What Decides the Value of a Crypto Token? | Bitpanda

The token value reflects a project’s growth potential and its inherent worth. However, its price could be a factor in many things.

In the realm of cryptocurrency, the determination of a token's value is a subject of considerable interest and discussion. While a project's growth potential and its inherent worth contribute significantly, the price of a crypto token, much like any commodity or currency, is ultimately governed by the forces of supply and demand.

The higher the demand for a particular token, the scarcer it becomes, and the lower the supply, the more rapidly its price tends to rise. However, beyond these fundamental economic principles, another factor could play a crucial role in influencing token value. This factor is none other than the liquidity of the exchanges that have listed the token.

As we know, exchanges like Coinbase, Upbit, or Japanese markets are fiat-heavy and create a value premium due to more buy pressure. For instance, Coinbase has trading pairs between all the major crypto and fiat currencies.

During the past month, for instance, we saw that the spot and derivatives trading volume on Coinbase has crossed US$15 billion on several days.

Most of this volume comes from trading pairs that involve the US dollar and major cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, XRP, etc. The same is true for Upbit. Earlier this year, in early February, for instance, we saw that the 24-hour spot and derivative trading volume on Upbit went over US$10 billion.

However, if we were to judge exchanges only by their liquidity, then Binance would be the best. As per the latest BitDegree findings, Binance is a centralized exchange that ranks #1 on the BitDegree exchange tracker, with a trading volume of over US$14.5 billion in the last 24 hours and US$9.59 trillion (at the time of writing).

But Binance is full of paper-hand traders who quickly buy and sell, leading to a rapid change in the token's price. These are individuals who hastily sell their crypto assets due to fear, panic, or any random factor.

Many factors contribute to paper-hand trading, including a lack of understanding, fear of loss, herd mentality, lack of patience, and more. But, ultimately, exchange liquidity is not a very wholesome factor that could be termed a signifier of the crypto market’s health.

What matters more is identifying tokens listed on top-tier exchanges that are undervalued by the market and could be repositioned for a re-rating. However, identifying such tokens of value is not easy, especially for retail investors who lack the organizational resources to read and track assets effectively.

Well-established investors, like Binance Labs, Samsung Next, Arthur Hayes, etc., have the mechanism in place to identify high-potential yet undervalued tokens. For instance, Binance recently published a list of undervalued altcoins that could explode.

These tokens were available at the price of US$0.01 or less. Binance also listed ways to identify undervalued tokens. These factors include strong community & hype surrounding the token, the token having a purpose beyond speculation, exhibiting increasing trading volume despite having a small market cap, a robust developmental roadmap, etc. But, it is not always possible to track these many factors without a team and strong organizational backing.

Fortunately, there are platforms that can help. Coin Terminal, for instance, enables ordinary investors to invest in tokens that are not widely discussed, but have the potential to deliver amazing returns on investment. The platform is easy to access and allows participation in its refundable sales with zero collateral—no token staking involved. Investors can also join pre-sales backed by leading funds for free.

The platform helps reach the deeper layers of the crypto market, where high-return assets are found—ones capable of delivering substantial gains in a short period. Since these assets are typically priced low, they offer lower entry costs and higher upside potential. Investors can enter the market with modest funds and accumulate millions of tokens. The good thing about such a strategy is that a small uptick in prices implies significant profits.

Altogether, while exchange liquidity is crucial for establishing trust in the exchange, it has less to do with making its tokens valuable. Coming to a robust exchange and trading only in reputed assets would mean moderate or below moderate returns. Investors can leverage platforms like Coin Terminal to identify undervalued yet high-potential tokens to make the most of their modest investments and even earn supernormal profits.