evm-token-decimals

EVM Token Decimals

Silent decimal mismatches are one of the easiest ways to ship balances or USD values that are off by orders of magnitude without throwing an error.

When to Use

• Reading ERC-20 balances in Python, TypeScript, or Solidity
• Calculating fiat values from on-chain balances
• Comparing token amounts across multiple EVM chains
• Handling bridged assets
• Building portfolio trackers, bots, or aggregators

How It Works

Never assume stablecoins use the same decimals everywhere. Query decimals() at runtime, cache by (chain_id, token_address), and use decimal-safe math for value calculations.

Examples

Query decimals at runtime

from decimal import Decimal
from web3 import Web3

ERC20_ABI = [
    {"name": "decimals", "type": "function", "inputs": [],
     "outputs": [{"type": "uint8"}], "stateMutability": "view"},
    {"name": "balanceOf", "type": "function",
     "inputs": [{"name": "account", "type": "address"}],
     "outputs": [{"type": "uint256"}], "stateMutability": "view"},
]

def get_token_balance(w3: Web3, token_address: str, wallet: str) -> Decimal:
    contract = w3.eth.contract(
        address=Web3.to_checksum_address(token_address),
        abi=ERC20_ABI,
    )
    decimals = contract.functions.decimals().call()
    raw = contract.functions.balanceOf(Web3.to_checksum_address(wallet)).call()
    return Decimal(raw) / Decimal(10 ** decimals)

Do not hardcode 1_000_000 because a symbol usually has 6 decimals somewhere else.

Cache by chain and token

from functools import lru_cache

@lru_cache(maxsize=512)
def get_decimals(chain_id: int, token_address: str) -> int:
    w3 = get_web3_for_chain(chain_id)
    contract = w3.eth.contract(
        address=Web3.to_checksum_address(token_address),
        abi=ERC20_ABI,
    )
    return contract.functions.decimals().call()

Handle odd tokens defensively

try:
    decimals = contract.functions.decimals().call()
except Exception:
    logging.warning(
        "decimals() reverted on %s (chain %s), defaulting to 18",
        token_address,
        chain_id,
    )
    decimals = 18