Watching project after project issue tokens and seemingly create billions in market cap feels absurd. It’s just pressing a button, writing some code; how can it turn into money? In fact, this question is not only asked by newcomers; many seasoned players understand it verbally but haven't fully grasped it in their hearts. Today, let's talk about this phenomenon of making money out of thin air.
One, why can issuing tokens sell?
Let me explain a very common principle: a piece of paper that says movie ticket can be worth dozens; if it says stock, it can be worth hundreds or thousands; if it says lottery, some people are willing to spend money for hope... Aren't they essentially quite empty? But why are people willing to pay? Because 'there's consensus, rules, and expectations behind it.'
1️⃣ Supply and demand relationship — Scarcity makes it valuable
Most projects that issue tokens will set rules like 'total supply of 10 billion tokens' and '2% released each year'. This is essentially creating scarcity. Just like BTC has only 21 million coins, supply is limited, but everyone wants to buy, so naturally, the price rises.
2️⃣ Consensus and expectations — If everyone believes it is useful, then it is useful
When Bitcoin first came out, it was worthless, but some said it could resist inflation, could decentralize, could become digital gold. More and more people believed in its story, and it truly became a reality. This is the power of consensus.
3️⃣ Network effects — The more people use it, the more valuable it becomes
If a coin has a lot of users and developers behind it, like Ethereum has countless DeFi, NFT, GameFi projects, then its native token ETH naturally has high demand. This is the network effect.
4️⃣ Economic model design — Issuing tokens is not free; it is used to stimulate the ecosystem.
The purpose of a project issuing tokens is to incentivize users, attract developers, and bind the community. If designed well, such as reasonable releases and rewarding those who really contribute, then the token will have long-term value. Conversely, if it’s just airdrops, dumping, and indiscriminate releases, it will lead to chaos.
Two, different types of tokens have their own ways to 'create money'
1️⃣ Public chain tokens: betting on ecosystem, betting on future, betting on industry foundation
What are public chain tokens for? In analogy, they are the gas fees of the blockchain world. You have to pay gas fees for using applications on the chain, for transfers, for deploying contracts. This gives it essential demand attributes.
The investment logic is very simple:
If you believe this chain can thrive and support more applications, then its token will naturally be valuable.
SUI and Aptos came about this way, backed by big shots from Meta (formerly Facebook), raising funds aggressively, and striving to build their ecosystems.
2️⃣ DeFi protocol tokens: betting on transaction fees, betting on governance rights, betting on ecological moat
DeFi tokens are different from public chain tokens; they are more like shares of a protocol.
If you hold UNI, you can vote on how Uniswap moves forward, and you might even participate in revenue sharing (although it hasn't opened yet, everyone is betting on this possibility). AAVE holders can even participate in risk assurance pools to earn protocol revenue.
The investment logic here:
You bet this protocol can become the industry leader, like Uniswap, the DEX leader.
You believe it will open up profit sharing and fee sharing in the future.
3️⃣ Meme coins: betting on human nature, betting on popularity, betting on FOMO
Meme coins can sometimes make big money, but you should know, it's not based on technology or ecology, but purely on community memes, hype, and momentum. Dogecoin was a joke back then, but Elon Musk's statement 'Dogecoin is the people's coin' shot it up to a market cap of $80 billion. PEPE is even more exaggerated, skyrocketing to $1.6 billion in just a few days, making some people rich while others stand guard.
The investment logic is glaring:
You are betting on the popularity of social media.
You are betting that someone will buy in later than you.
Three, let's explore how SUI and Aptos create money
🎯 SUI: A star project that combines traffic, capital, and gameplay
Background bull: Mysten Labs, led by a former Meta big shot, with strong technology and robust capital support.
Aggressive financing: raised $336 million from big names like a16z, FTX, Binance, and more.
Multiple play styles: engaging in games, tasks, and activities on-chain, a bunch of people chasing profits.
Impressive data: daily active users reached 2.46 million, TVL surged to $2.1 billion.
Price trend:
Public offering price $0.1, skyrocketed to $0.94 on the first day of listing.
Peaked at $5.35 (January 2025).
Currently (May 2025) around $4, market cap of $13.4 billion.
The success of SUI relies on capital backing + stimulating gameplay + user explosion, gradually pushing the market cap up.
🎯 Aptos: a dark horse of Layer 1 that makes a strong impression and steadily advances.
The background is also strong: Aptos Labs, another old friend from the Meta camp.
Even more aggressive financing: raised nearly $400 million in total, a16z, FTX, and Binance all came in.
Epic airdrop: kicked off with a legendary airdrop, directly attracting a lot of attention.
Stable ecosystem expansion: TVL reached $1.2 billion, daily active users peaked at 890,000.
Price trend:
Private placement price $1, fluctuating between $7-8 on the first day of listing.
Peaked at $19.9 (January 2023).
Currently (May 2025) around $6, market cap of $3.6 billion.
Aptos is a typical case of early explosive growth followed by steady advancement, supported by capital and community, unlike SUI which plays tricks, but it moves quite steadily.
Both have proven that issuing tokens can create value, but whether that value can be sustained depends on ecological implementation and user support.
One last point — value cannot rely solely on imagination
Issuing tokens can create money, this is true. But it's not out of thin air; rather, it's based on:
Some people believe it is useful (consensus)
Some people really use it (application)
Some people are building ecosystems (network effects)
Some people design good incentive rules (economic model)
Trading tokens is fine, but understanding comes first.
Only by seeing the essence of the project and understanding the market rhythm can one avoid being led by the nose by the illusion of making money out of thin air.
After all, in the crypto world, a day is like a year, and those who can really make money have never relied on luck.