Ethereum tokens are digital assets built on top of blockchain technology. They are fully integrated into the existing Ethereum infrastructure without creating new blockchain blocks. The release of new tokens increases the demand for the Ethereum cryptocurrency - ether. Crowdsale-based tokens are issued.
Ethereum Tokens
Tokens created on the Ethereum platform can be anything, depending on their purpose. For example, existing Golem tokens represent the original currency for paying for transactions. Some tokens play the role of financial instruments - stocks or bonds and have a fixed collateral and a constant inflation rate. Tokens are used most often to pay for access to the Ethereum network and for decentralized management of an organization.
The distribution of tokens takes place through ICO or crowdsale. As a rule, the creators of tokens seek to exchange them for ether or bitcoins, less often for another cryptocurrency. In recent years, the frequency of ICOs has noticeably increased, which has led to the emergence of a new way of financing various kinds of projects. The market capitalization of Ethereum-based tokens has reached 1.5 billion. dollars, while the capitalization of ether is 17 billion.
Issue of tokens on Metamask
Metamask is a specialized extension for the Google Chrome or Brave browser for issuing tokens. You can install it directly in the Google store or at tokenfactory.surge.sh. It can manage multiple Ethereum wallets, multiple Ethereum accounts, create tokens, and track the transactions of a user's wallets. The only drawback is that the first synchronization with the blockchain network takes 5-7 hours and noticeably slows down the computer.
The installed extension will ask you to register in the system, create your wallet and copy the password to restore access. The latter is needed in order to use the wallet from another computer or restore access in an emergency.
Token Factory tab allows you to issue tokens. To do this, you need to fill in the fields:
- Issue volume - the number of tokens that need to be created. The value can be anything above zero. The more the emission, the more tokens, therefore, usually several thousand or even millions of pieces are issued.
- The name of the token is invented by the user. It is desirable that this name be unique and not lost among other tokens with the same name.
- The number of decimal places is the number by which one token will be divided. For example, for bitcoin, this indicator is 8. That is, each bitcoin is divided into one hundred million parts - satoshi.
- Select a ticker for a token from the list provided.
After clicking the Create Token button, tokens will be issued and the system will offer to create and pay for a smart contract for the issue of tokens.
Payment
To issue tokens and perform further actions with them, you need to buy some ether. It is also needed to pay for transactions and create contracts. Ether can be bought on the exchange and paid with a bank card or other digital currencies. All these actions are performed directly in the Metamask plugin.
After purchasing ether, you need to return to the Token Factory tab, click the Create Token button, read the terms of the smart contract and accept it. The required amount of ether will be debited from the wallet to pay for the contract, and issued tokens will be credited in return.
It is worth noting that the Metamask extension also has a test version of creating tokens, which helps you learn how to buy and sell ether, create tokens and contracts, and perform other actions in the Ethereum system.
