Welcome to the Mega Minds Token Tutorial, the main objective I have today is to tell you everything about the Minds Token. There are several articles talking about certain facets of the Minds Token and related content and there will be links to those resources when appropriate but for the most part, you should be able to read this article and get a good idea on how to handle the Minds Tokens.

This is a very long blog that covers a lot of content so on the off chance you want to hit upon only one particular subject that is covered here I will offer you this table of contents that hyperlink to a section of the blog that has been isolated for your convenience.

Table of Contents

The Basics of Points

What the Minds Tokens are and why we use them Instead of cash

The Wallet and the verification process

The differences between On Chain and Off Chain

Address Functionality

How to obtain Ethereum

Making a Withdrawal

Frequently Asked Problems

Minds Token on Exchanges

Buying products with Crypto

References and useful bits of side information

Here's an handbook of some of the information covered in this article as well as a few other things

Let us begin with a bit of history!

The Point System:

Fractions of a Minds Token are "points" and before the Minds Tokens, everything was points. These points were not crypto currency and had no value beyond boosting content and wiring other users.

At this particular point, the only crypto related function was buying points with Bitcoin, however; this function never released so instead users bought points with money using the Stripe service.

1 point = 1 view and the lowest amount to boost or wire is 500 points.

Since the change to Minds Tokens, the points are now ways to measure the amount leading to a full token.

You earn points when users interact with you. Likes, comments, and reminds earn you points. You can also earn points when users join through your referral link (https://www.minds.com/register?referrer=Insertusernamehere) and when users subscribe to you.

The majority of points will be earned through Likes, Reminds, and Comments but users can only give you one instance of all of these points per day. Points are tallied once per day. You can also earn some extra points by having a working On Chain address. The Check-in function makes sure that you are active on the site and as long as you interact with other users' content once an hour, you will pass your Check in.

The Minds Token:

The Minds Token is not just a way for users to wire and boost content but it is also the only way to purchase Plus Membership as well as any other benefit that will be included in future updates. The Minds Token is a crypto currency but it is primarily a utility. You do not treat it like money and there is no expectation for Minds.com to set up an exchange where you can buy and sell Minds Tokens on site with Fiat (traditional currency). I imagine you have a few questions regarding Ethereum. We will go into detail on Ethereum and its relationship with Minds later, but for now all you need to know is that you do not have to buy Minds Tokens unless you really want to. We will later on talk about the differences between the tokens earned on the site and the tokens bought or obtained on exchange.

One of the main reasons why the sites uses Minds Tokens for purchases over cash is due to services like Stripe not only stripping support of Bitcoin but also refusing to serve sites that have "offensive" content.

Off Chain and On Chain

Off Chain Tokens, function exactly like points with the name "Token" being a formality.

Off Chain, means "Off the Block Chain" so if you are worried about crypto currency, Off Chain tokens is demonstrably not crypto.

Wires, boosts, and upgrades are feeless making their usage overall more affordable.

Off Chain Tokens can be withdrawn for On Chain Tokens on a 1-1 level.

On Chain Tokens function, mostly like Off Chain but with noticeable differences. For starters, you will need Metamask (or an Ethereum wallet) to manage transactions and those transactions will come with a fee. On Chain, tokens are more unrestricted in transactions as well and as the additional option to send On Chain Tokens off site and to exchanges (more on those later) where you can buy, sell, and trade the tokens for other crypto currencies.

Addresses and Metamask:

Once you have verified your wallet you will create a receiver address and after you install Metamask, you will see an On Chain address.

Your On Chain address receives both Ethereum and tokens of nearly any type (but especially Minds Tokens). You gain an On Chain address when you install Metamask and link it with your Minds.com account. When you make a withdrawal, the tokens will go into that address and when sending Tokens to exchanges it will acknowledge the tokens on your On Chain address.

The Receiver Address only receives Minds Tokens, the address does not send, and no one else can use it without having the private key that corresponds with it. If you opt out of using Metamask, you will have to use said private key to complete transactions on Minds.com. Even in the event that you already have a preferred Ethereum wallet, if you want to wire and boost tokens on Minds.com you should use Metamask.

Metamask is a browser extension designed to handle Ethereum based transactions. Not only can it hold virtually any token currently in circulation but it can also manage Ethereum as well. It comes with a seed phrase and a private key so as long as you keep track of that information you can use your Metamask on any browser and on any computer.

