In traditional online communities, the platforms (Discord, Facebook, Telegram, etc.) set the rules for membership. Access is granted at the whim of centralized administrators, and members have no true ownership over their role in the community.

Onchain towns upend this model by making membership a first-class onchain primitive. Onchain membership, where members provably own and govern the town through onchain representations of membership, is a defining characteristic that separates these towns from traditional online relationships between tokens and centralized group chat products. When membership itself is represented onchain, it unlocks a world of possibilities that enable true community ownership.

Composability: Because membership exists onchain, This enables towns to build interfaces that allow members to participate in provable reputable actions.

Provable Ownership: Every membership has a cryptographic proof that controls it. making it impossible for any outside centralized party to revoke membership.

Transferability: Membership tokens can be transferred between members, allowing for secondary markets to form around memberships. This gives members the ability to sell their membership if they choose to leave a town, while also opening up the possibility for new members to join by purchasing memberships from others.

Our team is also curious about how different groups could use these new primitives based on their unique use cases. Since town ownership (and membership) can be transferred to any smart contract address, it opens the possibility for groups to collectively hold memberships on behalf of their members, and perhaps even integrate a town directly into the DAO's governance and operations.

Looking forward, onchain membership has a number of exciting implications.

• Build unique experiences that reward contribution

• Establish innovative funding models for community support

• Shape digital spaces according to each town's specific needs and desires

• Capture the true value created by the community, kept within the community

As more of the world moves onchain, from social applications to games and marketplaces, having a provably owned membership token that is tied to onchain identity and reputation will become increasingly important.

Towns is a group chat protocol and app for building better hometowns on the internet.