Saga is a Layer 1 blockchain protocol that allows developers to design their own dedicated chains for running applications. Learn more in this article.

 universe right now is the lack of accessible tools for developers. Many people interested in designing new 

 projects struggle to find the right software developer kits (SDKs) for their projects. The Saga ecosystem aims to fix this issue by providing unparalleled support to app and game developers. 

Can the Saga ecosystem really become the premier chain for web3 development? Keep reading to learn how it works and see whether it's likely to attract new developers.

 blockchain protocol. It allows developers to design their own dedicated chains for running applications. People who work on Saga all share the same security, scaling solutions and SDKs, but they each get their own unique chain that they can customize to suit their needs.

 of technology, crypto and finance enthusiasts. CEO Rebecca Liao is a co-founder of the Skuchain project, the designer of the 

 and a former international corporate attorney. Other members of the founding team include former Tendermint executive Jin Kwon, Blocktech Ventures founder Bogdan Alexandrescu and 

. They realized that there was a major need for a development-focused blockchain specifically designed for game project development. Saga's mission has attracted many major investors, 

Saga aims to create a new system for web3 project developers. Currently, most developers have to choose between the ease of working on an established chain like 

 versus the convenience and customization of designing their own chain. The Saga team realized that the most effective option for game developers would actually be a combination of the two types of development environments.

Saga wants to let developers set up their own sovereign blockchain so they can decide how things like 

 and transaction fees work. However, Saga also aims to provide extensive support for developers in its ecosystem. Its underlying framework ensures that people still have excellent security and a reliable validator set, no matter what their gaming project is.

 ecosystem, whose interchain web development standard is a set of protocols that allows a broad variety of blockchains to communicate with each other. The Saga network uses the 

 and the shared security system of the Cosmos ecosystem to manage the network, and has created its own Layer 1 chain that runs the entire Saga ecosystem and can do things like automatically launching 

The Saga Mainnet handles each developer's compiled smart contract binary. However, it also runs parallel dedicated chains that function as virtual machine (VM) modules capable of handling a specific set of smart contracts. End users for blockchain games and other apps interact only with the dedicated blockchain, while the developer's system manages the fees and individual transactions on the Saga Mainnet.

All of the chains on Saga are validated through optimistic coordination, which requires every Saga validator to validate each chain in the Saga ecosystem via 

 validation, verifying transactions by temporarily locking Saga tokens.

The Saga network contains a lot more than just the basic features offered through the Cosmos SDK and ecosystem. In addition to the software development tools and helpful interface for Saga's validators and developers, the ecosystem also contains the following features.

The overall layout of the Saga ecosystem starts with the Saga Mainnet. Built on the Cosmos hub, this framework includes a full validator set and a dedicated blockchain for handling all smart contracts. The basic protocols are passed on to each child chain in the system, and information is relayed back and forth between the main chain and all of the secondary chains. Saga's validators stake tokens, and then check to make sure every element of the topology follows Saga’s regulations.

 are a method for creating a dedicated blockspace that a developer can manage. These chainlets function as virtual machines that can handle smart contracts and automatically launch Celestia rollups. Each chainlet is its own blockchain that handles nothing but a specific gaming project. Developers decide on the gas fees they'll charge users, and can add chainlets as their projects expand and require more throughput from the remaining validators.

Saga's shared security relies on both the Cosmos hub and its own set of validators to secure the network. Validators on Saga’s network are monitored by auditors who can catch potential issues with individual dedicated chains. If anyone in the validator set fails to properly confirm a smart contract, their staked tokens are automatically confiscated.

 is a publishing system for gaming developers who want to create their own blockchains with help from Saga. It offers infinite scalability, seamless 

 and transactions without gas fees. In addition to use of the Cosmos SDK, developers who choose to publish their game through Saga Origins receive access to a variety of helpful marketing and distribution tools.

 is an interconnected blend of all the developers and projects in the Saga system. Though each sovereign blockchain is fully independent of others, they all join together to offer users a variety of exciting web3 projects. People interested in checking out the latest blockchain designs can join the Multiverse and browse all the neat concepts built on Saga.

