In the blockchain and cryptocurrency world we hear a lot about the developers, those clever people who can write code to make computers dance and do what they’re told. But are they the most important thing in guaranteeing a token’s success?

Cryptocurrency and Community

Developers are of course very important, they’re where it all starts. Without a committed and dedicated community though, developers are where it ends too.

Consider the case of Superior Coin, brought into being by a developer, nearly destroyed by a community spurred on by one of the people involved in the beginning (not a developer, nor a committed supporter). The true supporters of Superior though fought back. It wasn’t the developers that saved Superior, although of course they made a massive contribution, it was the community.

The people who believe in and vocally and by actions support a coin are the ones who make it successful. There are of course other factors, market forces, legislation and, whether the token has any practical use. But at the heart of it all is community.

The common definition of a currency is that it should be;

• A store of value
• An item of exchange
• A record of account

By no definition can a new token be considered a currency, at its launch it has no real value. It takes a community to use it, hold it and exchange it to give it value.

At launch there is also little exchange value in a new token, it has no track record and it’s to all intents and purposes valueless. The community is what give the token it’s value by using it to pay for goods and services, even if it’s only amongst themselves.

Anything can be a record of account, well not anything, but a token can be a record of account as it’s immutably recorded on a blockchain for all time. But that alone does not add value. It takes the community, working together to do that.

Community Talks

A dedicated and supportive community is vital for any cryptocurrency or blockchain application to succeed because people talk. They chat, gossip and pass on information. In doing so, they spread the word and, recruit more dedicated followers, who in turn do the same. The community grows, more of them use the token, exchange it for goods and services, hold on to it as they see the value increase.

This pulls in the speculative investor, who will buy some of the token to make a profit, some want a quick turn around and, will be quite insulting in their comments if they don’t get it. Once again, the community will come to the rescue, just as the Superior coin community came together to support and defend their chosen token. They saw the possibilities in the Superior coin and defended it against all comers.

The result of this is that Superior is listed on at least three exchanges, is being used as a token of exchange, is well on it’s way to being a store of value and is of course a record of account.

The moral then is never underestimate the power of your community. Treat them well, respect them, show you value them, defend them as they will defend you. Do that and you too could launch a token that has the possibility of changing the world.