Token Discovery with a Social Twist

We will have millions of tokens supporting almost every vision and business idea. And to find the most meaningful among them, we need not just numbers, but storytelling," said Mel Gelderman in the recent Cointelegraph AMA.

Token discovery with a social twist[Brought to you by @tokencom_]

His app, Token.com, explores this very idea to transform investing through a blend of social media dynamics, creator economy and ease of access. The TikTok-style feed features videos from various content creators and companies promoting tokens and the concept or existing business behind them. Each video includes a buy and sell button for direct investment.

"You're not necessarily going to see memecoins or some DeFi protocol that nobody understands. It could actually be a new snowboard company proposing a new brand, or some people wanting to start a yoga studio in your neighborhood. If enough people like the business idea and it beats all the others, it gets funded. We help it launch overnight with you as a shareholder," Gelderman explained.

"This is why I believe in tokens - our industry has the potential to truly change the world's digital economy."

Gelderman then argued that existing platforms like YouTube and TikTok are not optimized for token investment. "Users don't usually see crypto content there easily, right? To optimize their feed, they have to find the right people to follow. But the chance of running into a pump-and-dump scheme is quite high because the platforms' algorithms can push such content. That's why our industry needs its own platform."

He raised concerns about platforms like pump.fun for lacking meaningful narratives and vision: "It only has coins and comment sections, without any vehicle for storytelling. On the contrary, in the Token.com feed, you see the latest token pitches that match your interests. And you see who's already invested and what they're saying about a project."

Token.com aims to provide a tailored experience with reputation tracking and algorithmic feeds that prioritize credible creators and projects, supporting legitimate visions and filtering out garbage content. The app also plans to share trading fees with creators and provide them with advanced analytics, including aggregated scores of their historical performance.

In addition, token projects can promote videos and offer airdrops to viewers through watch-to-earn and other mechanisms. Holding $TOKEN unlocks premium status, increasing the fees creators earn and the airdrops users receive.

Gelderman also mentioned that Token.com is now a full Solana wallet, supporting all tokens on the Solana blockchain. This decision was driven by Solana's speed, low cost and simplicity. "Anyway, I think the whole chain discussion will soon become irrelevant, because whether it's through bridges or wrapping, every major chain will end up having every other chain's tokens."

He expressed hope for regulation that would allow tokens to represent real ownership and investment vehicles. "Today, tokens can only be launched with any degree of success by people who know what they're doing, so it doesn't scale. But what if anyone could launch them? What if tokens become the new stocks? They can really be the final piece for our industry to get to a billion users or more, when everyone can own a little bit of everything."