Simple Token is a blockchain platform that allows companies to launch their own ERC-20 tokens or cryptocurrencies on the blockchain without any need for technical skills or complicated procedures.
The main feature of the platform is the ability to enable any app to tokenize their product and benefit from having aspects of their business on the blockchain with the assistance of Simple Token’s protocol.
The platform will also have its own dedicated software and team to help simplify the process and make it more efficient.
Simply put, Simple Token wants you to focus on your own customers and your core technology while leaving the implementation of the blockchain infrastructure to them.
Simple Token will give you all the tools you need to design, create, and manage your token economy while you sit focus on other parts of your business.
The project is led by Jason Goldberg, a serial entrepreneur well-known for launching the popular e-commerce site Fab as well as being the former CEO of Jobster.
The idea for Simple Token came from his recent startup Pepo, a social media app that connects local experts with users for tips on a wide range of topics ranging from travel tips to food recommendations.
Jason was looking for a way to implement cryptocurrencies in the Pepo app as a way to incentivize users but the tokenization process was extremely complex and costly than what he expected.
Hence, the Simple Token project was created as a way for business owners to simplify the tokenization process in their applications.
We connected with Jason recently to touch on some questions we had in mind for the project.
Simple Token right now seems to aim to become the Stripe of the blockchain industry, are there any plans to expand the usage of the platform to non-developers? Are there any other plans in the pipeline to make Simple Token a “currency”?
Simple Token enables any company to create and manage their own digital branded crypto-currency powered by Simple Token without their internal team needing to know any blockchain technology. Simple Token combines the “ST” ERC-20 token, an immediately usable protocol for consumer app tokenization, and a SaaS software solution for managing your token economy.
Our message to potential customers is simple: You focus on your own customers and your core technology and leave the blockchain infrastructure to us. We give you all the tools you need to design, create, and manage your token economy.
Simple Token is a digital currency in that it has a value from day 1. Simple Tokens are staked against creating Branded Tokens (“BT”) for each company and the value of those BT is always based on the value of ST.
Aside from adoption, what is the biggest challenge that Simple Token is realistically facing as it grows?
Visibly differentiating ourselves from the slurry of ICO nonsense. There are so many companies that are undergoing token sales for the wrong reasons; either they have a product that does not warrant a token sale, they’re looking to scam investors, or they enter the crowdsale phase much too early. We don’t view a token sale as a fundraising event, although many do. A token sale is a token generation event, and its primary goal should be to create, build out and strengthen an ecosystem, not just make money.
We are also taking care to make sure that the entire Simple Token software program is simple to use, living up to our brand promise.
What are the steps that your team is taking to increase the adoption rate of Simple Token once it launches?
Firstly, we’re committed to seeing our Member Companies succeed. We reserved 27.2% of the total Simple Token supply (roughly $18M) for our Network Accelerator Program. The Accelerator Program provides grants to projects we feel will advance and strengthen the Simple Token ecosystem.
These grants will help them fund their development and implementations, incentivize and reward their developers, and provide some warm-up tokens to their users to spur the initial stages of adoption. We’re giving these grants to projects of all sizes, not just already successful companies, but startups with solid ideas and roadmaps.
The best way to increase adoption is to be sure that we’re ensuring the success of those already using the OpenST platform, and support potential projects that will continue bolstering its strength.
Because Branded Tokens will be tradeable across the ST ecosystem, as more companies join the platform, their customers will be able to use their tokens to make purchases from other companies, and vice versa, incentivizing more people to frequent their business.
Loyalty programs are no longer isolated to a single company – in the ST ecosystem, tokens gained through frequenting Company A can be used on purchases from Company B, or even spent in games and apps on the platform.
Can you explain more on what you’re trying to do with Simple Token for Pepo? How is it going to change the function of Pepo once the protocol is applied?
We originally came up with the concept of Simple Token in 2016 when trying to develop a token economy for Pepo. Pepo is poised to launch a vibrant marketplace for local tips and reviews using Pepo Coin, powered by Simple Token.
Unlike services such as Trip Advisors or Yelp wherein people give up their reviews for free, Pepo will enable anyone to get rewarded for their valuable contributions.
What is your outlook on Simple Token 5-10 years down the road?
We envision Simple Token as the standard for app tokenization. Not only because we offer a palatable onramp for embracing blockchain technology, but because our ecosystem finds strength in numbers.
Eventually, more companies will be incentivized to join because of the universal exchangeability within this ecosystem. Why go through the development process to create an isolated token that can only be used within one company?
Because there’s no incentive to use, buy or sell that token when there’s a globally interconnected token marketplace in which any token can be used to frequent any company.
If a company tokenizes their rewards program onto an isolated blockchain, nothing would change from the current status quo of rewards programs; you buy from Company A, and you use those rewards towards Company A. Rewards programs, in-game purchases, peer-to-peer transactions across every industry will be used towards any other on the Simple Token platform.
Simple Token will launch the token sale for the ST utility token.
Below are the details of the token sale:
Token name: ST
Token base: Ethereum (ERC-20 compliant)
Token supply: 800,000,000 (240,000,000 on sale during the token sale)
Token sale date: 14th of November, 2017
Token sale target: $20,000,000
Token exchange rate: $0.0833 = 1 ST
