The economics of a cryptocurrency token is described by the term “tokenomics.” It discusses the creation and distribution of the token, supply and demand, incentive systems, and token burn schedules. There are many common crypto tokenomics that should be educated to investors.Â
For any successful cryptocurrency projects, it is critical to have well-designed tokenomics. Most investors and stakeholders usually evaluate a project’s tokenomics before choosing to take part. Tokenomics rules are created by crypto projects around their tokens to promote or prevent particular user behaviors.Â
Some examples of user behaviors include the likes of spending, lending, saving and the movement of money. However, as opposed to fiat money, the laws of tokenomics are open-source, predictable, and hard to change because they are implemented through code. Below are some of the key factors to consider when evaluating a cryptocurrency’s tokenomics.
Crypto Tokenomics Terms #1. Token Supply
The primary factors of any commodity or service’s pricing are supply and demand. Likewise for cryptocurrency. The supply of a token can be determined using several key metrics.
Crypto Tokenomics Terms #2. Token Utility
The use cases created for a token are referred to as its Token utility. Below are some of the key use cases for the popular cryptocurrencies.
Tokens can be used in a variety of additional ways. Governance tokens allow one to vote on modifications to a token’s protocol. Stablecoins are intended for use as currency. These elements can assist you in identifying a token’s prospective use cases, which is crucial for predicting how the token economy will develop.
Crypto Tokenomics Terms #3. Token Distribution
In addition to supply and demand, it’s critical to consider the distribution of tokens. Large institutions and individual investors behave differently. Understanding the different types of entities that hold a token will help you predict how they will likely trade them, which will have an effect on the token’s value.
To launch and distribute tokens, there are typically two methods.
In general, it’s important to consider how equally a token is distributed. This is considered a riskier situation where a small number of entities holds a disproportionate amount of a token. This is because the long-term success of a token is highly dependent on the patience of its investors.
4. Token Burns
Many cryptocurrency projects frequently burn tokens, which removes them from circulation forever.
For instance, Ethereum started burning ETH in 2021 to cut down on its supply overall. On the other hand, Binance also does coin-burning to eliminate coins from circulation. BNB’s total supply stands at 161M as of September 2022. BNB will continue to burn coins until half of the overall supply has been destroyed to about 100 million BNB.
When the supply of a token is reduced, it’s considered deflationary. Conversely, inflation occurs when a token’s supply keeps growing. Hence, this shows how the supply of token can directly affect the price of the particular cryptocurrency.
5. Incentive Mechanism
Lastly, we will discuss more on Incentive Mechanism. Incentive mechanism revolves around how a token motivates its users to participate and maintain long-term sustainability. The block subsidy and transaction fees in Bitcoin are a fantastic example of a well thought-out incentive model (Proof-of-Work).
Another increasingly popular incentive mechanism is the Proof of Stake mechanism. Participants can lock their tokens using this mechanism in order to verify transactions. In short, the likelihood of being selected as validators and earning incentives increases as more tokens are locked up. Additionally, validators’ own assets will be at danger if they attempt to undermine the network. This incentive mechanism encourages participants to act honorably and maintain the protocol’s stability.
Conclusion
Tokenomics has advanced tremendously since the Bitcoin network’s genesis block was created in 2009. Developers have investigated a wide variety of tokenomics models. Both achievements and failures have occurred.
If you do want to invest in cryptocurrency, tokenomics is a key topic that you will need to understand. It is a phrase that encompasses the key elements influencing a token’s value. However, it is not the only factor that affects the token’s value.
When evaluating a cryptocurrency project, there are other variables that need to be taken into consideration too. To make an informed judgment of a project’s future potential and its token’s price, tokenomics can be used in conjunction with other fundamental analysis techniques.
Do keep an eye out for our upcoming article as we will be sharing more on how to fundamentally analyze cryptocurrency projects. If you are keen to explore our past cryptocurrency articles, you can check out the following: Basics terms of crypto.
Disclaimer: The information provided by LearnToInvest serves as an educational piece and is not intended to be personalized investment advice. ​Readers should always do their own due diligence and consider their financial goals before investing in any stock or cryptocurrencies.