In recent years, friction between developers of traditional Web2 applications and their communities has steadily become palpable. Users lament ad-based business models which interrupt their experience, the misuse of their data, one-sided financial rewards, and the inability to participate in governance. These issues are symptoms of a larger problem—incentive misalignment between developers and their communities.
Implementing token economies can help developers get back in step with their communities—and the permissionless, open-source, no-fee, multi-chain RLY Protocol makes it easy. Token economies are systems that use crypto assets to align incentives between application developers and their community members. They embrace decentralization to create trust and efficiency; provide ownership of tokens to both developers and members; and reward those who contribute value. The net result is a more sustainable business model.
A wide range of sectors stand to benefit from RLY Protocol-enabled token economies, including social apps, SoFi, gaming, media and entertainment, brand loyalty programs, NFT communities, metaverse apps, and many more. In the current market, RLY Protocol has already been applied in the context of the creator economy, social networks, fantasy sports, messaging platforms, loyalty programs, and games.
We describe several case examples from different sectors below:
Creator Economy Apps
Rally.io and Unite.io, are social token apps for the creator economy that cater to the US and Asia, respectively. Rally.io has launched more than 300 branded creator coins, while Unite.io has launched dozens of unique branded social tokens. The apps’ token economies enable creators and their communities to collaborate and build relationships in innovative ways. Creators and their communities also benefit by earning RLY token for holding creator coins or social tokens. Likewise, they can redeem the creator coins or social tokens for products, services, or experiences.
Social Networks
Taki, a micro-blogging social network for Asia, demonstrates how apps can build multi-directional token economies. It rewards community members with Taki tokens for creating and engaging with content. Members can swap TAKI token for UserCoin tokens, which represent the value and influence of the app’s content creators. Members can also reward creators by giving Gold Taki—akin to ‘likes’—which requires the giver to pay two TAKI. That TAKI is then split between the content creator and the community members that hold the content creator’s UserCoin, extending benefits to multiple stakeholders.
Gaming
Using RLY Protocol on Solana, Gambit exemplifies how token economies can be used in play-and-earn games. In this fantasy sports game, players take on the role of general manager as they buy and sell Athlete tokens, which represent players, in a marketplace. They also occupy the role of the coach as they work to optimize their team and compete in daily contests to earn RLY Rewards. Players can earn winnings from fantasy sports drafts and can subsequently use those winnings to purchase more tokens to play again. Also, Joyride Games is launching multiple casual games using RLY Protocol to tokenize gameplay, by engaging and rewarding players with tokens while they play Solitaire, Tennis mobile games, and more.
NFTs
Multiple apps within the RLY Network have launched NFT projects, including Rally.io NFTs, which operates an NFT launcher and marketplace; and Outside.io, which launched an NFT collection in collaboration with SuperLayer venture studio within the RLY Network. In the case of Rally.io, NFTs can be purchased with branded tokens, in unique branded economies provided by a creator, and sold for creator tokens and/or RLY token. Non-fungible-tokens and fungible token economies complement each other, like products and currency in a branded economy.
Loyalty Programs
Home furnishing retailer Z-Gallerie established a token economy when it launched a no-code creator coin with Rally.io and partnered with ShopToken. Z-Gallerie leverages its ZGLD tokens to reward customers, replacing traditional loyalty points. Customers who hold a certain quantity of ZGLD are eligible for perks or, alternatively, they can redeem tokens for special services or discounts. Importantly, Z-Gallerie’s program is distinct from traditional loyalty points because ZGLD holders can also take advantage of RLY rewards when their token grows, thus creating compounding benefits.
Developers, Start building with RLY Protocol
The above case studies provide just a few examples of what is possible to achieve with RLY Protocol. The Protocol offers a seamless development experience, with extensive code libraries and Developer Resources which demonstrate how to easily launch tokens, leverage Token Bonding Curves for instant pricing and liquidity, and much more. Developers can also harness financial value from their contributions to the RLY Network by earning rewards in our ERC-20 token, RLY.
Ready to get started? Read our white paper to learn more about how RLY Protocol can help you launch a Web3 token economy for your app.
Photos credits: Tezos