Brave has a crypto wallet built into the browser and it functions identical to Metamask and when connecting that wallet to Minds you do the exact same thing (choose "use Metamask") and everything should work as is.

Websites that deal in Ethereum and token-based transactions will anticipate usage of Metamask and present it as an option (sometimes automatically!) so I would strongly encourage you to use Metamask.

Deposits, Withdrawals, and Gas:

Before you can withdraw or buy On Chain Minds Tokens, you will have to deposit Ethereum into your Metamask account. For someone who is new to crypto this might be a rather large hurdle but you do have options! For all these options, remember that you want to send the Ethereum to your On Chain address and no other.

Your onChain address is always the string of characters shown underneath or beside your metamask. Clicking on the character string copies the entire address to your clipboard and outside of using QRcodes this is the safest method of reapplying an On Chain address.

Faucets: On certain websites, you can accrue Gwei (Smallest amount of Ethereum) over time free at the risk of encountering Adware. I would advise running the faucet (and the browser in question) within a sandbox.

Bank Linked Exchange: In order to use traditional (Fiat) currency you will have to link a bank account to an exchange like Coinbase or Gemini. If you thought, buying crypto currency was a secret backdoor affair you are in for a rude awakening, as you will have to provide quite a lot of private information to start using your legal tender to buy and sell crypto currency. This process is specific and lengthy but once complete you will not have to do it again (at least on that site) for the near future! You need to finish any exchange purchase by sending your funds to a dedicated wallet. Only your wallet is the secure. Everywhere else is slightly less than safe.

As a recent bit of news, If you have a paypal account I would give your Coinbase account the same name so it you can use paypal for Crypto Transactions.

Peer-to-Peer: A site like Local Crypto gives you a lot more flexibility in how to make a transaction. You can buy Ethereum there through Paypal, Bank Transactions, you can even meet in person, and you can trade with users from other parts of the world for prices that you both agree with. There is a reputation system there and you have to trust the users to hold their end of the bargain.

Affordable mining: Install a program like Betterhash, Nicehash, Minergate, Kryptex, or Cudo Miner and simply mine an affordable crypto that can be converted to Ethereum through shapeshift or as part of the withdraw itself. These miners were designed to run on a low to mid range computer and while they will not burn up your computer like a more traditional miner, you should expect to make anywhere from a few cents to a dollar a day. You could make more with a higher end computer but the more powerful the computer is the more likely the miner will switch from mining cheap currencies to mining expensive ones. When that happens, you may end up seeing a spike in your electrical bills.

Virtual Mining: Rollercoin is a virtual mining/arcade game set up where you can either buy mining rigs to mine for Ethereum or you can play games and build a hash rate capable of mining a decent amount of Satoshi. Once you earn enough you can withdraw the earnings directly onto your metamask address.

ATM: Although unlikely, there could be a Bitcoin/Ethereum ATM near you. If so, buying a crypto currency would be a matter of reaching it and seeing what goes into a purchase. Supposedly, it is very easy.

Any of those six methods should work and if you already have a crypto but it is not Ethereum then you can use shape shift or any sort of X currency to Ethereum exchange pairing and send that Ethereum to your Metamask and either make a Withdrawal or buy some Minds Tokens!

After you acquire Ethereum, you will send the Ethereum to the On Chain address. Sometimes the Receiver Address and the Metamask address will be the same but as a standard practice try to acquire the address from Metamask itself and not from the Contribution Ledger.

Remember that the Metamask Address can be located under the account name (and in this version of Metamask you click on the three dots to copy the address to the clipboard).

Now that you have Ethereum in Metamask, you can make a withdrawal!

Just before we make a withdrawal let us make sure, we add the Minds Token to our token listing. (Note that the Minds Tokens presents itself as MINDS, MIND is another token entirely) When you go into Metamask, you need to add the token by inputting the Minds Token address, which is “0xb26631c6dda06ad89b93c71400d25692de89c068”. After that, the other details of the Token will automatically fill in. Now you are ready to withdraw off chain Tokens!

How many should you withdraw is up to you but it is important to note that there will be a transaction fee at this point and in fact at every point after this.

Miners support the Ethereum network and they receive compensation for supporting the network with the GAS fee. Each miner establishes the kind of price the miners are willing to work with and when you confirm a transaction the order details search for a miner that is willing to complete the order based on the fee amount.

