According to BeInCrypto's interview with 8Blocks, token projects lose control when demand depends on trading appetite rather than product use. Stronger token economies tie demand to product use, access, treasury design, and circulation. The problem begins when launch becomes the core economic event, requiring the token to have a role inside the product and a reason to unlock user value after the first campaign.
Early token launches can appear stronger than they are due to allocation demand, investor appetite, listing attention, and market-making support arriving simultaneously before the product proves lasting demand. As reported by 8Blocks, many projects reduce token economy design to allocation tables and unlock schedules while leaving the token far from the business model. The positioning centers on tokenized economic systems where demand comes from usage and economic control stays with the company.
Real utility comes from repeated action inside the product, with examples in GameFi from gameplay assets and resource markets, and in RWA from asset access or investor permissions. According to 8Blocks, when product demand is weak, trading activity carries the economy as early holders wait for price growth, reward users sell into liquidity, and airdrop farmers leave after claiming. Control usually weakens in two places: distribution pressure from deep discounts and short locks making fundraising easier, and empty utility from vague governance rights and badge-style perks.
In GameFi, stronger designs connect rewards with gameplay progress, staking, NFT minting, resource mining, upgrades, and loot markets. For RWA, tokens must follow the asset and rights attached to it, requiring models built around ownership records, investor access, settlement flows, custody, and liquidity. In DeFi, weak utility appears when staking, governance, rewards, and liquidity incentives operate as separate mechanics, while social platforms fail when rewards are paid mainly for attention.
As 8Blocks CPO Sergey Novikov explains, "Unlocks, emissions, and community rewards aren't the problem by themselves. The problem starts when new supply enters the market and the product can't create enough demand to absorb it." The solution involves pre-launch reviews to test unlock pressure, weak utility, treasury exposure, and demand mechanics before market issues arise. Post-launch audits separate market mood from economic design to identify problems from sentiment, supply timing, weak utility, or poor circulation.
