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Token economics explained
Plain-language guides to the products, rules and market plumbing that institutional investors, founders and policy people actually deal with. Written by the CCS editorial desk and grounded in twelve years of founder interviews. Every guide carries dated, sourced figures, a timeline, a worked example and a checklist.
Token economics · IntermediateHow to read a token’s supply schedule: circulating supply, FDV, unlocks and dilutionMarket cap, FDV, cliffs, linear vesting, unlock calendars, buybacks and burns explained, with a worked 24-month dilution model of a real token and a checklist for reading any supply page.Market structure · FoundationsHow do prediction markets work? Polymarket, Kalshi and the fight over event contractsHow binary event contracts are priced, matched and resolved, why Kalshi and Polymarket volumes passed $50bn a month in 2026, the state-versus-CFTC court fight, insider trading cases, and a worked $10,000 example.AI & crypto · IntermediateDecentralized compute networks explained: GPU marketplaces for AI, from Akash to AethirHow decentralized GPU networks like Akash, Aethir, io.net and Render rent AI compute, what they cost against AWS and CoreWeave in 2026, how work is verified, and where the revenue is real.AI & crypto · IntermediateHow do AI agents pay each other? x402, AP2, Tempo and the race for machine money explainedWhy AI agents need stablecoins instead of cards, how x402, Google AP2, Stripe's Tempo, Visa and Mastercard divide the stack, what the usage data really shows, and the risks, with a worked x402 purchase.Blockchain basics · FoundationsHow do blockchains reach consensus? Proof of work, proof of stake and what finality really meansHow Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos and Avalanche agree on one transaction history, what finality means on each, how long a $10m settlement should wait, and what Alpenglow and Glamsterdam change in 2026.Ethereum & L2s · IntermediateWhat is restaking? EigenLayer, liquid restaking tokens, slashing and the 2026 reality explainedHow restaking reuses staked ETH, BTC and SOL as collateral for other services: EigenLayer's AVS model, LRTs from ether.fi, Renzo and Kelp, slashing since April 2025, the 2024 boom, the 2026 contraction and what it pays versus plain staking.Stablecoins · IntermediateStablecoin yield vs tokenized money market funds: why issuers cannot pay interest and who does insteadThe GENIUS Act bans issuer-paid yield on stablecoins. Exchanges, DeFi and $14.8bn of tokenized money market funds pay it anyway. How each route works, what it costs, and a $20m treasurer's worked example.Market structure · AdvancedThe crypto basis trade explained: how funds earn the gap between spot ETFs and futuresHow cash-and-carry between spot bitcoin ETFs and CME or offshore futures works, who runs it, how to read it in CFTC data, why it drives ETF flows, and what the October 2025 unwind taught.Bitcoin · FoundationsWhat is the Bitcoin halving? The issuance schedule, miner economics and the 2028 cut explainedHow Bitcoin's halving works, all four cuts so far and the fifth expected in April 2028, what happened to price and hashrate, and why miners pivoted to AI hosting, with a worked example at 2026 hashprice.DePIN · FoundationsWhat is DePIN? How decentralized physical infrastructure networks work, from Helium to XYOHow decentralized physical infrastructure networks use tokens to build wireless, mapping, positioning, compute and storage networks, with Helium, XYO, GEODNET, Bee Maps, Render and peaq as examples, and how to tell a working network from a subsidy.Solana · FoundationsWhat is Solana? How the high-speed chain works, what SOL earns and why institutions use itHow Solana's single fast base layer works, what SOL issuance and staking pay, the outage record and the Firedancer and Alpenglow fixes, and where ETFs, stablecoins, tokenized stocks and banks now use the chain.Ethereum & L2s · FoundationsWhat is staking? How proof-of-stake yield works, what it pays in 2026 and what it risksWhere staking yield comes from, what solo, Lido, Coinbase and ETF staking actually pay after fees in October 2026, how the Ethereum exit queue works, slashing history, tax treatment and how 2025 SEC guidance brought staking into ETFs.Ethereum & L2s · IntermediateWhat is an Ethereum Layer 2? Rollups, blobs, stages and what “secure” really means in 2026How optimistic and ZK rollups inherit Ethereum security, what Fusaka's blob expansion did to fees, who leads in October 2026, what L2BEAT stages mean after Blast's shutdown, and the sequencer and token questions that matter most.Market structure · IntermediatePerpetual futures, funding rates and liquidations, explainedHow perps work without an expiry, how funding is computed, exactly where a 10x long is liquidated, what auto-deleveraging did on October 10, 2025, and where perps trade on-chain and in the US as of October 2026.Tokenization & RWA · IntermediateWhat is tokenization? Real-world assets on-chain, from Treasuries to stocks, explainedHow tokenized Treasuries, private credit, stocks and funds are structured, what the SEC's 2026 innovation exemption and DTCC's tokenization work change, where the legal risk sits, and the $38.8bn market