How much should you pay them? I would say default but that price might be too low or too high. Technically speaking you can make a fee as high as you want and the higher it is the faster the transaction will complete but it could be a waste of money depending on the details of the transaction.

Just before you full confirm the transaction you can adjust the gas fee and try to lower it if needed but If Metamask warns you about the gas being too low there’s a high chance the transaction will fail. You will be given the option to speed up or cancel the transaction but it will cost you more Ethereum to do that and it’s better to let the transaction fully fail (and when that happens, go into your settings and clear your transaction history) than to try to change it after it has been confirmed.

You can always try to figure out a good gas price for yourself by visiting https://ethgasstation.info/

After you withdraw, wait a few minutes (no more than an hour) to see if the tokens are appearing on your On Chain address. If not check your transaction history. Here are some quick solutions to some withdraw or transaction errors.

Insufficient Funds: The fee of the transaction exceeds the amount of Ethereum you have stored (or you do not have Ethereum). Lower the gas price (RISKY!) to the low amount you have left or acquire more Ethereum.

Locked in another network: There is a cache mismatch where the site believes you have one address when using another, there is also a chance that the network your Wallet is on is incorrect (the correct network is Main Ethereum Network) as well. Clear the cache or change the address to the appropriate one.

Successful Transaction?: Your transaction was successful but your tokens do not move. This is the result of making the Gas, Total Gas Fee, or the Gwei too low. Because the transaction has completed you will not be able to regain the Ethereum spent.

Stuck Transaction: Stuck transactions often indicate that too little was spent in the gas fee, you should edit the gas amount and raise it, if you were using your Tokens or Ethereum to buy, a time sensitive item the order may bounce.

Missing Tokens: If you successfully withdraw the tokens but they disappear some time afterwards, do not panic. The tokens have not gone anywhere. Metamask is just having trouble displaying the tokens and if the On Chain Address and Receiver Address are not one in the same, the withdrawn tokens may appear only when you log into Metamask and the extension is working properly. Option 1 is hiding the token and re-adding it to your listing. Option 2 is resetting Metamask (not to be confused with reinstall).

Missing Ethereum: If you sent Ethereum to your Receiver address, you will probably not see it anywhere on the Contribution Ledger and it may not even show up on your Metamask. The Ethereum is not usable and it will require you importing that address into Metamask or a dedicated Ethereum Wallet.

Log in reward?: If you receive an email about a specific amount of tokens waiting for you, this message is an error. If you receive, an email about logging in to get a reward of some kind the reward will be half an Off Chain Token (500 points). Not sure if you received one? Check your transaction history.

Move On Chain to Off Chain: There is no option currently available to move On Chain Tokens back to Off Chain.

Exchanges:

The Minds Token can be exchanged at various Token swap sites like Uniswap and 1Inch. Sometimes these sites will require you putting in the Minds Token address for you to gain the option to swap for it/with it.

Metamask already has a built in swap option where you put in the swap you want to make and it searches the various exchanges to find the best possible deal or a selection of them.

Clicking on the icon (or select a token) gives you a drop down menu where you can swap a specific set of crypto.

The Minds token address is 0xb26631c6dda06ad89b93c71400d25692de89c068

Buying with Crypto:

You could exchange Bitcoin or Ethereum for Fiat but you will have to take your Ethereum and Bitcoin to a Bank linked exchange. If you want to invest in crypto though you should hold onto the bulk of the crypto you acquire and if you want to buy something you should use the crypto directly.

The best possible choice in that regard is https://purse.io/shop which gives you the ability to buy items on Amazon with crypto currency. You search for the item you want on purse and select the item.

Another option is a key or card trading site like https://www.keys4coins.com/ which lets you trade crypto for either a software key or a gift card of your choice and price point.

There ya go! There is a point A to B on Minds Tokens!

Still feel lost, Want more details, Interested in learning more about Crypto in general?

Feel free to indulge in my glossary!

A basic outline of how to navigate Minds.com

How to buy Ethereum on Coinbase

How to setup your Wallet with Metamask

A beginner's guide to using Metamask

How to add Minds Tokens to Metamask

My Crypto Group

My Ethereum Community Pool Proposal

My curated list of visualized explanations of the basics of Crypto

The Calculator I developed for converting Minds Tokens to Ethereum, TrueUSD, and Bitcoin

How to trade on ForkDelta

Definitions for various bits of Crypto Jargon

Curryhobo's Visual illustrations of Token functionality

The Mega Minds Token Tutorial