LinksDAO is launching its own community token, adding a highly tradeable asset alongside its nearly 10,000 membership non-fungible token (NFTs) this crypto golf club tried selling to fund its mantra: “We’re gonna buy a golf course.”

NFTs aren’t as trending as they were in early 2022 when LinksDAO sold its membership tokens for $10 million. The market euphoria that led raunchy Beeple artwork to nab hundreds of millions of dollars at auction moved on long, long ago.

CryptoSlam’s NFT Index is down nearly 97% since its inception in January 2022, showing how market interest is now elsewhere. Memecoins now dominate crypto’s short attention span economy; even Trump has one. Now LinksDAO will have one too, with LINKS.

“We are going to be launching a community token that has deep culture, that’s embedded in the game of golf, that’s embedded in the community, and that’s permissible under the fucking regulations that we have to deal with,” LinksDAO founder Mike Dudas said on a community call late Tuesday.

The coin is expected to launch in the coming months on the Base blockchain. A third of its supply is earmarked for LinksDAO NFT holders, with smaller allocations for members of other NFT communities, including Pudgy Penguins and Bored Ape Yacht Club.

Any successful crypto coin inevitably lives or dies as a financial instrument, even when its promoters – right up to the President of the United States – attempt to insist otherwise in the fine print. For their part, LinksDAO’s suits proclaimed LINKS was not “speculative” nor an investment.

Instead, they’re calling it a community “enhancer:” a way to broaden the reach of a crypto club that managed to weather the bear market less because of the enduring appeal of NFTs than the growing power of golf.

“The goal is to have every single golfer have LINKS in their crypto wallet,” said head of community and co-founder Cooper Sherwin.

LinksDAO bought a golf club in Scotland in mid-2023. The club’s executives recently signed an agreement to become partial owners of a second course in Kansas City. That deal is subject to a vote by LinksDAO’s NFT-holding members, said Sherwin.

Hillcrest Golf Course is an 18-hole course designed by an architect from golf’s so-called Golden Age, Donald Ross in 1915.

He once called it the finest course in the world, but it fell into disrepair over the ensuing century, according to project members.

That created an opportunity for LinksDAO to cut a deal. Current owner Robb Heineman – a Kansas City businessman who also owns that city’s Major League Soccer team – closed the club down for a few years back to pursue a $30 million renovation project.

Heineman did not return a call from CoinDesk. In a press release, he said LinksDAO “shares our forward-thinking vision for what a golf club can be.”

LinksDAO will become a minority owner of Hillcrest and gain a board seat, though project leads declined to share specific financials behind the deal. The deal will seek the approval of LinksDAO’s NFT holding members, who vote on proposals but don’t have full legal power over the project’s decisions.

Some 200 members showed up on Tuesday night to hear the dual announcement of course acquisition and token. That means LinksDAO is not actually a “decentralized autonomous organization,” but instead a kind of affinity club for people at the intersection of crypto and golf.

Hillcrest’s national membership program will become a LinksDAO operation open only to holders of its NFTs.

Jan. 7 could mark a turning point, as Usual plans to activate the token fee switch for real value sharing.

The real-world asset stable coin protocol Usual (USUAL) has recently hinted at the activation of its token fee switch.

This announcement comes at a pivotal time for USUAL, as the protocol has experienced a notable decline in its recent market performance.

The current price of USUAL is $0.91, reflects a 29.86% drop from the previous week. The current market capitalization stands at approximately $447.9 million, with a 24-hour trading volume of around $261.46 million. This represents a substantial decline from the token’s all-time high of $1.62, which was reached on Dec. 20, 2024.

The activation of the fee switch is anticipated to introduce a new revenue-sharing model within the Usual ecosystem, potentially providing token holders with a share of the protocol’s transaction fees. This move aims to enhance token utility and attract more participants to the platform.

Fee switches have become a big trend in the DeFi space, turning passive token ownership into a more rewarding experience. They allow for the redistribution of collected fees to key stakeholders, such as liquidity providers, stakers, and token holders, creating stronger incentives for participation and retention.

For USUAL and its community, the Jan. 7, 2025 activation of the fee switch could mark the beginning of a new era where real value and distribution take precedence, setting a new standard for success in the DeFi ecosystem.

Reddit’s cryptocurrency community, r/cryptocurrency, announced a partnership with Unstoppable Domains on Nov. 19 to launch the first-ever Reddit community-based Top-Level Domain, .MOON.

The initiative aims to provide the community’s 8.8 million members with a bridge to the broader blockchain ecosystem.

Powered by the Polygon blockchain, .MOON domains offer fast, cost-efficient transactions and enable users to create immutable digital profiles. This development positions r/cryptocurrency, already recognized for its MOON governance token, as a leader in blockchain innovation.

John Murphy, Treasurer of MOON DAO, commented:

We at r/cryptocurrency have always focused on community empowerment, and launching .MOON domains is the next big step in that journey. This partnership with Unstoppable Domains expands our presence beyond Reddit, offering our users tools to engage with the onchain ecosystem while preserving our strong community identity.

Features and benefits

.MOON domains serve as unique identifiers, enabling users to establish digital profiles and conduct secure crypto transactions with each other. They are compatible with over 865 blockchain applications and wallets, ensuring seamless access to decentralized services.

The initiative cements r/cryptocurrency’s role as a Web3 ambassador, helping the community expand its reach beyond Reddit. Unstoppable Domains COO Sandy Carter highlighted the importance of this collaboration:

The vibrant r/cryptocurrency community can now extend its unique energy into the onchain domain space, engaging new users across decentralized platforms.

The launch aligns with Unstoppable Domains’ mission to deliver secure, user-owned digital identity solutions. It also positions the company alongside 30 other onchain organizations preparing for the 2026 ICANN gTLD application round.