by the numbers.Stablecoins · FoundationsWhat is a stablecoin and how does it hold its peg? Reserves, GENIUS Act rules and the 2026 marketHow dollar stablecoins hold their peg, how issuers earn on a $307bn reserve pool, why algorithmic designs failed, and what the GENIUS Act and MiCA now require before the January 2027 deadline.Tokenization & RWA · IntermediateTokenized stocks and pre-IPO tokens explained: from xStocks to tokenized OpenAI and SpaceX exposureWhat a tokenized stock legally is, how xStocks, Ondo, Coinbase and the SEC's 2026 innovation exemption differ, how pre-IPO tokens on OpenAI and SpaceX work, and what $10,000 on-chain buys versus a broker.Market structure · IntermediateHow to read on-chain data: a guide to on-chain analytics and its trapsWhat blockchains show and do not, the Bitcoin and DeFi metrics that matter, the tools behind them, the traps of the ETF era, and a worked example diagnosing the September 2026 rally.Regulation · FoundationsUS crypto tax rules explained (2026): property treatment, 1099-DA and what Congress may changeHow the IRS taxes crypto in 2026: property treatment, staking and airdrop income, the wallet-by-wallet basis rule, Form 1099-DA, the DeFi rule repeal, wash sales, stablecoins, NFTs and the bills in Congress, with a worked example.Crypto equities & IPOs · IntermediateCrypto IPOs and SEC disclosures explained: how to read an S-1, 10-K and 8-K from a crypto companyThe 2025 to 2026 crypto listing wave, the companies that paused, and how to read an S-1, 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K from a crypto filer: reserve income, SAB 122, fair value accounting, ATMs, lockups and tokenized equity.Regulation · IntermediateSEC vs CFTC: how US crypto regulation is split, the 2026 token taxonomy and what the CLARITY Act would changeHow the security-or-commodity question decides everything, what the SEC's 2026 token taxonomy and Regulation Crypto Assets changed, the CFTC's move into spot markets, and where the CLARITY Act stands after its September 2026 Senate defeat.Corporate treasuries · IntermediateBitcoin treasury companies explained: mNAV, preferred stock and the Strategy playbook in 2026How Strategy and its imitators raise capital to buy bitcoin, why mNAV is the whole engine, how 12% preferred stock replaced zero-coupon convertibles, and what fair value accounting, index rules and the 2026 shakeout changed.DeFi & DAOs · IntermediateHow DAO governance works: votes, delegates, fee switches and why it keeps breakingHow token voting, delegation, quorum and timelocks work in a DAO, how the 2025-2026 fee switches turned governance tokens into cash-flow claims, the recurring failure modes, and the legal wrappers that limit liability.ETFs & funds · FoundationsHow spot Bitcoin ETFs work: custody, creations, in-kind redemptions and why the price tracksWhat a spot Bitcoin ETF holds, how authorized participants keep the share price tied to the bitcoin inside, what changed with in-kind redemptions and generic listing standards, and how to compare the funds against holding spot.Token economics · FoundationsMemecoins explained: how they work, who profits and why most go to zeroHow memecoins are launched, traded and drained: bonding curves, pump.fun fees, bundlers and snipers, the TRUMP and LIBRA cases, the SEC's 2025 stance and how to read a holder distribution.Custody & security · FoundationsCrypto wallets and self-custody explained: keys, multisig, smart accounts and what Bybit taughtHow private keys, seed phrases, hardware wallets, multisig, MPC and smart accounts work, what the Bybit hack and French kidnappings taught, and a costed 2-of-3 multisig setup for a small treasury.Regulation · IntermediateWhat is MiCA? The EU crypto regulation explained: licences, stablecoins and the 2026 reviewHow the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation works: CASP licensing and passporting, the stablecoin rules that pushed out USDT, what Coinbase, Kraken and Binance did, and the 2026 push for ESMA supervision and MiCA 2.Token economics · FoundationsWhat is a crypto airdrop? Free tokens, points, sybils, taxes and the 2026 rules explainedHow token airdrops work, why Hyperliquid's $1bn HYPE drop became the benchmark, why most airdropped tokens fall, and what the SEC and IRS say in 2026, with worked tax and budget examples.Custody & security · IntermediateCrypto custody explained: qualified custodians, MPC, the 2026 SEC proposal and what to askThe three custody models institutions use, how SAB 122, the OCC charters and the SEC's October 2026 custody proposal opened the door, what Bybit taught, and the diligence questions that matter.AI & crypto · IntermediateData provenance for AI explained: how blockchains prove where data and model outputs came fromHow C2PA credentials, hashes, on-chain attestations, XYO's proof of origin, ERC-8004 and zkML prove where AI data and outputs came from, what the EU AI Act requires from August 2026, and what a verifier actually checks.Market structure · AdvancedCrypto prime brokerage explained: custody, financing and off-exchange settlement for institutionsWhat a crypto prime broker does versus a TradFi prime, who the players are after the 2022 collapses, how off-exchange settlement works, and what the 2025 to 2026 US bank rules change.