Glossary
SPL delegate (Solana)
A third-party address authorized on an SPL token account to transfer tokens up to a set amount — Solana’s analogue to an ERC-20 approval, stored per token account.
How it differs from Ethereum
On EVM chains, an Approval event grants a spender access from your wallet. On Solana, permission often lives on the token account record itself: a delegate pubkey and delegated amount. Token and Token-2022 programs both support delegates.
When it is risky
- You connected to an unknown dApp and signed a delegate instruction
- Delegate is unlabeled and controls a large SPL or memecoin balance
- Multiple token accounts delegate to the same suspicious program wallet
How to revoke
- Wallet settings in Phantom, Solflare, or Backpack — review app permissions
- Solscan → your wallet → Token Accounts → inspect delegate column
- Tracefunds approval audit ($10) on Solana for a risk-ranked delegate table
Related terms