How to tokenize your business with AlphaWallet & TokenScript

Tokenization brings rich advantages to users and businesses.

Tokenized assets can be traded on an open market with less friction and enjoy maximum liquidity. They can also be used across systems with limitless integration opportunities, greatly increasing how and where they can be used. 

This adds tremendous value to assets and businesses by new interactions available and recognized by other parties, as they become more accessible, flexible, transparent and economical.

If you’re looking to tokenize your business, or are still unsure if your business can benefit from tokenization… we give a practical roadmap to achieve it. Read on to understand everything you will need to consider, and the benefits.

What is tokenisation? A primer…

Tokenization is more than the representation of an asset. It’s the Digitization of Rights. This view is more useful than “token as an asset” that is commonly used because, by itself, a token doesn’t do much.

For example:

Using this definition, the right to own a car can be represented by a token in a blockchain.

Holding this token can give you utility, such as starting the car, renting it or subscribing to insurance. It’s up to the token issuer to decide what he will write on it. This is defined by smart contracts, which will include who the owner is, and transaction rules of the ownership.

Tokenized rights can be anything… The right of ownership, the right of access, right of decision. It can also fall on physical assets such as a car or art piece, intangible assets such as trademarks, positions in contracts, identities, permissions and anything else you can think of.

Learn more about what a token is here.

Benefits

Putting it simply, when you tokenize your business, your offer or service will have a higher value when compared with your competition.

As a business, tokenization enables limitless integration. The rights you choose to tokenize can be integrated with more systems, at lower development costs and done with better efficiency.

For the user, tokens are more convenient and efficient – he can use your token across more services, with lower friction and a better experience. For example, a tokenized discount can be tracked and recognized by more shops and used for other cross-benefits such as access to industry fairs.

Tokenized rights also enjoy maximum liquidity; token users can trade in a more liquid market and with less friction, giving access to competitive services at the best prices.

If you are a service provider, tokenization means a more open and fair market, free integrations, increased efficiencies and cost-saving. Each token is an open API for any system to use. 

Starting with a business model to tokenise

As tokens can represent practically any right, it has the potential to disrupt several incumbent business models. Where does your business stand to gain the most from limitless integration and liquidity?

We described before that a token can represent rights, and these rights can be anything.

If you are a rental business, your tokenized bookings will greatly simplify integrations with booking platforms, check-in/check-out systems and even access to your properties.

As an event organizer, tokenizing your tickets will enable several integrations across partner systems in location (food and drink) and pre/post-event online.

An interface for your users

Users will need a wallet to hold your issued tokens, as well as use features related to the tokens. What people care about is a solution that is faster, cheaper, and easier to use than their current one. They also demand a familiar interface.

To develop your own wallet means additional cost and complexity, so businesses might default to choosing and recommending an available option to users, such as ethereum-based Metamask or Trust Wallet.

These will come with restrictions that limit how far your business model can go: limited licenses, lack of rebrand control, no integrated UI. They will lack token interactivity, or may not have a browser to access your smart contract functionality.

Using AlphaWallet

We provide AlphaWallet open source and free for commercial and non-commercial use. An ethereum wallet available for Android and iOS, it’s readily forked and quick to be rebranded to specifications. Featuring web3 browser and integrated with TokenScript.

Business considerations

For a business looking to tokenize, chief practical concerns include how will you integrate with current systems, what will costs of development be, what expertise will you require, how will the project be maintained, regulatory concerns and user adoption.

AlphaWallet is proposed as a way to simplify most of these.

Integration with current systems

How does a tokenized right begin to interact with your systems, or other non-blockchain systems? This will be a common issue for either integral or partial tokenization use cases.

With TokenScript, we give a common XML/JS language for tokens. This enables interoperability and allows tokens to interact with the blockchain, private servers or other tokens, and correctly rendered across different dapps or websites.

All you need to do is to enable the TokenScript engine on the wallet or website and the tokens are ready to be used.

Learn more about how it works here.

Development Costs

For businesses, forking AlphaWallet with TokenScript will be the simplest, most straightforward solution to tokenize the rights to your business assets.

