We have all collected things we consider valuable and unique at some point in our lives. Be it collecting sea shells during our visits to the beach, or coins and currency notes from various time periods, or stamps, or even weird-looking rocks, things that are one-of-a-kind have always attracted our attention. Some people do it as a hobby, while some people actually do it for a living. These objects are invaluable. Even masterpiece paintings by artists come under this category. There will always be only one Mona Lisa, only one Portrait of a Lady and only one Whistler's mother. And these are just very few examples. People also sometimes collect books, preferably first editions, which slowly increase in value over the years.
**"The whole point of collecting is the thrill of acquisition, which must be maximized, and maintained at all costs."** ― **John Baxter**
Sadly, the same cannot be said about the tokens that are used in the cryptocurrency market. Any one token is just as good as any other token, and there is no concept of individuality. There is also no provision for people to make their own exclusive tokens with ease. But this situation isn't going to last for long, thanks to the efforts of the Open Collectors Network.
Open Collectors Network is a decentralized platform for smooth ownership, creation, customization and trading of unique tokens. It is the first of its kind, and it lets people collect anything and everything that is one-of-a-kind, on an open market that is subjected to existing standard specifications. It also allows users to define interaction rules between items. It uses blockchain technology's biggest application, which is ease of proof of ownership and authenticity, to its advantage, thus simplifying the complexity of the project by a large extent.
**The Power of a Unique Token**
Technically speaking, a unique token is one which is non-fungible i.e., there is only one of them in existence, and they can be traded individually. The concept is based on the newly introduced ERC721 standard for the Ethereum ecosystem, which allows any token to be identified uniquely by the combination of its contract address and id.
Unique tokens, aka collectable tokens, can be used to represent anything, be it a fashionable car, a famous person or even just an idea. They can be used in some games that involve collectibles, where the collectible objects can be tokenised to attach value to them. Interestingly, the unique tokens can also be used as digital ID's, as they are particular to a person. The Open Collectors network platform aims to make this happen by partnering with a KYC Solution.
The use cases of the platform are not confined to the usage of a single person. Even groups of people and companies can use unique tokens for their businesses, for actions like maintaining digital assets, trust-less ICO investments, digital media and rights management, and providing discounts to customers who own a unique token representing the company. These are just a few of the numerous applications of a unique token.
Blockchains and Smart Contracts are used to ensure the security, validity and transparency of all transactions on the Open Collectors Network platform.
**Overall Architecture (courtesy Open Collectors Network Whitepaper)**
**Make Your Own Tokens**
Although the Open Collectors Network already has some unique tokens like CryptoPunks, CryptoKittens and Decentraland for trading, it also provides a user-friendly option to make your own unique tokens and sell them on the platform. The uniqueness of the token is checked to avoid duplicity and increase the value of the token. Users can then sell the tokens for a fixed price on the platform exchange, or auction them using popular mechanisms like open auctions, blind auctions, highest bidder etc. The best part is that the tokens you create are solely yours, and Open Collectors Network has absolutely no control over your tokens. The platform also provides privacy to users, as it doesn't require any personal details and operates the account as represented by the user's Ethereum wallet. In this way, the platform makes sure that while the transactions are transparent, the user details are not.
**A Project Earmarked For Success**
Although the project is still in its ICO stage, with its talented team of experts and strong foundation of ideas, Open Collectors Network is on its way to becoming one of the most successful endeavours in the field of Blockchain technology. The private sale of their tokens, called ECTO, is currently in progress, and they will pretty soon launch the public sale of the tokens. They can be expected to become leaders in their field, and completely redefine the meaning of "collecting things".
**Website** - [https://opencollectors.network/](https://opencollectors.network/)
**Whitepaper** - [https://opencollectors.network/layout/OpenCollectorsNetwork](https://opencollectors.network/layout/OpenCollectorsNetwork)
**ANN** - [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2881612.0](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2881612.0)
**Telegram** - [https://t.me/opencollectorsnetwork](https://t.me/opencollectorsnetwork)
**Published by** - dannywhelan
**Profile** - [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1606458](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1606458)
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