A Beginner’s Guide to Creating SLP Tokens on Bitcoin Cash

This article and the accompanying video are sponsored by Kenn Bosak. I was under no obligation to say anything but the truth about this process

2020 has been difficult on everyone, but within the cryptosphere, no community has been hit harder than that of bitcoin cash. As BCH ABC and BCHN battle over how to properly fund development on the network and whether development funds should be controlled by ABC’s creator, many wonder if bitcoin’s original contender can survive their third hardfork in as many years. Yet, the idiom “it’s always darkest before the dawn” may hold up, but only if bitcoin cash can make strides to break through the rampant tribalism in existing crypto communities and gain user adoption

That’s where I come in, but I’m not the only thing bitcoin cash has going for it. The recent introduction of SLP technology may be the most important innovation to hit BCH since its inception, but what is it? What purposes does it serve? How can we use it? And what are its wider implications? Keep reading. You’re about to find out

What does SLP stand for & what does it do?

SLP stands for Simple Ledger Protocol, and all non-devs really need to know about it is that it enables quick and cheap (almost free) transactions, and it allows for permissionless building of “simple tokens” on top of BCH

What are some reasons a person or company would want to build a Simple Token?

Simple tokens are easy to build; they cost fractions of a penny to send and spawn, and creating them requires little to no development skills. But before I get into the tutorial on how you can make your own simple token, let’s go over some of the use cases

1. Meme Coins — A vast majority of the over 10,000 simple tokens built on BCH are memes. Much like the simple token Seth and I created — HUGS — they are mostly jokes within the community. They’re designed to have no tradable value. For that reason, creating and sending them on SLP offers a significant advantage to say Ethereum, where gas prices (and the Solidity learning curve) are incredibly high
2. Customized tokens — As more and more people embrace a self-driven entrepreneurial, gig economy way of life, it’s highly likely that we’ll see an increase of personal tokenization. Customized tokens could allow people to sell or trade their time and services once a decentralized SLP exchange, or DEX, is created (more on that later)
3. Stable tokens — Though controversial, cryptocurrency’s original stable coin USDT has already been built and functions on SLP. This allows users of SLP-enabled wallets to easily switch into and out of what some view as a more “stable” asset for transferring or holding value
4. Multi-layer constructions — In addition to building single-layer tokens, SLP facilitates more complex constructions by allowing users to build tokens on top of each other. The mineable SLP token mistcoin is a great example of this. Although it’s seldom used now, the implications of this technological innovation may be beyond our current comprehension
5. Rewards tokens — Offering rewards points that can be used for discounted or free goods and services is one of the oldest tricks in the marketers’ handbook. Nearly every chain from Starbucks to Bloomingdales already awards them, but issuing these points (or tokens) on SLP would make keeping track of them easier, AND (in conjunction with an SLP DEX) it would allow token holders to freely trade them
6. Securities tokens — Along the same lines as rewards, SLP allows for the construction of tokenized securities, like dividend tools. Though possible, this option is not yet being taken advantage of
7. Non-Fungible Tokens(!!!) — NFTs are the talk of the cryptoverse lately. Many argue that NFTs will ultimately be the catalyst that spurs mass awareness. Thus, bringing them to BCH — where artists can create them for fractions of what they cost on some competing chains — might be what sparks community adoption of bitcoin cash. When I found out that you could create NFTs using SLP tech, I nearly jumped for joy. Does this excite you as much as it does me? Would you like to see me publish a tutorial article (and accompanying video)? Let me know in the comments

So what’s up with the SLP DEX?

Before I tell you how you can create your own simple token, I want to briefly talk about the construction and timeline for a decentralized SLP exchange. Although the development team has been extremely tight-lipped about their progress, many anticipate DeToken will be live later this month. Although there is no knowing for sure if the project will be ready to launch, if it does, that could spell a new chapter in the history books for bitcoin cash

Now on to the main attraction: How to create your own simple token

Since Seth helped me create HUGS, I had to learn how to do it myself to write this piece. While there are several methods for creating an SLP token, mint.bitcoin.com is by far the easiest — though you’ll have to use something like Electron Cash if you want to create an NFT

