Every amount on QRL 2.0, whether it is a wallet balance, a transfer value, or a gas fee, lives on chain as a plain integer count of the smallest unit. Wallets and explorers translate that integer into something a human can read. QRL 2.0 names three units for this purpose: Quanta, Shor, and Planck.

This article explains what each unit means, gives the exact conversion factors, shows which unit each ZondScan page uses, and walks through the built in unit converter. If the chain itself is new to you, start with What is QRL 2.0? and come back here.

The three units

Quanta is the whole coin. Balances, transfer values, and fees display in Quanta across the QRL 2.0 ecosystem. QRL remains the name of the project and the exchange ticker.
Shor is one billionth of a Quanta (10^-9). It carries over from the legacy QRL chain and sits at a convenient scale for gas prices.
Planck is the base unit: 10^-18 of a Quanta. Every value stored on chain is an integer number of Planck. It plays the same role that wei plays on Ethereum.

The conversions are exact powers of ten:

text

1 Quanta = 1,000,000,000 Shor            (10^9)
1 Quanta = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 Planck (10^18)
1 Shor   = 1,000,000,000 Planck           (10^9)
1 Planck = smallest unit, indivisible

Why two small units exist

The legacy QRL chain counts balances in Shor: one coin divides into 10^9 Shor, which gives nine decimal places. That precision served the legacy chain well for years, and the Shor name was already familiar to every QRL holder.

QRL 2.0 runs an EVM compatible execution layer, so the entire Ethereum toolchain expects the native coin to divide into 10^18 base units, exactly the way ether divides into wei. To satisfy both worlds, QRL 2.0 keeps Shor at its familiar position of 10^-9 and adds Planck underneath it at 10^-18 as the true base unit. Contract math, RPC responses, and raw transaction fields all operate on Planck integers; Shor and Quanta exist to make those integers readable.

Raw values are hex Planck

When you query a node directly or open the raw view of a transaction, amounts appear as hex encoded Planck integers. For example, 0xde0b6b3a7640000 is 10^18 Planck, which is exactly 1 Quanta.

How amounts appear on ZondScan

ZondScan picks the unit that keeps each number readable, so you will meet all three while browsing:

Transfer values and fees show in Quanta. On a transaction page the Value row and the Transaction Fee row both carry the Quanta label. The guide to reading a transaction covers every row in detail, and the live feed is at Transactions.
Gas prices show in Shor. The gas tracker charts the recent gas price in Shor, where typical values land in an easy to read range.
The base fee adapts. Block pages choose the unit by magnitude: values below one Shor display in Planck, values below one Quanta display in Shor, and anything larger displays in Quanta.
Validator stakes show as whole Quanta. The beacon chain accounts for stake in Shor, and the Validators page converts those balances to whole Quanta for display.

Convert units with the built in converter

For quick math between the three units, ZondScan ships a converter that uses exact integer arithmetic, so results are never rounded.

Open the converter
Go to the unit converter. It works entirely in your browser.
Enter an amount
Type a plain decimal number in the Amount field. The result updates as you type.
Pick the units
Choose the From and To units from the Quanta, Shor, and Planck dropdowns. The swap button between them reverses the direction in one click.
Read the result
The converted value appears in the Result field with the target unit shown beside it.

FAQ

Is Quanta the same as QRL?

QRL is the project name and the exchange ticker. One coin of the native asset is one Quanta, and ZondScan displays every native amount in Quanta, Shor, or Planck.

What is the smallest amount I can send?

One Planck, which is 10^-18 Quanta. Every on-chain value is an integer number of Planck, so there is nothing smaller to represent.

Which unit do gas prices use?

At the protocol level gas prices are Planck integers. The gas tracker displays them in Shor because typical prices sit in a readable range there.

Does the legacy chain use these units too?

The legacy QRL chain uses Shor as its smallest unit, with 10^9 Shor per coin. QRL 2.0 keeps Shor at that same position and adds Planck below it so the chain can offer the 18 decimals that EVM tooling expects.

Do testnet amounts have monetary value?

No. QRL 2.0 currently runs as a public testnet, and testnet coins have no monetary value. You can request free testnet Quanta from the faucet; the faucet guide walks through it step by step.