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Platforms with more tokens dependent on them are likely stronger investments, because there are more projects relying on their success. Developers are more likely to choose the strongest platforms to build their tokens on.

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• Specific amounts were found by sorting the "Platform" column on coinmarketcap.com/tokens. 
• "NA" denotes projects that were not listed, prior to the quarterly measurement. ​

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2020

​The Data:

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Q4 2020 Highlights-

• "Rando" row reflects tokens that do not appear to be assigned to a platform. 
  
• Platform categories for 249 tokens did not load during the Q4 2020 data pull, so I classified them in the "Rando" section. I was able to get token data for the top 5 platforms: Ethereum, Binance, Tron, EOS, and Neo. Chilliz also loaded.
• Of these top platforms I was able to pull numbers on- Ethereum is still in the lead by over 2,400 tokens.
• Binance, the second place contender at 103 tokens, did make gains of about 30%.
• Tron, EOS, Neo, and Chilliz only gained or lost one new token, respectively.  

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Something I noticed when reviewing this quarter's token data is that a vast number of new tokens simply tokenize other assets. This is helpful because it allows users to access assets like Tesla, Netflix, and Google stock on an entirely different platform than a traditional, usually more regulated and centralized exchange. 

However, this can pose an increased investor risk if these tokenized assets are not backed 1:1 by the original asset (i.e. share of Netflix stock). For instance, does the platform you are using have these underlying assets in reserves, and a policy whereby you can, at any time, swap your 1 share of tokenized Netflix stock for 1 actual share in the Netflix company? 

If not, you are simply making a bet that more people will continue to find value in a token that is not backed by a real asset. This method works for a lot of nation states with fiat money, and banks using fractional reserves, but will it work as a blockchain business model? 

For more on this concept, look into fractional reserve banking, where banks keep a fraction of the money in reserves needed to cover all the money they have deposited. In other words, if a bank states that they have $5B in deposits (money you and other customers keep there), only a fraction of that $5B is ready to immediately pay back to you and other customers. The other portion is typically loaned out so they can make interest off your deposit. Tokens not backed 1:1 by a real asset would be using a similar model, contributing to less integrity in the token they are selling.    

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Q3 2020 Highlights-

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Q2 2020 Highlights-

• Added Wanchain and Yocoin to the platform list
• Polkadot dropped off the listings
• Binance added the most tokens
• Waves lost the most tokens
• Ethereum is still in the lead by over 1500 tokens

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​​Q1 2020 Highlights-

• Most platforms were unchanged; only having 10 or fewer tokens listed on them.
• Gainers-
  • Ethereum is still BY FAR the most successful platform, and has added 68 new tokens since last quarter. 
• Losers- 
  • NEO, Stellar Lumens, Bitshares, and Omni all lost some token listings. 
  • Bitshares and Omni have been on a slow decline for over a year. 
  • NXT and Achain never made a comeback. 

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2019

The Data:

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Video highlights from the Q2 2019 data:

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Video highlights from the Q1 2019 data:

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2018

The Data:

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As of Q4 2018- Within this criteria, there remains almost no viable competition for Ethereum. Ethereum, NEO, Stellar and NEM are all making solid progress towards adding more token dependencies to their networks. Waves, BitShares, Counterparty, Nxt and Ethereum Classic are loosing some ground. 

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Video highlights from the 2018 data. Warning: this is 20+ minutes of me talking about numbers.  

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