Token Map

4 — Token: Properties and Behaviors

Welcome back to the Token Map, your trusted guide for Tokens, Contracts and Identity in the exciting world of blockchains.

Brought to you by Marley Gray in collaboration with Conor Svensson at Web3 Labs.

Picking up where we left off in Episode 3, where we covered base Token types, let’s move on and cover the rest of token concepts.

Properties

Tokens usually have a common name, a symbol or unique identifier, a quantity and an owner. These values belong to the `token class` where instances of this token will have these same values.

There are two types of properties, behavioral and non-behavioral. Non-behavioral properties can be added to a token without effecting, well, its behavior, like a serial number, SKU or generic tags. Behavioral properties, on the other hand differentiate token types from each other.

For example, you can create a property title token that uses a base non-fungible token and adds non-behavioral properties like a map number, plot location, etc. and it can be a fully functional token. You can repeat this process for an art token that uses the same base non-functional token and adds non-behavioral properties need to represent it. These tokens have the same behaviors but represent completely different assets by having different non-behavioral properties or even non-behavioral property values.

Definition: a token template is a set of technical artifacts, code, configuration, etc. that a token class is created from. Property title tokens in the example above are created from a single template, which is a non-fungible token with non-behavioral properties like map number, etc. You use this template to create a token for each property needing a title, over and over again. Technically this same template can also be used, perhaps with slight modification, for Art. Art and land have the same behaviors, but have different non-behavioral properties.

So tokens start out as either fungible or non-fungible, with a common set of base properties and then diverge from each other based on their behaviors.

Behaviors

Behaviors are capabilities or restrictions and can be common across fungible and non-fungible types or only apply to one of them. Behaviors have supporting properties which are incorporated in the token schema and definition.

Behaviors are very business specific and usually have existing “non-blockchain” implementations which are well understood.

Here are some common behaviors.

• Transferable — the ability to transfer ownership of the token. Basic fungible behavior when using cash money, but also applies to non-fungible tokens.
• Non-transferable — the restriction of preventing a change of ownership from the initial issued owner. A vote token for an election or an airline ticket are examples.
• Sub-dividable — these are essentially the decimal places a token can be subdivided into. For example, a dollar supports 2 decimal places. A zero decimal would prevent subdivision or the ability to own a fraction of a token, these are referred to as whole tokens.
• Mintable — the ability to issue new tokens of the class. Creating money or barrel of oil to add to the overall supply of the class.
• Burnable — the ability to remove tokens from the supply. A token representing a barrel of oil that gets burned when it is refined is a good example.
• Role Support — the ability to have roles defined within the class to can allow or prevent certain actions.
• Financable or encumbered — the ability to have another token or contract prevent the transfer of ownership or burning until the encumbering is removed. For example, an outstanding loan on a property that is encumbered will require that the loan be paid off before the ownership of the property can be transferred.
• Expirable — the token loses its value based on an event or date. A ticket to the theater is only good for the date of the play and is not valid for the next day’s show.
• Suspendable — a token can be restricted for redemption, transfer or use based on some event. A token that represents a credit may be suspended until some issue with the credit is resolved.
• Extension or Add-on — an optional add on set of properties like a concert ticket with a VIP backstage pass. Or a cruise ticket with unlimited food and drink.

Obviously, there are many more of these, but more on that later.