tldr;

Coins today are purely speculative and lack real incentives for holders, leading to rapid price declines post-launch. Revenue coins offer a narrative-flip by tying token value to real product, service, or business revenue, giving sustainable incentives to holders. In the article, I introduce the concept of Revenue Coins as a bear-market-proof path forward.

Introduction

"Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It's to see my dividends coming in."

- John D. Rockefeller

I'm tired. I'm tired of slop. I'm tired of crime. I'm tired of schemes. I'm tired of metas. There's a new one floating around: Product Coins. "These aren’t just speculative memes; they’re backed by real products!" Sounds good on paper. But here’s the reality: product coins that are not tied to a product's impact will die too.

Today I'm proposing a new terminology, Revenue Coins, and a call to action on the community for further experimentation in this space.

The Rise of...

Token is the Product

In 2024, MustStopMurad dropped a now-viral clip from Token 2049, racking up 8.3 million views. The core idea? Token is the product. That the only thing that's working in crypto is the ability to launch a token that can be traded instantly. Murad highlights memecoin communities as the narrative of this bull run. And yeah, if you squint hard enough, it kinda makes sense. Memecoins don’t need anything beyond a strong community and good vibes. A strong community spreads good vibes wide and far, getting new holders in to continue bringing the price up.

👀 But also...

Ponzi Scheme: A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new investors.

- Investor.gov

Extreme Trading Products

Fast-forward to February 2025, and now there are products that facilitate the trading of coins to the extreme. Products like vector.fun are designed to make you feel like you're at an Instagram-style casino, able to copy trade in two taps or less:

bry on Warpcast

The casino of crypto 🎰 In the vector.fun app, you can turn on demon mode and watch pump fun launches that are about to graduate. You can buy any token from this screen in 2 taps, under 2 seconds. I’ve spent the last 30 minutes studying this screen and watching which tokens graduate pump.fun … baffling. 🤯 https://imagedelivery.net/BXluQx4ige9GuW0Ia56BHw/bcb709b0-dd92-45e9-4e67-61d3827d1600/original

Farcaster

Extreme Launching Products

Just like trading products, there are now hundreds of token-launching products akin to pump.fun. If you're unfamiliar, pump.fun is the go-to token launcher on Solana that lets anyone with a ticker name, token name, and image launch a token for free.

2017 ICO Mania

An influx of trading-related, token-launching products coming out of meme mania has reminded some of us who have been in crypto for 8+ years of the 2017 ICO season. In 2017, we saw new blockchains, new apps, new visions of a decentralized future. Whereas in 2025, "devs" drop coins and then a roadmap, in 2017 "devs" would drop a "whitepaper," have a "presale," and you'd get rekt almost immediately. I participated in a few ICOs in 2017 - almost all are dead now.

So... Why Hold Any Token?

"Believe in Something"

- Crypto Twitter Anons

One of my least favorite phrases I see alllllll the time on my timeline is "Believe in Something." Belief is nice and the phrase is optimistic, but belief can financially destroy you. The trend of the majority of coins is an immediate run-up post-launch (belief) followed by a deep 50%+ drop (destruction).

So what should we actually believe in? The ability to generate and share real value. In order to incentivize long-term token holding (investing) vs. selling post-launch, there must be incentives for the holder.

Enter Revenue Coins.

The Case for Revenue Coins

Revenue coins represent a shift towards sustainability in crypto - they offer real economic incentives for holders - not just creators.

Practical Example: A Coffee Shop Token ($BEAN)

Imagine you run a local coffee shop with a reward token $BEAN. Every coffee transaction incurs a 5% additional fee, which is collected and distributed to $BEAN holders regularly - similar to dividends.

Why does this work?

1. Real Business: A coffee shop generates tangible revenue with real-world demand.

2. Value In: People buy coffee with fiat, a portion of which is distributed to holders.

3. Sustainable Demand: Unlike speculative memecoins, revenue-generating businesses sustain demand through actual usage.

Revenue Coins Requirements

Before we start launching revenue coins left and right, there are certain requirements of revenue coins that are necessary to define. The following are just the tip of the iceberg:

1. Revenue Generation: If your product or service doesn't generate revenue, there is no sustainable way to inject capital into the model.

2. Fee Collection & Distribution Mechanisms: Smart contracts must reliably collect, convert, and distribute earnings to holders.

3. Transparency: If revenue distribution is discretionary, token holders should have visibility and potentially some level of control over allocations.

4. Regulatory Clarity: Governments still need to define how these coins are classified (security vs. commodity) and regulate + support accordingly. (See next section)

A Note on the Need for Regulation

The largest blocker to considering revenue coins has been government regulation. Since the inception of crypto, governmental administrations lacked clarity on rules and regulations, specifically around the classification of coins as securities vs. commodities.

Quick refresher:

Security: A financial instrument that represents ownership in an entity and offers an expectation of profit derived from the efforts of others (e.g., stocks, bonds).

Commodity: A basic good that is interchangeable with others of the same type (e.g., gold, oil, Bitcoin).

The classification of revenue-generating coins as securities vs. commodities is crucial because it determines their regulatory treatment, including taxation, compliance requirements, and legal obligations.

Ultimately, the lack of regulation clarity creates uncertainty for builders and investors, making it difficult to determine whether revenue-sharing coins are legally viable or whether they might later be subject to enforcement actions. The outcome of this debate will significantly impact the future of Revenue Coins as a sustainable model in crypto.

Final Thoughts

The incentives to hold non-major coins are rapidly declining. Holding any longer than a few months is becoming a losing game.

Revenue coins could define the next era of crypto, creating real value instead of speculative hype. If a business generates revenue, and that revenue gets shared with holders, holding a token becomes desirable. This model aligns incentives, rewarding holders for staying in the game rather than relying purely on speculative price action.

For this to happen, we need more experimentation, regulatory clarity, and sustainable models.