1. First, you’ll need to create an account at mint.bitcoin.com. Enter your details and select, “create account”
2. The next step will be to fund your account. To create an SLP, you’ll need fractions of a BCH in your wallet. You can either import a wallet or create a new one and transfer in some funds. To do this, I scanned the QR code in mint from my mobile bitcoin.com wallet, and sent 10 cents of BCH. The transfer fee was 0.00000266 BCH, which equates to less than a tenth of a penny at present values, and it appeared in my mint account instantly
3. Enter the details of the token you’d like to create. You can enter your token’s symbol, name, number of decimals (up to 9 places), and total supply. You can also chose if you want the token to have a fixed supply (like bitcoin), or if you want to be able to create more at any time (like you’re the federal reserve, and your token is the dollar). For additional functions, you can add a token icon from the images on your computer. You can also add a link to the project’s white paper and website if you have those readily available
4. The final step is to hit the “Create Token” button, and bada-boom! You’ve just created your very own simple token on bitcoin cash

Wasn't that easy?!

How do I list my simple token on CC Tip Bot?

Once you’ve created your simple token, you may wonder how you’re going to distribute it. You could do what I did initially with hugs and ask people to share their SLP QR codes for a more custom experience, but if you plan on circulating a large supply, you’ll probably want something you can automate

The CC tip bot isn’t perfect. Due to a lottery program, tokens deposited in the CC tip wallet may be subject to redistribution. Additionally, from my limited experience with it, it doesn’t always work, and it doesn’t send confirmations to let those who have been tipped know that their coins or tokens have been received. A recent poll indicates that about 70% of respondents would like to see notifications turned on for the tip bot, so maybe that’s something someone could look into?

I’m also looking for an alternative SLP tip bot, but I haven’t found anything yet. Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in

Alright, so it’s not perfect? But I’m comfortable using it for distributing hugs anyway, so if you feel the same, here’s how:

1. Create an account at CCtip.io and link it to the social media of your choosing. Your options should include: twitter, telegram, discord & reddit
2. After you’ve created your account or logged in, you’ll need to set a payment password. This step is very important because without one, you won’t be able to get your token listed. So click settings, then next to Payment Password, select “Change”. Then, enter and set your password
3. At the top, select “list your coin” and then chose whichever social media platform you logged in through or have connected
4. Select “SLP”
5. Open your mint.bitcoin.com tab, select the token of your choosing, and copy the token ID. Then, go back to CCTip and paste it in the first line. Enter your token’s ticker symbol, your email address, and optionally, the website, as well as your handles on twitter and/or telegram. Then, click “Next”
6. On the next page, you’ll see all 4 of the available social media platforms where you can use the tip bot. Each one costs 1 cent to list for the year. Deselect any you don’t use. Then, click the down arrow next to the payment coin to select which currency you’ll pay in. Pro Tip: The first time I did this, I selected USDT thinking it would utilize the SLP version, but it didn’t, and I ended up paying several dollars in gas fees for a 4 cent transaction. This time, I selected bitcoin cash instead)
7. Click the box, acknowledging that you agree to the terms and conditions, and finally click “Submit”.
8. Enter the captcha and go to the email inbox you entered on the previous page
9. Open the email from CCTip. Scroll down until you see “Go to Pay” in blue. Click it
10. On the next screen, select “Pay”
11. Enter the payment password you set up in My.CCTip.io and hit enter
12. Wait 60 seconds, and that’s it! Your simple token should now be ready to tip people with on the social media platform of your choosing

What’s next?

With the official hardfork still a month away, bitcoin cash isn’t in the clear just yet. Still, the advent of SLP tech implementation on BCH could help break down some of the tribal barriers that separate the bitcoin cash community from the larger cryptosphere

What do you think? Will you use it? Will you try it? Will you tell your friends? In many ways, what happens next is up to you

Huge thanks again to my sponsor for this piece Kenn Bosak

Additional thanks to Collin Enstad & JT (@blockpartysh on twitter) for taking the time to answer my questions and correct my misunderstandings

If you enjoyed this content and you want to see more like it, please help me out by liking, subscribing, following, and sharing so more people can see it. I’m @NrdGrl007 on twitter and just about every other social media platform out there