It wasn’t long ago that cryptocurrencies were perceived as obscure financial devices associated with criminality and nefariousness. Their very decentralized nature made them a thing to shun and fear, lest their influence dragged down a reputable financial institution.
But these erstwhile arcane financial creations have steadily evolved to become mainstream. Well, almost. General public confidence in cryptocurrencies still has some way to go before the whole thing becomes as familiar as good old bank notes.
Some people still perceive cryptocurrencies as an unacceptable risk, almost a scam where any money invested will soon evaporate. While such trappings do exist, many recent ICOs have painted a more transparent picture, in an attempt to convey a ‘risk-free’ cryptoconcept.
This piece is a full disclosure, a statement of facts without any intention of advice or endorsement about the Asset Token value offer.
Asset Token: A Brief History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yom3dLR9yE
Asset Token offers the first ERC20-compliant token to be used in transferable credit card rewards programmes.
The token is designed to enable financial institutions to manage loyalty schemes quickly, easily, and securely via blockchain technology.
It is important to note that Asset Token will not be a cryptocurrency in the strict sense of the term. However, the company expects to trade on existing cryptocurrency exchanges.
Because of this, Asset Token will not hold a ‘traditional’ ICO. Instead, it is opting for a three-phase public sale period, which will occur concurrently with private sales to financial institutions.
Asset Token’s ecosystem of choice, the loyalty rewards programme, offers a lot of possibilities in terms of size, popularity, and uptake.
Banks, credit card companies, airlines, and a myriad other entities offer such programmes. According to research carried out by Deloitte, 80% of survey respondents are more likely to use a bank that offers rewards over one that does not.
So the rewards are there, no pun intended.
Rewards Programmes on the Blockchain
Blockchain technology is poised to revolutionize long-established business rules, opening up new, more effective ways to do things.
When applied to rewards programmes, blockchain offers:
- Increased transparency – Transactions are recorded on a public ledger, which means all parties involved have full view of how many reward points someone has, their value, and other relevant data
- Reduced fraud – Blockchain’s inherent encryption technology makes every transaction secure. Once a transaction is recorded, it cannot be changed.
- Improved customer loyalty – One of the main flaws of any ‘traditional’ rewards programme is that the points sometimes have expiration dates. Rewards points recorded on the blockchain never expire.
Asset Token’s Value Proposition: Token Overview
Asset Token presents itself as the ‘future of credit card rewards programe’.
Its tokens, which are built on the established ERC20 standard, cannot be replicated or forged.
The tokens offer the following features:
- Transferability
- Transparency
- Tradeability
- Seamless integration
- No expiration
- Reduced costs
Blockchain technology will create the new fabric of society..@AssetToken plays a huge integral part of that society.
— Voter Ledger (@AssetToken) October 23, 2017
How Asset Tokens work
Any financial institutions interested in working with Asset Token can purchase tokens directly via any payment method, or from users who currently hold Asset Tokens on participating exchanges.
Financial institutions then have the option to offer the Asset Tokens as rewards for their existing loyalty programmes, or convert entirely to the Asset Token system.
Asset Token deployment across a financial institution can be achieved in three stages:
- The Asset Token team creates a custom Smart Contract with an adjustable rate
- The institution integrates each account with an Ethereum Wallet address
- The institution will be able to access the Smart Contract via API, from where the tokens can be distributed.
Asset Token’s Risk-Free proposition
A degree of uncertainty and distrust still remains around cryptocurrencies, greatly due to perceived fears of irretrievable financial loss.
The Asset Token team has made a conscious effort to imbue its offering with a completely risk-free perception for any one individual or institution purchasing its tokens.
Asset Token offers an Asset Token Refund Smart Contract, which will enable buyers to refund Asset Tokens back to Ethereum at any time. This effectively means that ownership of Asset Tokens carries no risk whatsoever.
Conclusion
Asset Token may have found a market niche, and may be able to make a profitable use of it.
The company aims to turn the Asset Token into the de facto standard for rewards and customer loyalty programmes worldwide, which is no mean feat.
Asset Token’s risk-free proposition may be just what’s needed to strengthen public perception and confidence, not only about its own offering, but also the entire blockchain-cryptocurrency ecosystem as a whole.
For more information, consult the Asset Token Brochure