Using AlphaWallet will fast-forward wallet development requirements. Being an open-source wallet core and user interface, it allows easy rebranding and adaptation to use cases.

TokenScript will allow a development team to add extended functionality and interaction with a smart contract at a fraction of the time and expertise needed.

Development Hours (1st Prod. Release)AlphaWallet Fork + TokenScriptHardcoded App
DIY560 hours1520 hours
Development with our tech partners312 hoursTo be discussed
Development with us208 hoursTo be discussed

Complexity and required expertise

TokenScript is a framework for JavaScript and XML markup which allows the creator of a token or trusted authority to declare properties and utilities for the token.

TokenScript is a new and maturing framework for enabling token experiences on mobile and websites. To get you up to speed, there are example scripts and easy to use templates that will help you set-up in a jiffy.

This lets you build products that interact with smart contracts with only a basic knowledge required about the underlying blockchain, or the smart contract itself.

View TokenScript examples

Updating and Maintenance

Consider how you will update and maintain your project after the initial release. How do you calculate the total cost of ownership, update and maintenance of a tokenization project?

This can be a daunting prospect given the inherent complexity of the subject and lack of cost benchmarks for comparison. Consulting group EY analyzed costs of blockchain project implementation, placing Maintenance as the highest recurring cost after initial onboarding.

This helps understand how AlphaWallet and TokenScript are an ideal choice in any tokenization scenario:

The wallet itself is maintained and updated across all forks by an expert team in Singapore and Australia. Businesses may choose to adopt these new updates for their users. Partnered development means all adopters can benefit from updates.

TokenScript will add to improved maintenance and interoperability. Businesses can upgrade their token offerings without compromising maintenance efforts and cost. Tokens can easily be maintained, with all updates syncing retroactively with previously issued tokens.

As a web or app developer, this also means a Dapp can be upgraded independently of all the tokens it supports, as TokenScript allows the Dapp to interact with its interface instead of directly accessing smart contracts. 

Regulatory concerns

Consider your regulatory framework; the classification of the asset or right that you’re attempting to tokenize can have a profound effect on the tokenization process, for example when tokenized assets become securities with expectation of investment.

But we’ve evolved away from the ICO craze of 2017-2018. In the vision of TokenScript, the growing value will come from the additional utility, limitless integrations and increased liquidity your business and users gain, without additional regulatory compliance requirements.

Because a tokenized business model is non-custodial, businesses have a much lower risk to legal liabilities in case of security breaches, or in requirements for data ownership and management in cases like banking data, health, etc.

Additionally, businesses can use TokenScript to address other regulatory requirements, such as “Know Your Customer” (KYC), in a user-friendly fashion. Using TokenScript, our partners are creating onboarding experiences that are similar to traditional online banking, but natively crypto.

User acceptance and publishing

Will your users trust this? AlphaWallet and TokenScript are designed with end consumers at the core of it. It demystifies crypto and makes it more accessible for all users, not just crypto-enthusiasts.

Our partners use TokenScript today to tailor rich token user experiences for first time crypto users, who do not need to know anything about the underlying blockchain or nuances of using dApps.

Familiarity with the brand boosted by a white-label wallet and familiar app interfaces helps roll out and acquire initial adoption.

Technical Considerations

Understanding why you want to tokenize, and what is involved in the process is the first step towards benefiting from tokenization. We make the case for tokenization.

TokenScript and AlphaWallet are open-source technologies worked on by an active community. By the virtue of being a framework to enable token experiences, TokenScript can be adopted to any distributed ledger use cases that involve interactions between users and the underlying tokens.

Moving it forward

After your pilot launch, keeping track of outcomes will tell you what directional changes might be necessary or to what degree. With a successful implementation, scaling your solution will be easily achieved with TokenScript.

Learn from live successful use cases:

  1. Fifa World Cup Tickets
  2. Qoin’s eCommerce Platform
  3. Karma Car Tokenization

Have a project in mind?

We want to hear from you. Bootstrap your custom solution with our ready-to-market, white-label wallet. Or co-create with our expert team to tokenise your business model, at a fraction of the time and cost.