First of all, it is important to understand the difference between coins and tokens. Both can be called cryptocurrency, but if coins (such as bitcoin or litecoin) work using their own blockchains, tokens live on top of existing infrastructure, such as the Ethereum blockchain. Blockchain, in fact, is a record of transactions protected by the network. So, coins have their own independent transaction registers, and tokens rely on some third-party network to confirm and secure transactions. Coins are often used to transfer financial assets. Tokens have much more functions – this is a kind of digital contract for almost anything; physical objects, events tickets, loyalty points, etc.

Tokens are often issued through crowdsales known as the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) They get exchanged for existing coins, which in turn finance projects such as gaming platforms or digital wallets.You can get public tokens after the end of the ICO, as well as buy them using the base currency to make a purchase.

This option is suitable for most people; platforms will do all the technical work for you. For example, CryptoLife helps to create the simplest coin. All you need to do is enter the necessary parameters like the logo, number of coins received by miners for signing a block, etc. They even have pre-built templates where you only need to specify a name and a symbol. The base price of this service is 0.25 BTC. WalletBuilders is a similar service; prices start at 0.01 BTC, and there is a free test version.

You can also create tokens, smart contracts, all with or without a public ICO. Since tokens can represent any asset, you can even create a token that does not have real value or a serious purpose, except for the possibility to be exchanged between friends.

In addition, stats numbers are cruel; many cryptocurrencies are unsuccessful, some are doubtful from a legal point of view. There are different reasons for this, maybe they failed to run a quality ICO, or the coin failed to provide long-term interest. No wonder that the term ‘shitcoin’ appeared, and it seems that it does not intend to disappear. Therefore, before deciding on such a responsible step as launching your own cryptocurrency, it is worth to weigh the pros and cons, determine the purpose of its creation, develop an action plan, and conduct market analysis so that eventually your new cryptocurrency.