<p>They represent the same from my understanding too. There are a few terms that are associated with the &quot;Tokens&quot; in Cardano. They are</p>
<pre><code>
 1. Currency Symbol - Hexadecimal Number - PolicyId
 2. Token Name      - Text               - AssetName
</code></pre>
<p>The currency symbol is kept in hexadecimal form since it is actually the signed hash of minting policy.</p>
<p>The policy generated from the mining policy is the current Symbol of the Native Asset. For ADA both Currency Symbol and Token Name are &quot;&quot;. I guess the difference has accommodated the manner in which it is being used. &quot;CurrencySymbol&quot; and &quot;TokenName&quot; are primarily used in Plutus Documentation and &quot;PolicyId&quot; and &quot;assetName&quot; are used in Native Token minting through cardano-cli.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-15T09:26:37.370Z
Yes, I think thats also true. There is also a type called AssetClass, which is the combination of the CurrencySymbol and A TokenName. The AssetClass can also hold a Value, which is basically an Int. Source: https://marlowe-playground-staging.plutus.aws.iohkdev.io/doc/haddock/plutus-ledger-api/html/Plutus-V1-Ledger-Value.html#g:3
retoen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-18T14:23:01.547Z
Be careful, I don't what do you mean by Text but if you are referring to the Haskell type Text, it has nothing to do with Tokens. It is used in Haskell outside of Plutus
Alain Magazin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-15T05:00:43.720Z
2021-11-15T05:00:43.720Z
raghu
<p>In the <a href="https://plutus-pioneer-program.readthedocs.io/en/latest/pioneer/week5.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Plutus docs</a>, there are references to <code>currencySymbol</code> and <code>tokenName</code>. In the <a href="https://github.com/input-output-hk/cardano-node/blob/master/doc/reference/multi-assets.md" rel="nofollow noreferrer">cardano docs</a> there are references to <code>policyId</code> and <code>assetName</code>. Are <code>policyId</code> and <code>currencySymbol</code> the same thing? Are <code>tokenName</code> and <code>assetName</code> the same thing? If they are the same, when is one used instead of the other?</p>

<plutus>
What are the differences between policyId & currencySymbol and assetName & tokenName?
# What are the differences between policyId & currencySymbol and assetName & tokenName?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-11-15)

In the [Plutus docs](https://plutus-pioneer-program.readthedocs.io/en/latest/pioneer/week5.html), there are references to `currencySymbol` and `tokenName`. In the [cardano docs](https://github.com/input-output-hk/cardano-node/blob/master/doc/reference/multi-assets.md) there are references to `policyId` and `assetName`. Are `policyId` and `currencySymbol` the same thing? Are `tokenName` and `assetName` the same thing? If they are the same, when is one used instead of the other?

**Tags:** plutus

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-11-15. Score: 1

They represent the same from my understanding too. There are a few terms that are associated with the "Tokens" in Cardano. They are

 1. Currency Symbol - Hexadecimal Number - PolicyId
 2. Token Name      - Text               - AssetName

The currency symbol is kept in hexadecimal form since it is actually the signed hash of minting policy.
The policy generated from the mining policy is the current Symbol of the Native Asset. For ADA both Currency Symbol and Token Name are "". I guess the difference has accommodated the manner in which it is being used. "CurrencySymbol" and "TokenName" are primarily used in Plutus Documentation and "PolicyId" and "assetName" are used in Native Token minting through cardano-cli.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Yes, I think thats also true. There is also a type called AssetClass, which is the combination of the CurrencySymbol and A TokenName. The AssetClass can also hold a Value, which is basically an Int. Source: https://marlowe-playground-staging.plutus.aws.iohkdev.io/doc/haddock/plutus-ledger-api/html/Plutus-V1-Ledger-Value.html#g:3  
> **username_3**: Be careful, I don't what do you mean by Text but if you are referring to the Haskell type Text, it has nothing to do with Tokens. It is used in Haskell outside of Plutus  

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