THE PRICE OF MANA (Hint: Its FREE)
Although Mana is free, it represents the ability to access the Koinos blockchain which is an extremely valuable feature because of Mana Sharing which enables tokenless access.
Critics have pointed out that Mana becomes a defacto fee based system, which it can be for users who have no $KOIN.
But a zero cost, regenerative resource can always be sold at cost, making the pricing predictable unlike gas fees which are extremely unpredictable.
Furthermore, some dApps may opt to provide Mana for free because the user experience of a tokenless dApp removes user cognitive load.
dApps can find a plethora of other ways to monetize their user base. We see examples of this everywhere in the software world. Here are some examples:
- Discord offers users free access to chat platform but they monetize through boost and nitro services.
- Twitter offers users unlimited free tweets, but monetize through twitter plus.
- Linktree offers users free link pages, but monetizes through additional link features.
- Spotify offers free music, but monetizes through Spotify Premium where you can download and listen off line and ad free.
- Linkedin offers free connectivity, but monetizes to get your messages ahead of everyone else’s.
- Tinder offers limited free swipes, but monetizes by offering unlimited swipes in their premium service.
- eBay offers free listings, and you only pay if your item sells.
- Imagine these services were all powered by web3 instead and what benefits web3 could offer, just by providing free access.
The ability to eliminate the cognitive burden of using blockchain is the main value proposition of Mana and Mana sharing.