To help get the Saga validator system started, Saga released 

 to its community members. People were eligible for the 

 if they had participated in the staking program or played in tournaments to promote Saga ecosystem games. The airdrop eligibility period required remaining validators and other participants to be active between January and October of 2023. Once the airdrop began allowing people to claim tokens, it continued to run until Mar 27, 2024.

 consists of four separate phases. The company has already completed the Andromeda and Cassiopeia phases, which focused on designing the Mainnet and setting up the system of Saga validators. Currently, the Saga team is in the Pegasus phase, which is about releasing tokens and opening the Saga Mainnet to the public. Sometime in late 2022, Saga’s team hopes to reach their Mainnet V2 phase, which will prioritize a new version of the Saga Mainnet with more features and options for dedicated blockspace.

SAGA tokens are the primary method for paying fees on the Saga network. These tokens are also used for staking, and function as a method of confirming Saga transactions. There are a total of 

, of which around 90 million have thus far been released. Saga plans to distribute its tokens as follows:

SAGA is still in the early stages of its token launch. However, it’s already surprised investors, having debuted at $4.91 on Apr 9, 2024 before quickly surging to its ATH to date of $7.60. It then steadily declined over the next few days to its current price of $3.06 as of Apr 19, 2024.

 SAGA, with its experts believing SAGA’s price will reach $15.73 by 2025 and decrease in 2027 to $6.27, before rising again to $13.45 by 2030. This bullish sentiment is amplified by analysts at Changelly, 

 SAGA’s price will increase to $6.91 in 2025, $14.21 in 2027 and $44.36 in 2030.

Looking to trade Saga tokens? Bybit now offers SAGAUSDT Perpetual contracts. To get started, you’ll first need to 

, then fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the 

SAGA has done an extremely impressive job of attracting users, and seems poised to become the big coin debut of April 2024 with its high price.

However, it's hard to say whether SAGA can maintain its price in the long run. It's quite common for new startups to have a strong start and then drop in price once their project fails to take off. If the Saga ecosystem can’t attract new developers and continue to release impressive projects, investors could see some major SAGA losses in the future.

Since this coin is so volatile right now, investors need to 

. It has the potential for both big profits and big losses, so you’ll want to carefully consider how these price shifts might affect your portfolio. For best results, avoid investing more than you can afford to lose, make sure you diversify your investments — and 

By offering developers the chance to create their own dedicated chains, Saga offers a more convenient and scalable system for blockchain gaming. Its helpful features and low transaction fees have already attracted many people, and it's no surprise that many others are interested in the project. Furthermore, SAGA tokens have had a promising start with extremely impressive growth. If the Saga company can successfully capitalize on its early buzz, it has a bright future.

Intermediate

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Saga (SAGA): Catalyzing the Multiverse With Scalable Chains

Discover Masa, a platform empowering individuals to control and monetize their data, decentralizing AI storage and promoting ethical data sharing.

Few areas of the crypto industry are as popular these days as artificial intelligence (AI). AI-related tokens and projects experience some of the highest growth rates, with particular interest attached to generative AI technology and large language models (LLMs), all thanks to OpenAI's massively popular ChatGPT tool. This is no surprise, as blockchain technology has the potential to address many of the limitations of LLM algorithms, particularly those related to the issues of data and centralization of AI models.

The Masa network (MASA) is a new AI-focused crypto platform that brings a fresh paradigm to the world by allowing individuals to control and monetize their personal data. Its platform also contributes to the AI revolution by decentralizing the storage of both the user data and the LLMs utilizing it.

 (MASA) is a blockchain platform that provides access to user-consented, hyper-specific behavioral and personal data and decentralized LLM algorithms. 

The platform launched its operations on Apr 11, 2024. Masa operates as a subnet on the 

 (AVAX) blockchain. To enable cross-chain functionality, it has also integrated 

 technology. This lets Masa bridge assets, initially to two key blockchains, 

 (BSC), with additional chains to be added in the future.

Masa provides user-consented AI data that’s stored in a decentralized way. As of mid-April 2024, more than 40 million data points from over 1.4 million 

 user wallets are available via its permissionless data layer. Masa represents an entirely new decentralized AI paradigm: while most data providers use centralized storage solutions, its platform's data is always stored in a decentralized, blockchain-based format.

The data made available via Masa’s platform is user-consented for collection and privacy-protected using its Zero-Knowledge 

 (zkSBT) technology, which allows users to share their personal data securely and confidentially by storing this encrypted data on the blockchain. Thanks to the zkSBT, users can share fairly detailed personal data while protecting their identities and the specifics of their online activities.

