What Is Tokenomics and Its Importance?

When it comes to the cryptocurrency market, there are several metrics to gauge when trying to purchase a crypto asset. Although market sentiment is an important metric to consider before investing, understanding the economies of a token is the ultimate attribute in knowing the actual value of a crypto token.

Coined from the token and economics, Tokenomics involves the concept of study, design, and implementation of a crypto token. It explains in detail a token’s life cycle, from its issuance to its current state. Tokenomics is an important tool to understand the economics behind a token so traders better assess its potential worth. This article will explain what it entails and why it’s valuable.

What Is Tokenomics?

In simple terms, Tokenomics describes the concept of crypto tokens and their economic behaviors. On the other hand, it is a collective term used to define a token’s economics by explaining the attributes that affect a token’s utilities and values. Some of these factors include the token’s creation, launch and initial token distribution, its supply and demand, incentive mechanisms, as well as its supply breakdown.

Similar to the traditional economy, tokenomics unveils all the details about the potential long-term equilibrium of the ecosystem. Typically, cryptocurrencies with well-designed tokenomics are more likely to perform better than those without solid token utilities.

Let’s explore the key components of tokenomics

Core Features of Tokenomics

There are several key elements to tokenomics, some of which include supplies, burn distributions, usage etc.

• Community

One of the first factors in deciding the future growth of a certain crypto token is a significant community. The token development, design and functions have a lot to do with the community. The more governance the community has over a token, the greater the push and presence of the token.

A good example is the Dao de Ethereum, whose entire framework is controlled by its community.

• Distribution

This is another important metric to determine if a crypto token has value. Typically, tokens are either produced by a fair launch or pre-mining.

A crypto token that is fairly launched means it’s mined, earned, and governed by the community. Just like cryptocurrency, a token runs on blockchains meaning it shouldn’t have any concept of private allocation.

Generating tokens by pre-mining means a share of the coins is mined and fairly distributed before it goes public. This portion is then sold to potential buyers in an initial coin offering (ICO). So, to estimate a crypto token with good utilities, it’s essential to ensure that the tokens are distributed to prospective users.

• Supply Schedule

The supply of a token comes in three forms, including circulating supply, total supply, and max supply. Understanding the number of cryptocurrency tokens issued publicly and in circulation is an essential tool to determine the authenticity of a project. The total supply is all the existing tokens, excluding burnt tokens.

Usually, the circulating supply of a token is directly proportional to developers’ active mining. An increase in the circulating supply means the token will harm more value. However, the value might decrease if a large number of tokens are released.

• Token Burns

To reduce a token’s circulating supply, some crypto projects “burn” tokens. The term “burn” here means the coins are transferred to a wallet where they can never be recovered. Reducing the circulating supply of a crypto asset often increases its demand, thereby boosting its value. Which may further boost its demand and price.

For example, Ethereum introduced a token-burn strategy that involves burning a small portion of Ether on every transaction. Over time these amounts add up, resulting in a price increase.

Why Is Tokenomics Important When Investing in Cryptocurrency?

Even in a conventional market, understanding the concept of supply and demand is the basis for learning about the market. Crypto tokenomics sets all-inclusive information about a crypto asset.

It also clarifies various answers to questions like — the number of coins in circulation, founding team etc. these answers collectively determine whether crypto will gain more value or not.

Wrapping Up

Tokenomics can be a useful tool to help understand the value of crypto. If you choose to invest in a cryptocurrency, evaluate its tokenomics to see if it aligns with the “fair launch” rule. Regardless of your expertise level in the crypto space, it’s important to spend a lot of time studying a given project’s tokenomics before participating.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the writer and not of this platform.