In the current era of Blockchain evolution a new concept has emerged: tokenization. Tokenization is an intrinsic part of the Blockchain technology that serves the purpose of platform identification and accessibility.
The power of tokens:
Every Blockchain platform is powered by tokens, sometimes also referred to as “coins.” Bitcoin is a token, as is Litecoin, Dash, and other currencies that function over a Blockchain. While tokens can represent money, as in the case of the above, they can also represent other things.
The demand for a particular Blockchain product is usually the main determinant of the value and eventual market price of its token. This is why there is a variation in the prices of different altcoins in the Blockchain environment. For example, Bitcoin is more readily accepted by merchants than Litecoin, and is consequently more valuable.
The force behind Ethereum:
Ethereum, despite coming after many older altcoins, remains the third most valuable cryptocurrency in existence behind only Bitcoin and the its recent fork, Bitcoin Cash.
Ethereum’s value is largely determined by the demand for its platform by distributed application (dApp) developers. Many of these developers issue tokens to grant access to their services, essentially building their own Blockchains atop Ethereum’s platform. In many cases, developers pre-sale their tokens as part of an initial coin offering (ICO), and they usually accept Ethereum’s token “ether” as payment.
In essence, the organic value of a given token or cryptocurrency is determined not just by the functionality, but the demand for its Blockchain product.
Blockchains and their tokens
There are numerous Blockchain products in existence claiming to offer different solutions to various problems. Many more are still in the development. Below are some examples of Blockchain products and what they do:
Steemit
Steemit is a social network that rewards users who participate in various ways. The Steemit token is called STEEM. It is used to reward content creators and curators of the best content on the site.