This user-consented data is directly sourced from users through the Masa App and Masa Chrome browser extension with their consent. Users have complete control over their data, which is collected in a highly detailed, verified and ethical manner. 

As such, it's different from the typical user-aggregated data collected from the internet by companies. Compared to user-consented data, user-aggregated data tends to be less granular and, obviously, has ethical strings attached to it: in most cases, users don't consent to the collection of such data, or (at best) provide reluctant consent by clicking on annoying "Accept All Cookies" buttons.

While focusing mostly on user-consented data, the Masa platform also offers developers a way to access user-aggregated data for a richer data network. Using Masa's web data scraper, developers can extract data from websites, social media posts, blogs and online databases.

User-aggregated data is collected by data node workers via the Masa Oracle network and Masa Chrome extension and stored on the platform, benefiting from the 

In addition to datasets, Masa enables the decentralized execution of LLM algorithms, facilitated by the Oracle node workers, who leverage their surplus CPU and GPU computing power to run open-source LLMs for fine-tuning AI models.

The Masa project aspires to achieve goals crucial to the development of all data and AI industries. First, Masa allows individuals to completely control their own personal data by choosing what to share with the outside world while protecting their confidentiality. The blockchain-based storage mode also ensures the security of the stored data. Additionally, users can monetize access to their personal data, becoming a major beneficiary of its use.

All of these benefits are in stark contrast to the traditional way user data is collected, stored and used on Web 2.0 platforms. In this traditional mode, one is often unaware of what personal data is collected about them, as well as when and by whom. Although the data used for analytics purposes might be in an aggregated form, together with the details of other online users, individual users are still part of the "guinea pig" cohort whose details have been unceremoniously extracted and utilized without their knowledge or consent.

Moreover, when hit online with some fairly relevant advertising based on past search phrases, one begins to realize that data isn't always used in an aggregated format. In fact, its utilization can be quite personalized. And of course, in the traditional mode of data collection, we’re all rarely reimbursed for the data we share.

Another aim of the Masa project is to provide a secure and efficient decentralized infrastructure for running LLM algorithms. Traditional, centralized hosting solutions for AI models face challenges, such as technical capacity and security issues. For instance, many centrally hosted LLM-based solutions suffer from performance degradation when large numbers of users access them simultaneously. Masa's approach to leveraging decentralized resources for running open-source LLMs efficiently addresses these capacity limitations, providing enhanced scalability and reliability for AI applications.

Masa operates as a subnet on the Avalanche blockchain, using cross-chain communications supported by LayerZero to access other networks as well. Avalanche subnets are completely independent 

 networks with their own set of rules and functionalities. Subnets, including Masa, use Avalanche's validators, or a subset of validators, to secure the network and achieve consensus.

Besides the validators, the Masa network has another type of functional nodes — 

. These special Masa nodes play a critical role in providing structured data and advanced AI models while prioritizing data privacy.

The Masa Oracle network acts as a decentralized web scraper, gathering data from the internet and organizing it for AI training and development. This approach gives developers access to hyper-personalized training data to improve language model performance. It also supports the decentralization of LLMs, making them easily accessible without complex setup.

As mentioned above, users can manage access to and monetization of their personal data via Zero-Knowledge Soulbound Tokens (zkSBTs), which provide a secure way of providing access to users’ personal data without compromising their privacy.

 is the main gateway for users to interact with the Masa platform. It lets them provide access to personal data and earn crypto rewards by staking data in four different ways:

Masa’s native cryptocurrency, MASA, is a utility and 

 used to reward users for providing their data to the network. 

 MASA also earns you crypto rewards. Entities who wish to utilize data held by the network pay for access to it in MASA tokens. The token is also used to reward the Oracle nodes.

As a governance token, MASA lets you participate in votes on any changes and upgrades to the platform's rules or fee structure.

The token's supply economics doesn't specify a maximum cap. MASA's total supply is 1,588,866,523, which will be released gradually over a period of around four years starting in April 2024. Token supply allocation shares are per the table below.

The MASA token is available on Bybit via a 

. Bybit's Spot and Derivatives markets provide you with opportunities to trade hundreds of cryptocurrencies and crypto-based products. If you don’t have a Bybit account, you can easily 

 to access Bybit's range of crypto products and assets.

