SOME ERC TOKENS AND THEIR UNIQUE FEATURES.

Blockchain has different use cases, same goes with cryptocurrency.

A token is a sort of cryptocurrency that may be created by anyone with no technical knowledge or experience. Tokens can represent virtually anything in Ethereum: Reputation points on an online platform. The skills of a character in a game Lottery tickets Financial assets like a share in a company A fiat currency like the USD An ounce of gold.

One of the factors contributing to the proliferation of cryptocurrencies is the ease with which tokens have made it possible for virtually any brand, business, or idea to quickly establish itself. Regardless of the challenges, the fact that USDT tokens are based on Ethereum gives them utility beyond “actual” US dollars. You may simply move them around (including across borders), swap them for other tokens, and even put them through a smart contract to earn a return on them. For these reasons, the adoption of USDT and other Ethereum-based US dollar currencies has increased.

Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain that supports smart contracts. The platform’s own cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), is second in market to Bitcoin. ERC-20 is made up of two parts: ERC, which stands for Ethereum Request for Comment, and 20, which is merely a technique of classifying the token among the numerous thousands that emerge on exchanges every day. A peer-to-peer “permissionless” digital money like Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash can be utilized with Ethereum. This implies that you do not rely on a middleman, such as a bank or payment processor. Instead, as long as you’re using a non-custodial wallet like the Bitcoin.com Wallet, you are free to send and receive ETH to anybody, anytime you want, without requesting permission.

This functionality ensures that accounts and wallets can send, receive, and transfer a token in the same way that they would any other token.

ERC-20 tokens are collections of ‘fungible’ digital tokens that exist on the Ethereum network. Fungible means that each token in the set is indistinguishable from every other token in the set.

ERC-20 allows different smart-contract enabled tokens to have a way of being exchanged. Tokens, in this regard, are a representation of an asset, right, ownership, access, cryptocurrency, or anything else that is not unique in and of itself but can be transferred.
Smart contracts are conditions written into the coding that execute different aspects of a transaction between parties.

There are a huge variety of ERC-20 tokens. Some represent financial assets that are arguably similar to shares in a company. Note that this feature means such tokens may be considered securities by financial regulators, potentially subjecting the issuers to a range of legal obligations depending on the jurisdiction.

ERC-20 tokens can also be used to represent things like loyalty rewards and reputation points. They could also provide holders with additional benefits like VIP service, a share of the fees generated by the booking platform, or even a say in how the platform is governed. Importantly, the points (tokens) could also be traded with other people, a feature that endows them with value beyond just the ecosystem in which they were created.

The ERC-20 (Ethereum Request for Comments 20), proposed by Fabian Vogelsteller in November 2015, is a Token Standard that implements an API for tokens within Smart Contracts.

ERC-20 features include the following: Transfer tokens from one account to another. View current token balance of an account. Total supply of the token available on the network. Approve whether an amount of token from an account can be spent by a third-party account.

Some examples of ERC tokens and their unique features are;

USD Tether (USDT) Tether gives you the joint benefits of open blockchain technology and traditional currency by converting your cash into a stable digital currency equivalent. The stated purpose of USDT is to combine the unrestricted nature of cryptocurrencies — which can be sent between users without a trusted third-party intermediary — with the stable value of the US dollar. The famously high volatility of the crypto markets means that cryptocurrencies can rise or fall by 10–20% within a single day, making them unreliable as a store of value. USDT, on the other hand, is protected from these fluctuations.

This property makes USDT a safe haven for crypto investors: during periods of high volatility, they can park their portfolios in Tether without having to completely cash out into USD. In addition, USDT provides a simple way to transact a U.S. dollar equivalent between regions, countries and even continents via blockchain — without having to rely on a slow and expensive intermediary, like a bank or a financial services provider.

Dai Stablecoin (DAI) DAI’s main advantage lies in its soft peg to the price of the U.S. dollar. Multi-Collateral Dai brings a lot of new and exciting features, such as support for new CDP collateral types and Dai Savings Rate. Another key advantage of DAI is the fact that it is managed not by a private company, but rather by a decentralized autonomous organization via a software protocol. As a result, all instances of issuance and burning of tokens are managed and publicly recorded by Ethereum-powered self-enforcing smart-contracts, making the entire system more transparent and less prone to corruption.

In addition, the process of developing DAI software is governed in a more democratic way — via direct voting by the regular participants of the token’s ecosystem.

Matic Token (MATIC) The Matic Network brings massive scale to Ethereum using an adapted version of Plasma with PoS-based side chains. Polygon is a well-structured, easy-to-use platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development. Commercially, the sidechains of Polygon are structurally designed to support a variety of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols available in the Ethereum ecosystem.

