In the blockchain context described here, a token is a ledger-recorded unit identified on-chain and associated with ownership transfer and reference targets. Under ERC standards, the token ID and its holder are fixed in the ledger, while the destination pointed to by tokenURI—such as an image or metadata location—may be mutable. In other words, what a token refers to is not necessarily fixed, and the referenced content can change over time.
The sources also note that ERC specifications explicitly place NFT creation (minting) and destruction (burning) outside the standard. The standard does not define the moment a token comes into existence or disappears; it only standardizes the transfer of already existing tokens. In one cited case from 2022, the originally minted token was not deleted. Instead, what happened was account suspension, buyback, and retitling. This shows that a token can remain as a persistent ledger identifier while its interpretation, display, or associated naming can be altered through external platform decisions or other non-standard means.