The Masa network is a refreshing addition to the data industry, whose user consent and privacy have been under attack for many years. The Masa platform puts data ownership in users' hands, allowing them to control access to their data and benefit from its monetization. As online privacy concerns and invasive Web 2.0 advertising shenanigans grow, more users will be attracted to Masa's unique data concept.

In addition to allowing individuals to control and monetize their data, Masa also contributes significantly to the development of 

, which is important because the decentralized mode of data and model storage championed by the platform has the potential to solve many technical limitations of LLMs and other types of AI algorithms. This is a network full of merit and promise; all it needs now is wider recognition and user adoption.

Advanced

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Masa (MASA): Powering AI With User-Centric Data Monetization

Today’s outperformer is LSK, which jumped 17.63% after Lisk partners with Velodrome to enhance blockchain access and drive ecosystem growth.

The SPX index is down 0.22% as the market anticipates less Federal Reserve rate cuts, considering the possibility of no cuts this year. The broader cryptocurrency market is up, with Bitcoin and Ether rising by 4.18% and 3.19%, respectively in the past 24 hours.

Lisk (LSK), launched on May 2016, is a cryptocurrency platform that enables developers to build decentralized applications (dapps) using JavaScript and TypeScript. It supports custom "sidechains" within its network, offering tools like a software development kit. Lisk has announced a partnership with Velodrome to support and expand its blockchain ecosystem. Lisk will purchase and lock $VELO tokens for voting, directing VELO emissions to key pairs on Lisk. This collaboration aims to support existing protocols on Lisk, attract new developers, and enhance blockchain accessibility and adoption in emerging markets. Velodrome will back Lisk's Layer 2 initiatives, aligning with the goal of creating a scalable, interoperable Ethereum future.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

The Runes protocol is set to debut alongside Bitcoin's 2024 halving, heralding a new phase in Bitcoin's evolution by enabling the creation of fungible tokens directly on its network. This follows the impactful Ordinals protocol, which significantly expanded Bitcoin's functionalities. The Runes protocol will spark competition among developers to issue and acquire the first tokens, with global exchanges ready to support these tokens from day one. The halving event will also feature a race to mine a highly valuable "Epic" satoshi. As Bitcoin approaches this transformative era, extensive preparations and educational initiatives are underway to equip users for the forthcoming changes, marking a profound shift in Bitcoin's operational and cultural landscape.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have yet another day of outflow, however, yesterday’s outflow was close to neutral. The market has seen fluctuating flows in these ETFs, with significant activity in some and none in others, reflecting mixed investor reactions. Recent substantial outflows echo trends from March, but analysts regard such fluctuations as typical for ETFs and not indicative of failure. Despite this volatility, the outlook for Bitcoin ETFs remains positive as they continue to draw institutional interest and shape market dynamics.

Avail, a blockchain data-availability protocol developed using Polygon’s SDK, has announced an airdrop of 600 million AVAIL tokens, marking its one-year anniversary since spinning off from Polygon Labs. The "Unification Drop" aims to bring together various blockchain communities by rewarding developers, governance contributors, educators, rollup users, stakers, and others who have significantly contributed to the ecosystem. Avail's infrastructure includes three segments: Nexus for cross-chain transactions, Fusion for liquid staking on chains like Ethereum and Bitcoin, and DA for scaling rollups through technologies like KZG commitments. The airdrop will distribute tokens to 354,605 wallet addresses and includes significant allocations for various roles across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, Cosmos, and more, emphasizing a unified Web3 environment.

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Runes Protocol Revolutionizes Bitcoin with New Token Capabilities Ahead of 2024 Halving

Nolus is a decentralized finance lending protocol with cross-chain capabilities. Learn more about how it works in this article.

One of the big advantages of decentralized finance (

) is that it provides more options for users. People who cannot get traditional loans because a typical bank deems them "high-risk" can turn to the DeFi sector to borrow crypto assets. The Nolus Protocol is a new DeFi lender that offers users all sorts of exciting opportunities. To see how this intriguing project works, explore this guide to learn all about Nolus.

 is a DeFi lending protocol. It has cross-chain capabilities that let people choose the most favorable rates possible and avoid the need to save up funds for liquidity.

Nolus was founded by Ivan Kostov and Kamen Trendafilov. Kostov worked in traditional finance, while Trendafilov has a background in marketing and business. During their time in these sectors, Nolus's founders realized that blockchain networks had the potential to revolutionize banking. They decided to join together and create a new leasing system that makes the most of DeFi products instead of just trying to mimic past banking methods.

