NATIVE ASSETS on the chain.

Unlike the 'tokens' of EVM-chains, Qortal's assets are actually native assets, treated exactly the same way that QORT is. (In fact, QORT itself is simply asset ID #0!) See output from the Qortal API - https://api.qortal.org/assets/info?assetId=0 (if on a local node - http://localhost:12392/assets/info?assetId=0) :

{
  "assetId": 0,
  "owner": "QdSnUy6sUiEnaN87dWmE92g1uQjrvPgrWG",
  "name": "QORT",
  "description": "QORTAL coin",
  "quantity": 0,
  "isDivisible": true,
  "data": "{}",
  "isUnspendable": false,
  "creationGroupId": 0
}

While yes, QORT itself is technically just an asset on the Qortal Chain, there is one key difference… QORT is created BY CONSENSUS.

While issuance of additional assets on Qortal can be accomplished by a single account simply issuing a certain ISSUE ASSET transaction, QORT is not created in this fashion. Instead, QORT is created by consensus, and was issued at Genesis with 0 QORT on the chain, and minted from there by the Qortal Community of MINTERS. (MINTING on Qortal is NOT the same as you may be used to on EVM chains either, read about that HERE it is a completely unique consensus model that rewards CONTRIBUTION OVER TIME. ¹⁾)

QORT is the 'primary asset' of the Qortal Chain, and it is utilized to 'power' the Qortal Network. All transactions that are not feeless, require QORT in order to be issued on the network. Publishing data to QDN via an 'ARBITRARY' transaction, issuing the necessary AT transactions to create a true cross-blockchain trade, and tipping your favorite Q-Tube content creator for their content, are a few examples.

Since QORT is an asset layer0 of its own native blockchain, QORT is considered a 'true coin'. Since QORT is also required to enact the major and legitimate DECENTRALIZED FUNCTIONALITY provided by the network, it is also considered a SERVICE COIN. For without QORT, none of the primary features of the network would be possible.

Now that we've cleared up any potential misunderstandings, let's continue gaining an understanding of Assets on Qortal.

As shown above, assets (including QORT) have a set of basic parameters that are given them upon their issuance. Unlike QORT, that was created at genesis, additional assets on the Qortal Chain are created by USERS. (At least with the current asset model that was part of the platform at Genesis and continues until the time of this writing in June of 2025.)

Let's break down the parameters for a better understanding:

• Asset Id (assetId) = Asset ID is the ID number given to the asset. (This is issued in order of issuance, with QORT being 0)
• Owner (owner) = In the case of a non-QORT asset, the owner is the account that issued the asset. (Also referred to as 'asset issuer'). In most cases one may consider the assets in the 'owner' account as 'not in circulation'. (More details about asset use cases in their current state will be described below.)
• Name (name) = The name of the asset.
• Description (description) = A description given to the asset upon issuance. This could be something like 'a representation of ownership in XYZ company, pays dividends quarterly based upon company profits'. This could also be non-descriptive in case the asset is meant to be less 'obvious' in its intended use case.
• Quantity (quantity) = The total amount of assets created upon issuance. (Again, this is for non-QORT assets issued by accounts, this is the total number of assets that will ever exist, of this specific asset ID. *Note - Concepts for evolving the current asset model will be described at the bottom of this page.)
• Is Divisible (isDivisible) = This parameter determines whether this asset is able to be 'fractional' or not. If this is set to 'false', the asset will be only able to be sent/received in WHOLE NUMBERS. Only 1, , 25, 100, etc… not 1.3555 or any other fractional amount.
• Data (data) = This parameter adds additional data upon issuance of an asset. (More details coming soon.)
• Is Un-Spendable (isUnspendable) = This parameter controls whether the asset can be 'spent' AKA sent to another. Assets that are 'unSpendable' are not able to be transferred from one account to another via 'trasfer_asset' transactions. However, assets with this parameter enabled ARE able to be traded still on the built-in protocol-level asset trading built into Qortal. This is useful for specific cases where transferring assets is not allowed.
• Creation Group ID (creationGroupId) = This parameter provides information on the group ID that created the asset. (More information coming soon.)

(This page is being actively updated, more information will be published soon.)