Recently, there has been a stir in the circle! The Chief Legal Officer of Variant Fund pointed out the truth in one sentence: the debate between tokens and equity has just begun. The project parties that were scared to mention tokens two years ago due to Gensler now start to stir again—after all, the policy direction has changed, and everyone wants to get a share of the new opportunities. But as a senior analyst, I have to pour cold water: don’t just argue, first understand how much your 'chips' are really worth!
Many people invest in crypto projects without even knowing whether they hold tokens or equity, let alone what they can own or control. This is the aftereffect of strict regulation over the past two years—project parties deliberately blurred the boundaries between the two for compliance, leading investors to stumble countless times. Now that the policy has loosened, this issue must be placed on the table and clarified: tokens and equity are essentially two different ways of 'dividing the cake', with completely different rights and benefits.
Here comes the valuable insight! I have summarized a core logic: On-chain value belongs to tokens, off-chain value belongs to equity. What does this mean? Simply put, tokens carry the value of the on-chain ecosystem—such as if you hold ETH, you can participate in Ethereum governance and enjoy the price increase brought about by ecosystem development; if you hold a token from a certain DeFi project, you can enjoy transaction fee dividends and participate in project decision-making. These are all on-chain values, which are unique advantages of tokens because they enable "decentralized value transfer" without needing a company as an intermediary.
And what about equity? It represents off-chain value—such as the project party's office buildings, team salaries, and profits from offline collaborations, all of which belong to equity holders. Many projects previously mixed on-chain and off-chain value, using tokens to distribute off-chain profits, resulting in scrutiny from the SEC due to crossing boundaries. Of course, I am not saying that this is the only way to distribute, other models may also work, but the premise is compliance and transparency, allowing investors to understand clearly.
Another key point: The value capture of tokens does not have a standardized model, which is both a good and a bad thing. The good part is that as long as the project ecosystem is well developed, the appreciation space of tokens may far exceed that of equity; the bad part is that the lack of standards means high risk, making it easy to be taken advantage of by project parties. For example, the currently popular Federal Reserve repurchase agreement plan, the "war" between Bitcoin and gold, and the changes in Bitcoin liquidity will all affect the value of tokens, but have little impact on equity.
Final reminder to everyone: The changes in policy do not bring opportunities for "easy wins", but rather opportunities for "professionals". In the coming years, the industry will see numerous experiments regarding the synergy between tokens and equity. The projects that survive will certainly be those that clearly articulate rights, obligations, and value distribution. If you currently feel helpless and confused about trading, and want to learn more about cryptocurrency and get firsthand cutting-edge information, follow me@帝王讲趋势