Nolus started work on its plans in 2022 and officially launched its mainnet in 2023, having successfully completed several investing rounds and receiving 

 Token Metrics, Autonomy Capital, Everstake and more.

Nolus aims to tackle three problems common in crypto lending markets:

 software developer kit (SDK). Its code is entirely open sourced, and is updated and changed only when all stakeholders in the Nolus community vote to do so. According to the Nolus white paper, its ecosystem’s goal is “to build a novel user experience–driven automated money market” that facilitates direct interactions between lenders and borrowers without involving any other users.

The Nolus lending method starts with lenders choosing to supply 

 to the system. Any borrower who submits a down payment can get a loan from this supply of stablecoins. Both the coins and the down payment are 

, and interest is determined based on the value of the items. There’s no fixed repayment schedule, but the smart contracts ensure that interest is automatically removed from the collateral, and then paid to the lender at regular intervals. Once the user decides to repay the lease, the original assets are released from the smart contract.

Nolus's lending protocol includes many ways for customers to profit and enjoy convenient services. Here are the main DeFi products you can access through Nolus.

DeFi leasing on Nolus is designed to be as convenient as possible. Customers don’t have to go through a lengthy application or pay a lot of fees to other users. You just enter your collateral and get a loan of up to three times the value of the initial investment. Interest rates vary between 11% and 18%, based on the market value of the digital assets. The 

 allow the loan to be repaid on your own schedule. However, keep in mind that you pay more interest if you wait a longer amount of time to repay the loan.

If you want to earn money based on your existing crypto, you can join one of the many 

 on Nolus by submitting stablecoins in exchange for interest-bearing Nolus crypto. When you're ready to withdraw your funds and stop participating in DeFi leasing, you can cash out your Nolus tokens to receive your initial asset, plus any additional interest or network fees you’ve earned.

Nolus's system of money markets isn't the only thing they provide. Users who decide to 

 a crypto asset on Nolus can earn more money. The Nolus ecosystem offers the option of staking NLS tokens in exchange for various incentives. Lenders receive higher amounts of rewards for lending stablecoins, and borrowers get a lower interest rate.

Nolus has had some impressive growth since its launch in 2023. In just six months, the lending protocol has assisted with thousands of loans, collectively worth $8.6 million in total. Its team calculates that they've managed to achieve an average 

Nolus hopes to expand on this momentum in 2024. Its main plan is to continue marketing the lending protocol heavily, attracting more users who want to do their own research and find the best possible loans. To further attract users from the DeFi sector, Nolus aims to add more support for other crypto tokens and increase network liquidity. Nolus stands for community-led governance, so they don't have a long-term road map in place. Instead, they plan to evolve and adjust to suit whatever community needs arise in the future.

. It allows users to adjust their interest rates, and it's also a 

. People with NLS tokens can vote on how the platform is run and help implement new changes for the platform. The NLS token has a total supply of 1 billion. Nolus’s plan is to gradually mint tokens over a ten-year period, and implement a token buyback program to help maintain value. NLS token distribution will be as follows:

When the NLS token was released in the summer of 2023, Nolus prices were fairly stable. However, now that investors can sell their NLS tokens, prices have become more volatile. Starting in December 2023, NLS prices 

, and although the token currently seems to be dropping from its all-time high of $0.10, more price increases seem likely in the future.

Not only is the market for the NLS token quite bullish right now, but the Nolus lending protocol is also attracting a lot of positive attention in the crypto space. If the network can maintain its positive attention and attract more users, prices seem likely to rise even further. CoinCodex predicts Nolus prices will stay in the $0.04 to $0.19 range for 2025, and hit 

. This attitude is backed up by crypto influencers such as Crypto Revolution, 

 an underrated crypto with a lot of potential for growth.

The Nolus project is a well-thought-out crypto protocol that offers users significant advantages. Its innovative approach to lending could potentially attract a lot of users from the DeFi space. In addition to having a reliable system backed with effective technology and a detailed white paper, NLS digital assets have also experienced some promising growth patterns. The crypto asset has had a slow yet steady climb in price, and now that it's trending in crypto news, it seems poised to take off.

