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Many are eagerly anticipating the introduction of the microblogging feature being added to Leofinance. What was targeted for mid-December is now pushed back to, hopefully, mid-January. Thus, we are about 3 weeks away give or take. The development schedule was adjusted to prioritize the DB feature first.
That said, once the feature is released, the team should consider designing a token for the microblogging feature.
There are many reasons for this.
Please note this is all speculation and is not tied to the Leofinance team or based upon any information pertaining to plans of this nature.
Re-Introduce The Early Adopter Phase
Who does not like being an early adopter? While the entire Leofinance platform is still very young, many have a tough time acquiring the LEO token. A year ago it was much easier.
One of the biggest advantages of cryptocurrency is that one can be an early adopter, over and over again. By layering, we can see the ability for newer people to benefit similar to those who were in earlier.
Some were not around for the introduction of LEO but they could be around for that with mLEO.
Further Decentralization
Every project needs to have decentralization as one of its primary focuses. Those that do not will end up shunned going forward. There is likely to be a point whereby communities move due to the lack of decentralization on certain platforms.
Wealth is one way to do that. When too much of it is in the hands of a few, it is not a healthy, resilient economy. We see this around the world with our present system.
Providing another wealth center will enhance the decentralization, effectively creating additional Whales as compared to today. Spreading distribution wider, in a horizontal manner is the goal.
LEO Taking On Different Meanings
mLEO would be a Proof-of-Brain token. LEO started as that but it is expanding into different areas.
One of the highest goals is to bring DeFi to the Leo ecosystem. We already saw one liquidity pool form on Ethereum and the road map has more to follow. We know that EOS, Cardano, and Thorchain could be possible options in the future.
We also see the possibility of a liquidity pool being constructed as a layer 2 solution on Hive. This post by @disregardfiat shows some of the potential.
Different Users/Different Focus
Microblogging is going to appeal to a different group of users as compared to long-form posts. This is one of the reasons to add the feature.
LEO was the Proof-of-Brain token for long-form content. It can still be that. Eventually, I will presume the goal is to bring some more "professional" writers to the site. There are a number here already who take content creation seriously, not opting for quick hits or short posts.
This is still ideal for LEO. However, we know the appeal of microblogging to most of the Internet so it is a market that should be targeted.
While some might use both, the reality is that not all long-form will what to microblog and vice versa. We already see how many posts on Leofinance are ideally suited for microblogging.
Having a separate token would allow for different tokeneconomics to develop. The users of microblogging would decide how they distributed rewards, not hindering upon the long-from content whatsoever.
Governance
Part of the future is going to include a governance model for Leofinance. I would presume it is going to be tokenized.
This ties into the decentralization aspect. We want more people to partake in governance, thus having those with influence in mLEO would be beneficial. Governance tokens could be distributed based upon holdings of both, creating a more balanced of governance.
This is not just a drop for the sake of having another token. There are valid reasons for adding it with the new feature. Essentially, we are looking at where things are going in the future.
A Token For Each Occasion
Here is where the future lies. Anyone who read the 3Speak plan for their new tokens understands how important this is. They are not just creating one token but, rather, 4. There is a miner, governance, gas, and, eventually, a Proof-of-brain.
Much of this will be feeding into the governance token which is the pulse for the platform.
Won't This Take Away From The Value Of LEO?
This is akin to believing that the success of LEO detracts from HIVE. To me, this doesn't make sense since all if intertwined.
The microblogging platform has the ability to attract a lot of users. Thus, mLEO could be heavily sought after by those using that feature. As stated, this could be a vastly different crowd from those who presently interact on Leofinance, creating another "tribe". We might think of this as a tribe within the Leofinance tribe.
Ultimately, people can decide which token they focus upon. Like most things, a lot of this will depend upon how one arrived. Those who are attracted to Leofinance based upon the microblogging will put their efforts in that direction. Ergo, that token will be more appealing to them.
Of course, not all will go exclusively in one direction or the other. In fact, most will prefer some type of combination of the two.
Consider having 5,000 different people who are microblogging, earning rewards for their efforts in mLEO. This could easily be swapped using a plaform mentioned above, turning some of it into LEO. This would end up serving as a feeder system for many to acquire LEO.
Wouldn't This Prevent Microbloggers From Earning LEO?
Not at all.
Rewards for microblogging would be made in mLEO. However, there is nothing that prevents those who are also interested in long-form from putting posts like that up. At the same time, all are free to comment on the long form posts, just like is done now. That aspect of the platform will not change.
How Do We Make Sure "The Rich Don't Get Richer"?
A solution is to do the drop with a max limit. As an example, put a cap of, say, 20K LEO. This is the most any account can receive.
Each account gets a 1:1 payout (or 5:1, whatever ratio is chosen) up to the max. Thus, anything over gets the same.
This pulls the present large account base closer to the rest. The largest accounts holding LEO still get the most mLEO but their ratio to the other accounts is closed.
After the drop, it is all determined by the activity on the microblogging platform and purchasing.
This allows anyone who is active on the microblogging to increase his or her influence, something that might not be of interest to some of the other LEO holders.
If I am not mistaken, this is how the LEO was initially dropped, using a cap.
Won't The mLEO Just Be Dumped
This all depends upon the user base. If the microblogging feature is attaining any degree of success, the token will have value.
After all, didn't LEO take off due to the growth of the user base, pushing it past HIVE? This could happen with mLEO.
Basically, it all comes down to the network effect. Growth is all that matters in these instances. When things are growing, it eats up all that is distributed.
We are seeing this with Bitcoin right now. The demand for that coin is exceeding how much is produced.
Thousands of microblogging users would enhance the value of mLEO since it has a direct impact upon their curation. At the same time, this will also have a positive impact upon LEO since a portion of the wealth there will also find its way into LEO.
At the end of the day, a large microblogging user base would end up generating a great deal of desire for mLEO, just like the existing user base did for LEO.
Wouldn't That Require Getting Multiple Tokens On The Exchanges?
That approach could be taken but it is not needed. In fact, it is likely better that it is not. Have mLEO as a Leofinance platform token. LEO can serve as the vehicle for crosschain applications and integration.
If people want to access Leofinance from the "outside", they can do so by purchasing LEO. Since much of the interest will likely be tied to DeFi, that is the token they need anyway.
Cryptocurrency offers the opportunity for abundance. Tokenization should extend to all areas of a platform. Instead of limiting, we have the opportunity to keep developing the ecosystem in a decentralized manner. The further the reach, even on the platform, the better.
Tokenization provides financial value to the activities of individuals. The value of the network effect is well known online and within social media.
It is time for us to benefit through the many different levels of value creation.
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