Condition 03 of IV · Redeemable value
Something to earn
A unit redeemable for real-world value rather than for more of itself.
Without it
A unit that can only be exchanged for more of itself, or for the hope that someone will want it later, is a loyalty scheme with a chart attached. It works while the chart goes up.
The correction. Token economies have repriced repeatedly, and play-to-earn collapsed on exactly this point.
What that actually means
Play-to-earn is the clearest natural experiment the category has produced. The earning was real, the players were real, and the collapse was total — because the unit redeemed for nothing except the next buyer.
Redemption is the entire distinction. A unit that converts into a real good, service or experience has a floor set by that good. A unit that converts into itself has a floor set by belief. The studio will not build on the second.
What supplying it requires
A redemption path into real-world value, services or experiences
A ledger where earning is attributable to something a person or agent actually did
Economics that hold when the unit is not appreciating
Redemption available to the holder rather than only to insiders
Where this condition makes companies
The intersections this condition participates in.
| Intersection | What it produces |
|---|---|
| Agents × value | The machine economy — agents earning, spending and settling in units that redeem |
| Worlds × value | Real-world-asset backing for virtual property and in-world goods |
| Identity × value | Earned standing convertible into real-world claims |
The other three
Somewhere to be
Worlds without economies are film sets.02Someone to be
Identity without portability is a login.04Someone to do the work
Agents without governance are an audit finding waiting to be written.The definition of Web 4 belongs to GDA Group. Machine-readable version of this page: Markdown.