While Polygon currently supports only Ethereum basechain, the network intends to extend support for additional basechains, based on community suggestions and consensus. This would make Polygon an interoperable decentralized Layer 2 blockchain platform

ChainLink Token (LINK) A blockchain-based middleware, acting as a bridge between cryptocurrency smart contracts, data feeds, APIs, and traditional bank account payments. Chainlink is one of the first networks to allow the integration of off-chain data into smart contracts. With many trusted partners, Chainlink is one of the major players in the data processing field. Due to the integration of off-chain data, Chainlink has attracted the attention of numerous trusted data providers, including Brave New Coin, Alpha Vantage and Huobi. Data providers can sell access to data directly to Chainlink, thus monetizing the information they have.

As a decentralized network, Chainlink allows users to become node operators and earn revenue by running critical data infrastructure required for blockchains’ success. Chainlink uses a large collection of node operators to collectively power a wide range of decentralized Price Feed oracle networks live in-production, which currently secure billions in value for leading DeFi applications like Synthetix, Aave, Compound and more.

Uniswap (UNI) The UNI token served as the governance token for the Uniswap protocol, with 1 billion UNI having been minted at genesis. 60% of the UNI genesis supply is allocated to Uniswap community members and the remaining 40% to the team, investors, and advisors. By automating the process of market making, the protocol inceventizes activity by limiting risk and reducing costs for all parties. The mechanism also removes identity requirements for users, and technically anyone can create a liquidity pool for any pair of tokens.

SAND (Sand) The Sandbox is a virtual world where players can build, own, and monetize their gaming experiences on the Ethereum blockchain using SAND, the platform’s utility token. By focusing on user-generated content, the Sandbox creates a metaverse of involved players who contribute to the platform’s further development. Not only that, by introducing the SAND token, the Sandbox promotes decentralized governance and allows users to share their views and ideas about the development of the project. Thanks to the evolving technology, decentralized governance is becoming a must-have in blockchain-based projects.

BAT (BAT) The Basic Attention Token (BAT) is the new token for the digital advertising industry. One of the main distinguishing features about Basic Attention Token and the Brave Browser ecosystem is the capacity to reward (tip) users who are not yet part of the network — this includes both websites and individual Twitter users. These users can then securely register to the platform to collect any tips they have accumulated.

Ethereum Name Service (ENS) Decentralized naming for wallets, websites, and more. The goal of Ethereum Name Service is to make the Ethereum-based web easier to access and comprehend for humans — similar to how the Internet’s Domain Name Service makes the internet more accessible. Like DNS, ENS also uses a system of dot-separated hierarchical names called domains with domain owners fully controlling their subdomains.

Token 1INCH (1INCH) 1inch is a decentralized exchange aggregator that sources liquidity from various exchanges and is capable of splitting a single trade transaction across multiple DEXs. Smart contract technology empowers this aggregator, enabling users to optimize and customize their trades. The 1inch Wallet is a multichain mobile platform that provides an easy-to-navigate interface with secure storing, transaction, and staking capabilities. This versatile wallet was built from the ground up to streamline interacting with 1inch’s features.

The 1inch Network’s governance token 1INCH is used to vote on protocol parameters under the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) model.

Gitcoin (GTC) GTC is a governance token with no economic value. GTC governs Gitcoin, where they work to decentralize grants, manage disputes, and govern the treasury. Gitcoin describes itself as a community of builders, creators and protocols that have come together in order to develop the future of the open internet. Gitcoin creates a community that supports new infrastructure for Web3 — includingn tools, technologies and networks — to foster development in the open-source sphere.

GTC is Gitcoin’s governance token, launched in late May 2021. The token is needed for the creation and funding of the DAO that will govern Gitcoin. Gitcoin is unique in that it is a platform that supports community building, specifically for open source projects. As of June 2021, over $20 million has been funded for open source projects through Gitcoin, there are over 160,000 active developers monthly and a little over 1,600 projects created.

Gitcoin aims to create a future vision called “Quadratic Lands” — a digital ecosystem with digital democracy and a strong emphasis on community building.

Launchpool token (LPOOL) Launchpool believes investment funds and communities should work side by side on projects, on the same terms, towards the same goals. The Launchpool aims to harness its strengths and align its incentives so that the sum is greater than its constituent parts.

References

Coinmarketcap.com Etherscan.io Investopedia Bitcoin.com Ethereum.org

Originally published at https://enofrank.hashnode.dev.