However, keep in mind that it's still important to 

 on digital assets. Some crypto investors might find it concerning that the Nolus project is mostly backed by marketers, instead of blockchain enthusiasts. There have also been some tech issues, such as the 

 that led to some unnecessary margin calls. Subsequent issues could limit price appreciation of its crypto assets. Therefore, it's necessary to approach Nolus with caution and not overextend your finances.

Nolus's DeFi lease system allows people to obtain easy access to crypto. Its innovative approach provides investors with significant advantages. Unlike traditional finance, there's no lengthy application process, and in contrast to many other blockchain networks Nolus doesn't have frequent margin calls or high network fees. As long as Nolus doesn't run into any technological issues or financial problems, its network is likely to have a lot of success in the DeFi space.

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Nolus (NLS): Crafting Liquidity's Future With Leading DeFi Leases

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Crypto

Social tokens are digital tokens on a blockchain that allow creators to monetize experiences and services. Find out exactly how it works in this article.

Social tokens are building decentralized online communities where everyone benefits without a middleman. This article discusses the basics of social tokens and provides relevant examples to illustrate the concept.

Social tokens are digital tokens on a blockchain that allow creators to monetize experiences and services. The token can increase in value, and it can be resold by the token holder.

Social tokens are just like any other cryptocurrency. However, these tokens are created explicitly to empower a community and enable its community members to build a solid social bond around a specific individual or brand.

Anyone can create a social token. Whether you're an individual or a business, you can join the social token space and launch a social token to enrich the experience of your followers and clients. As more people use the token, its value will rise proportionally to the contribution of social token holders.

Unlike crypto tokens, social tokens mainly derive their value from the reputation of the content creator, and from the exclusive benefits that token holders receive in the form of engagements and experiences.

For instance, upcoming artists can launch a social token to offer a highly personalized experience to their followers. When the followers buy the token, they contribute to funding the artist, and receive exclusive benefits such as early access to music albums, the opportunity to engage in live Q&A sessions, invitations to special events, and private meetings. As the value of the token rises, both the artist and the follower benefit.

From a business perspective, social tokens can prove a goldmine. For startups, they're an ideal source of funding and improving fan engagement. For well-established businesses like Coca-Cola® and Apple, it's a perfect opportunity to enhance brand value by giving token holders early access to privileged content and new products. Since the amount of tokens is limited, rising demand increases their value.

People often think that brands can achieve similar results through a subscription service. While this is true to a certain extent, social tokens hold monetary value, which can increase substantially with time. In addition, users can exchange them among themselves or give them to others. This tangible nature makes them different from typical online membership schemes.

Social tokens are created by platforms that build them on top of blockchains such as 

Following a model similar to that of crypto, social tokens are often traded on platforms like 

. Since they hold value, you can buy and sell them as easily as any other digital asset. Some well-known social cryptos are 

The popularity of social tokens stems partly from the need to cut out the middleman. In a typical 

, social platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Facebook take the lion's share of fees from creators and brands, which can reduce the potential income generated by the content creator. Similarly, social platforms also control brand followers without giving them any tangible benefit.

In contrast, social tokens use the blockchain to access a decentralized environment, in which content creators can easily market their products without the cost and regulatory constraints imposed by social platforms. In this setup, the popularity of a content creator can increase in direct proportion to the value of its social tokens.

Organizations and brands aren’t the only entity to benefit from social tokens. In fact, these creator coins are tailor-made for individuals and influencers. Just like the brands themselves, individuals can create and sell social tokens for funding, and to improve their reputation through market capitalization. A social token is to an individual what stocks are to a brand.

Social tokens are proof that the internet has moved from Web 1.0 to 

. In Web 1.0, the “information economy,” search engines such as Yahoo and Google enabled people to retrieve useful information. The trend gave way to Web 2.0, the “platform economy,” where Facebook and YouTube allow users to create content. Now, with Web 3.0 — the “token economy” — users can retrieve information, create content and contribute to the success of a platform. This brings creators and consumers together, paving the way for a more decentralized “creator economy."

There are two main types of social tokens: Personal tokens and community tokens. Since content creators are continuously finding new ways to use such tokens, you may also come across new terms, such as “participation tokens” and “social platform tokens.” These categories are sometimes described as distinct types of social tokens that don't fall into either of the two main types listed at the beginning of this paragraph.

To help explain, here’s an overview of each one.

Also called “creator tokens,” personal tokens are established by individuals to monetize themselves, and to provide privileged services to their followers. Anyone — celebrities, artists, athletes, and members of the general public — can create personal tokens to help boost their careers or notoriety.

