💊What are IP Tokens?
Molecule accelerates biomedical research by converting intellectual property assets into open, liquid digital commodities through tokenization, decentralized funding, and collective ownership.
How IPTs Work:
Intellectual Property Tokens are a novel funding mechanism that allows scientific researchers to fund, manage, and progress their research in collaboration with the crypto ecosystem.
IPTs enable token holders to:
Contribute intellectual property to early-stage science projects
Participate in funding early-stage science
Influence project direction and decision-making
Vote and receive distributions onchain as project shareholders once qualified. Learn more about the model.
The model introduces a compliant hybrid structure—utility tokens enable early, global participation; IP and treasury are held onchain within a traditional corporation, making discoveries more fundable and enabling efficient movement from lab to clinic.
Economic Rights:
IPTs are utility tokens representing participation in a decentralized science community. Once escrowed, IPT holders may advise on project direction, but do not automatically receive economic or legal rights.
Contributors who wish to unlock a financial stake may apply to receive equity grants, thereby having an economic right in the proceeds of the intellectual property developed by the project. To unlock equity and binding governance, a holder must lock their tokens, complete KYC/AML, and execute a written equity agreement with the project. Shareholder rights then follow corporate law; holders who remain token-only participants retain tradeable credentials, not financial stakes. Revenue share and buybacks are always discretionary and ever conditional—not features of the token itself.
Learn more about the legal framework.
Read about the smart contracts for IPTs in our Github repo.
The Role of IPTs in Decentralised Science (DeSci):
In the decentralized science (DeSci) ecosystem, IPTs serve as a vital tool for enabling broader community involvement in scientific research. By tokenizing intellectual property, IPTs democratize access to and control over scientific advancements, fostering a transparent, collaborative environment where the community can contribute to and influence the development of cutting-edge therapies.
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