Wybo Wiersma – a 40-year-old Oxford University graduate – has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after scamming over $2 million in crypto from unsuspecting victims. Following his arrest in 2019, the Dutchman was extradited from the Netherlands back to the United Kingdom (UK) in 2021. Following a five-year investigation by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU), he pled guilty on January 26 to the Oxford Crown Court. A Five-Year Investigation As reported by…
What are Deflationary Tokens?
Deflationary tokens are a type of cryptocurrency or digital token with a mechanism built into them that reduces their total supply over time. This can be accomplished through various methods, but it is common to automatically “burn” a small portion of each token transaction, essentially removing it from circulation. The idea behind this is that reducing the token’s total supply will make the remaining tokens more valuable as demand increases.
Deflationary tokens can be used in various ways, but they are often used as a store of value, similar to gold or other precious metals. In addition, some investors may view them as a hedge against inflation, as the value of the token should theoretically increase over time as the supply decreases.
It is important to note that not all deflationary tokens are created equal, and some may be riskier than others. Therefore, as with any investment, it is important to research and understands the token’s specifics and the project behind it before investing.
It is also important to consider that some deflationary mechanisms that can be used can cause the token’s price to become highly volatile. This is because if the tokens are designed in a way that burns too much of them too quickly, the remaining tokens can become too scarce, which can cause their price to skyrocket. This is why it is important to review and understand the token economics of any deflationary token before investing.
Crypto Deflationary Mechanisms
Several different deflationary mechanisms can be used in digital tokens. Some examples include:
- Burn: This mechanism automatically “burns” a small percentage of each transaction, effectively reducing the token’s total supply.
- Buyback and burn: This mechanism is similar to the burn mechanism but also includes a buyback program in which the issuing organization or project will buy back tokens from the market and burn them.
- Staking rewards: A token that has a staking mechanism has a reward system for users that hold and lock up tokens in a specific wallet or contract; the reward is distributed among the holders, and this can increase the demand for the token and decrease the total token supply on the market.
- Halving: This mechanism is modeled after the halving of rewards in Bitcoin; the rate at which new tokens are generated is reduced over time, resulting in a decrease in total supply.
- Token Lockup: A mechanism in which tokens are locked up for a certain period; these tokens will not be available in the market and will decrease the circulating supply.
These are some examples of deflationary mechanisms, and other mechanisms can also be used. Additionally, the specifics of how these mechanisms are implemented can vary widely from project to project, so research to understand any token’s deflationary mechanism before investing.