Mint-Token: Create Your Own Fungible Tokens & NFTs
This is Phase 4 of IoTeX’s #DeFIoT series to unlock the trillion-dollar IoT data market. To learn more, see our #DeFIoT manifesto.
The trusted exchange of value and information is a benchmark of why blockchain is so revolutionary. The introduction of cryptocurrencies in the form of both fungible and non-fungible tokens has sparked innovation in global finance via DeFi, as well as countless other industries. Now it is time to unleash the true power of tokens for the Internet of Things (IoT).
For IoTeX, the tokenization of IoT data and devices is a critical part of our #DeFIoT vision. We envision a world where everyday people and businesses can not only own their devices/data, but also monetize their digital assets as part of a decentralized, global marketplace. In September, we introduced ioTube, stablecoins, and mimo DEX to bring DeFIoT to life. Today, we are excited to expand our DeFIoT vision with Mint-Token!
Mint-Token is a web-based dApp that streamlines the creation of new XRC20 & XRC721 tokens. With Mint-Token, anyone can create a new IoTeX token with just a few clicks. To get started with Mint-Token, see our end-to-end tutorials to create your own fungible and non-fungible tokens on the IoTeX Network — no developer experience required!
In the rest of this blog, we share perspectives about fungible and non-fungible tokens to get you ready to mint your own tokens on the IoTeX Network.
Fungible Tokens (XRC20)
The XRC20 standard provides a standardized set of commands for users to launch and interact with fungible tokens on the IoTeX Network. XRC20 tokens are fungible (i.e., identical and interchangeable) and implemented as decentralized smart contracts, which are executed on the IoTeX Virtual Machine. XRC20 tokens are commonly used to denote VALUE as no unique information can be represented by the token.
When using Mint-Token, all you have to do is define a token name, symbol, decimal place, and total supply to instantly create your new XRC20 token instantly!
After creating your XRC20 token, the total supply of tokens will be assigned to you as the account that deployed the smart contract. You may write a smart contract to define specific rules, such as automating the distribution of the total supply. Stay tuned for an advanced XRC20 token design tutorial.
Non-Fungible Tokens (XRC721)
In our ever-growing digital world, scarcity is a concept that is often forgotten. The world wide web has forever transformed the meaning of “owning assets” — the physical newspapers, CDs, and photographs that were the norm decades ago have now been replaced by digital counterparts, which are infinitely duplicable and fundamentally non-scarce. But now non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are pioneering a new concept of digital scarcity via blockchain-based assets that are unique and cannot be interchanged. Welcome to the world of NFTs!
NFTs can represent just about anything, from shares in real estate to fractional ownership of a painting to full possession of a piece of digital artwork — proof of ownership. Today if someone sends a digital asset (e.g., image, mp3), they still retain possession of whatever they sent. With an NFT-based digital asset, ownership is fully transferred and verified to maintain digital scarcity. Unlike fungible tokens which usually represent value, non-fungible tokens usually represent unique INFORMATION.
Several NFTs are already active on the IoTeX Network, primarily to denote users that have completed specific tasks (e.g., Ucam Pioneer, Burn-Drop IGNITE). NFTs can not only be traded in a decentralized fashion, but they can also be used to identify and interact with specific blockchain users; for example, we can scan the blockchain for all holders of the Ucam Pioneer NFT and deliver an airdrop or other perks.
Next Steps
The launch of Mint-Token is a significant milestone as part of IoTeX’s vision for #DeFIoT. The ability for non-developers to create their own tokens will allow the entire IoTeX community to bring their decentralized ideas to life. We will work closely with community developers to improve Mint-Token over time, as well as IoTeX Delegates to issue new tokens to the IoTeX community.
The integration of Mint-Token with ioTube and mimo also represents a huge opportunity to bring XRC20 & XRC721 assets to other blockchains and also trade them against a growing number of IoTeX & Ethereum assets. With our last phase of DeFIoT coming soon, the full picture will be made clear as to how IoTeX will unlock the trillion-dollar IoT data market. Stay tuned!
About IoTeX
Founded as an open source platform in 2017, IoTeX is building the Internet of Trusted Things, an open ecosystem where all “things” — humans, machines, businesses, and DApps — can interact with trust and privacy. Backed by a global team of 30+ top research scientists and engineers, IoTeX combines blockchain, secure hardware, and confidential computing to enable next-gen IoT devices, networks, and economies. IoTeX will empower the future decentralized economy by “connecting the physical world, block by block”.