014 Why everyone and their grandma have their own token

Welcome to the cryptohunt jam where we spend one minute a day to explain crypto. In plain english.

Today: We explain why there are thousands of different coins and tokens.

You have heard of Bitcoin and Ethereum, but there are 8000 others listed on Coinmarketcap alone. Why are they there? Let’s dive into the three reasons.

First – functionality. When Bitcoin couldn’t be changed to do more than just transfer money in a very specific way, Ethereum – the programmable money we created an episode about – came about. And then, building on Ethereum and other networks, many more were created to cater to different use cases.

Second – a token could be used to power a specific community. Imagine a social network that, instead of selling your data to advertisers, rewards you for participating with their own token. It’s like Reddit Karma points, but you can sell them.

Third – greed, scams, and jokes. Sad to say, but look out for those. There is a lot of money in crypto, and that attracts a lot of bad players. Creating a coin is easy, finding a celebrity to hype it too – and often it’s just to make the creator rich.

And now you know why we are building cryptohunt: A place that will help you discover what actual problems projects are solving, and if there are red flags, so you can make up your mind about those 8000 tokens out there.

And tomorrow: We explain the amazing idea behind the Web 3.0 movement.

Disclaimer: This podcast references our opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Do your own research and seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.