How can a fungible token be designed to carry high symbolic value?

When tokens are non-fungible this is an easy task. Many NFTs are designed to hold little or no monetary value, and high symbolic content.

As an example, POAPs are minted to symbolize memories of specific moments and events in time and/or space.

Fungible tokens cannot escape holding monetary value, but can they be designed to allow a richer symbolic value as well?

Could we create a token still compatible with permissionless automated market makers, but also useful for holding non-monetary values?

Can a token carry meaning?

Kernel in their essay brings attention to the signature economies embedded in blockchains:

“Signatures do not enclose, they bear individual witness to shared events. The messages you sign are at once totally unique—there is only one valid signer in the whole world—and yet they can be broadcast many times over, each time accumulating meaning.”

And then asks:

“Can we create a culture where value is propagated by ongoing response, rather than held captive in possessions?”

This token engineering research project aims to:

• explore the possibilities for designing a token able to carry and express symbolic value

• develop open source smart contracts available for the community

• deploy at least one example instance of a SymVal token as a demonstration of its potential

The path so far:

We started with the question: How to code symbolic values in smart contracts?

Inspired by ancient "technologies", we are exploring the idea of borrowing concepts and practices from Buddhism, such as prayer wheels, mantras, holy temples / stupas, with the goal of deploying a digital version of them to the blockchain.

To pursue this idea further, we have started a series of conversations with Marlon Barrios Solano, with the goal of arriving at a token model.

Marlon is a creative technologist and researcher with a background in software engineering, improvisational dance, and embodied awareness, and also a resident meditation teacher and guest movement instructor for Kernel.

As an early experiment we also asked:

Can a token display more than just a balance in a wallet?

Together with Simon Wairiuko from the Regro Project we proposed an idea for a token on the NEAR blockchain, taking advantage of the fact their token standard includes an on-chain token icon image supported by the NEAR wallet.

Simon is an artist, farmer and developer, and he created an interactive SVG that shows day/night cycles, a tree's respiration cycle, and localized seasons like Winter and Summer, based on the device’s location and time zone.

This early experiment dealt only with the token UI display and not yet with the underlying contracts and logic, but was already a step towards the main research question.

The SVG can be visualized at: https://teia.art/objkt/651699

Where we are:

We are currently in the token design phase. As we progress we will post updates on our website:

https://symval.gitbook.io/

Team:

Lenara Verle - https://twitter.com/lenara

Marlon Barrios Solano - https://twitter.com/MarlonBarriosS2

Simon Wairiuko - https://twitter.com/simon_wairiuko