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WTF is a Minds Token?

And NillMay 29, 2018, 8:34:40 AM
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 One of the most common questions I see in the Newbie area is "What's a Minds token?" Let's start with what Minds token is not:

1) A cryptocoin like bitcoin or ether.

Yes,  ETH is a coin. It also is a platform. Kind of like how youtube allows you to upload videos, ETH allows people to make tokens that sit on top of their system. A token has a specific use and isn't meant as general currency. In this case, it's for use on Minds (more on that in a bit).


2) Something that is definitely worth money

Selling Minds tokens for cash was against the Terms of Service until August 2018. Now the Terms of Service state that Minds tokens are not automatically worth anything, there's no guarantee they will ever be worth anything, and if you buy them from anyone there's no refunds. This is not a typical cryptocurrency people use for investment: it's a utility token or use token.

Utility tokens are made for a specific use. Minds tokens may be traded among users as payment for services or in a patreon-like support/donation style. It's what they were made for! Don't expect them to be worth money. Ever.

If you do buy Minds tokens, buy them directly from the site via your wallet. The prices are very likely cheaper than anywhere else and it supports Minds.


3)  Something that can be used anywhere but Minds (yet)

Minds tokens are just for use on Minds. This might change in the future for on-chain tokens as they will be riding on top of the ETH blockchain to allow for trades. Off-chain tokens will never be usable outside of Minds.

What are tokens used for?

Tokens are used to say "thanks" to someone or to promote your content. On-chain and off-chain tokens work exactly the same for this, so use what you like!

To say thanks to someone, go to their profile and click "wire". From there type in how many tokens you want to gift them and hit "send". You can also thank them by boosting their post. Click the lightning bolt icon to boost their post.

Boosting is when content is promoted. This content show up on top of the Newsfeed and on the Newsfeed sidebar. You can boost basically anything on posted minds from a post to a video to an image. This just lets more people see the boosted thing.

How to get tokens

You can buy them or be active. That's all! Post, like/dislike others' stuff, remind things (it's the circular arrow button) and make comments to get tokens. The numbers will be counted every day at 10 PM EST and you will be given your tokens for that day.

The number of tokens varies depending on how active you were versus how active the rest of the site was. If the site was busy one day you may get less tokens for the same activity. If the site is slow you can get more tokens for less activity. Either way, keep making content and stay active.

Please be aware that the change to being on-chain will make it take longer for your tokens to arrive. For person to person transfers it may take as little as an hour to up to an entire day. Brand new tokens earned by activity can take up to three days to show up on your account. Be patient and plan ahead if you plan on sending someone some tokens.


Any questions? Comment here and I'll try to help!

Don't worry, I don't bite (hard).

By the way, if this helped you, feel free to like, remind, or maybe even toss me a little bit of tokens. Hey, those little bits all add up.

Have fun!


____Added questions/answers from you!___

1)  I came from Steemit. How do I make money here?

This question is so complex/common that it has turned into it's own article. Click here to learn the differences between Minds and Steemit.

2) Can I change off-chain tokens into on-chain tokens?

This is being worked on right now. You will need an active ETH wallet to be able to transfer your tokens to the online wallet.

3)How do you move on-chain tokens around?

You will need a functioning ETH wallet. The ETH wallet becomes your holding place for Minds Tokens that are riding on top of the ETH chain (AKA the on-chain tokens).

The "Withdraw" function on your wallet page (bank icon) should allow you to send tokens to/from this on-chain wallet. A gas fee will be deducted as part of this process so have a little extra handy! Your off-chain tokens will stay where they are for now. This may change later.

4) What is this "Gas Fee" I keep hearing about?

In order to help keep traffic and coin supplies from growing out of control, most cryptocurrencies charge a small fee to move currency from one wallet to another. ETH is no exception. In fact, they also charge the same fee for moving tokens around on top of their system. This means you will be paying ETH/tokens in order to move Minds tokens from one on-chain wallet to another. Off-chain tokens don't pay this fee, so you are best off not changing off-chain tokens into on-chain tokens unless you really, really need to.

5) Any other good pages on this stuff (besides the whitepages)?

Here is a slightly more technical article with even more information about Minds Tokens: https://www.minds.com/blog/view/836607056186159104