Before the introduction of blockchain and the creator economy, music legend David Bowie used asset-backed securities, 

, to enhance his music career. Holders of the Bowie Bond were promised a return of 7.9% per annum for ten years on the royalty earned for the streaming of David Bowie’s music.

Nowadays, prominent artists are offering similar incentives through the launch of their social tokens on the blockchain. In 2020, the Grammy Award-winning artist, 

 (better known as DJ RAC) introduced RAC, the social token of the 

. The holders of the token can enjoy various perks, such as exclusive music playlists, token 

, a French entrepreneur, tokenized himself by selling ALEX to his crypto enthusiasts. This helped him raise the needed capital to form his own social platform in the U.S. Besides other incentives, token holders will receive a share of Masmej’s future income for the next three years.

Community tokens, or community coins, are created by organizations or by a group of people to market their respective brands to followers. Similar to members of a club, token holders can get exclusive benefits reserved for that particular community. These benefits are somewhat identical to benefits offered by personal tokens, but they may also give you 

 rights and a share of the company's revenue.

Community tokens are launched mainly by a decentralized autonomous organization, or 

. Unlike the creators of personal tokens, the organization overseeing a community token already has a large following, which makes it easier to market it.

For instance, when CoinDesk launched its 

 token in 2022, it marketed it during its much-awaited annual Consensus festival, which is attended by thousands of members. To show its gratitude, CoinDesk rewarded attendees at 

 with DESK tokens. The attendees could also use these tokens to buy items at the event.

WHALE is another example of a community token. It derives its value from rare and valuable NFTs in an art collection known as the 

. Since the project’s initiation in 2019, the value of the stored NFTs has increased from $500,000 to more than $70 million. WHALE token holders have directly benefited from the enhanced value. Besides access to exclusive Discord channels, events and giveaways, members can also rent and purchase NFTs from the Vault.

Participation tokens are sometimes described as a subcategory of community tokens. Users can earn these tokens by participating in the development of a project. For instance, the 

 token from TAIKAI is an example of community engagement. Universities and organizations can use these tokens to reward contributors who wish to participate in creating different types of projects.

TAIKAI also encourages students, freelancers and startups to create projects and contribute to proposals. The best proposal receives KAI tokens and prizes. Backers and experts who contribute to the project also get KAI tokens.

 is another similar initiative. The FWB token brings together artists, creators, thinkers and Web 3.0 enthusiasts to collaborate on a variety of projects. Successful teams receive hefty rewards for their contributions. Token holders are also rewarded for creating a summarized version of the content that other members can pay to unlock.

Social platforms tokens are distributed by platforms that support their creation and trading. Examples of social platform tokens include Rally, 

Rally is a popular social token platform that enables individuals, celebrities and organizations to create their own social tokens and NFTs. Since its launch, RALLY has gained tremendous momentum, manifested in its market capitalization of over $8 million in just a couple of years. Since Rally is a sidechain of the Ethereum network, the only drawback of the token is that it can only exist on the Rally network.

In contrast, TryRoll offers users the chance to create an 

 token that they can share with others on different platforms. It also offers custodial Ethereum wallets that are capable of sending social tokens to any address that supports ERC-20 tokens. However, TryRoll is not the easiest platform to use, and it has a high network fee.

Social tokens are fueling the creator economy, in which the two major stakeholders — the content creator and the token holder — collaborate to enhance a brand’s value.

The following is a brief list of the many benefits these stakeholders enjoy:

Traditionally, social influencers have used sponsored posts, advertising and subscription models to attract new followers. In this setup, the social platform has often received a big chunk of revenue, depriving content creators of reasonable profit. However, social tokens have changed this dynamic by letting content creators earn direct revenue and share benefits among their followers.

Social tokens have given fans new ways to interact with content creators, helping them become a part of the creator's journey. In return, the community receives a more personalized experience that strengthens the bond between the two. For instance, fans of Lil Yachty 

 from the rapper's mother after the launch of his YACHTY token.

By purchasing creator coins, fans are, in effect, pledging their support to the project. Unlike stocks and bonds, the value associated with each token is enforced by smart contracts. This means that there’s minimal conflict, because everything — from exercising users’ rights, to the extent of enforcement and how those rights are exercised — is written in the smart contract. This configuration ensures that there’s no need for third parties and negotiators to settle disputes.

