Mop Coin: A Tokenized Approach to Prioritizing Ideas

Introduction

I often have more ideas than I can realistically pursue. Some are worth building, while others may simply be a product of short-term enthusiasm. The challenge is finding a clear way to prioritize which ideas deserve attention and investment.

One concept I have been considering is the creation of a token, tentatively called Mop Coin, to serve as a mechanism for crowdsourcing prioritization. This would be something like a personalized Kickstarter, but instead of pledging money to a single project, supporters would purchase Mop Coins and use them to push ideas forward in a development queue.

The Concept

The system would present a queue of ideas. Each idea would include relevant details such as designs, prototypes, and business plans. Community members could then spend Mop Coins to move a specific idea higher in the queue. Ideas would also be tied to readiness levels—a framework for measuring maturity from concept through prototype, alpha, beta, and beyond. Progressing an idea through these stages would require increasingly more Mop Coins.

This setup would allow participants not only to influence which ideas are pursued but also to contribute feedback and research as the idea matures.

Potential Benefits

1. Clarity in prioritization
   Mop Coin provides a transparent way to see which ideas have community support. Decisions are based on measurable contributions rather than intuition or internal bias.

2. Skin in the game
   Participants must spend Mop Coins rather than simply voting or “liking.” This creates a stronger signal of interest and commitment.

3. Engagement and transparency
   The process makes idea development more open. Participants can see readiness levels, understand costs, and watch how an idea advances through the pipeline.

4. Scalability
   A Mop Coin system could handle a growing portfolio of ideas, helping to separate those worth pursuing from those that remain speculative.

Potential Challenges

1. Adoption
   A key question is why participants would buy Mop Coin rather than simply pledge dollars as with existing crowdfunding platforms.

2. Speculation vs. utility
   If Mop Coin becomes tradable, there is a risk of it turning into a speculative asset instead of a tool for prioritization.

3. Complexity
   Readiness levels and token mechanics may feel unnecessarily complicated to new users. Simplicity would be important for initial adoption.

4. Trust
   The system relies on trust that ideas will be built if they are funded with Mop Coins. Without strong governance, participants may hesitate to invest.

Mop Coin and the Dollar

One way to simplify the model is to peg Mop Coin directly to the dollar (e.g., 1 Mop Coin = $1). This eliminates volatility and speculation, and positions Mop Coin as a form of platform credit. Participants know exactly what they are committing, and the focus remains on the prioritization process rather than the currency itself.

Under this model:

• Users purchase Mop Coins through fiat payment methods (credit card, PayPal, etc.).
• Mop Coins are stored as balances within the system.
• Spending Mop Coins directly moves ideas up in the queue, with readiness levels requiring progressively larger commitments.
• The token remains useful within the platform but does not serve as a tradable asset outside of it.

This approach reduces friction, makes the system easier to implement, and allows for testing whether the prioritization mechanism works before introducing a full blockchain-based token.

MVP Approach

An incremental path toward building such a system might look like this:

1. Web application with points
   Begin with a queue of ideas where participants spend points (no blockchain) to move ideas forward.

2. Mop Coin as credits
   Transition to Mop Coin as pegged credits within the system. These can be purchased or earned, and their value remains stable.

3. Optional blockchain integration
   If adoption grows, Mop Coin could later be implemented as a true token on-chain, enabling transparency, decentralization, and governance features. This step should only be considered once there is proven demand.

Conclusion

Mop Coin represents an experiment in combining idea management, community input, and tokenized prioritization. By matching Mop Coin to the dollar, the concept avoids many of the pitfalls of speculative cryptocurrencies while still enabling a structured, transparent way to determine which ideas deserve investment. The central question remains whether such a system would provide enough value to attract participants, but as an MVP it offers a clear path to testing the model without unnecessary complexity.