Social tokens are secured by blockchain technology, in which data is structured into blocks, each of which contains a bundle of transactions. Every new block is connected to all preceding and subsequent blocks in a way that makes it practically impossible to tamper with the data. Therefore, it's nearly impossible to hack into a blockchain. It's only when such creator coins are moved into a 

 that they become truly vulnerable. Even so, well-known digital wallets adopt extremely strict security mechanisms that make social tokens one of the safest digital assets you can own.

Before investing in a social token, it's sensible to consider the following drawbacks.

Social tokens are a financial instrument, which means that there’s risk involved in holding them for investment purposes. While their values can increase substantially, remember that not every token has a value behind its project. This is particularly true for social tokens, which don't have the backing of large venture capital firms that only invest in viable opportunities. If the creator of a social token decides to back off from the project, there’s no way for you to recoup your investment.

There is no global regulation in place to scrutinize social tokens. Hence, content creators may have to deal with several legal gray areas, which can include liability issues and false advertising concerns. From a consumer perspective, the law is still ambiguous about the extent to which consumer law will protect the purchasers. It's also the reason why borrowers of social tokens see a large list of disclaimers that may favor the token issuer in case of a legal battle.

, or non-fungible tokens. NFTs are unique, which means that they have distinctive features that make them different from other units. On the contrary, social tokens are fungible, since each unit of the social token has a similar value.

For ease of understanding, you can compare an NFT with a work of art. Every painting is different. This is why every artwork — or NFT — differs in value. Social tokens, however, are just like any other cryptocurrency. You can compare them to 

, because the value of each BTC is similar to that of another BTC.

The two terms are often confusing, because several content creators monetize both NFTs and social tokens. For instance, an artist can use NFTs to monetize personal artwork, while also releasing a social token that gives the holder access to personal Q&A sessions or art lessons.

It's said that the first social tokens were launched somewhere in 2020. WHALE is often called the first social token, launched by a private collector of NFTs, 

. Similarly, some credit Spencer Dinwiddie, the Brooklyn Nets point guard, who 

Irrespective of the debate, both of these early projects have found traction, which is a testament to the success of social tokens. Here’s a look at some other successful projects, in order to visualize the impact of social tokens on our lives.

As mentioned earlier, ALEX is a social token created by an aspiring entrepreneur, Alex Masmej, to finance his crypto-related projects. Before COVID-19, Masmej had founded the first successful crypto art–backed loan instrument, but couldn't gain the required momentum due to financial debacles he subsequently faced during COVID.

In a bid to work on a more sustainable project, he created the ALEX tooken and sold it to his followers in exchange for some of his future income for the next three years. The sale helped Masmej raise $20,000 in a mere 100 hours. During the crypto frenzy, the market value of ALEX exceeded $2 million, which reflects the utility of crafting such personal tokens.

The objective of the RAC token created by musician André Allen Anjos was to reward loyal fans by giving them access to various perks and exclusive content. Accordingly, 25,000 RAC were distributed to loyal fans, who had supported DJ RAC since his early days back in 2009.

 supporters also received a fair share of these tokens. In the future, subscribers to RAC can also benefit from the variety of perks reserved for its online communities. Since its launch, RAC has evolved into one of the most successful personal tokens to date.

Jaylen Clark, the UCLA basketball player, is the 

. By creating the JROCK token, Clark’s followers can interact directly with the player and help him sustain his career. Token holders can get early access to exclusive merchandise, ticket raffles, behind-the-scenes footage and workout videos. Since JROCK is traded on the secondary market, token holders can also benefit from an increase in its value.

GCR is the native token of research and investment firm Global Coin Research. The community uses the token to fund various investment initiatives. In turn, members have access to private seminars, where they can interact with NFT artists and invest in upcoming projects. The organization also arranges weekly hangouts for learners and investors. Since the launch, GCR has gained more than 30,000 members, who have contributed over $31 million to the project.

Launched in 2020, WHALE was created by a pseudonymous NFT collector known as WhaleShark. The value of the token is derived from WhaleShark’s personal NFT collection. As one of the most successful social tokens, it strikes a fine balance between wealth preservation and growth speculation. As of 2022, the collection is valued at $73 million, a phenomenal contrast to its original $500,000 market value.

Social Tokens: Promoting Community Benefits & Fair Monetization

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