Altcoin Spotlight: Story (IP)

There are now thousands, maybe even millions, of cryptocurrency projects on the market. Of course, not all of them are winners, but it can be hard to tell the scams from the tried and true projects—especially as technology gets better and better.

For this reason, we created our altcoin spotlight, giving you regular insight into cryptocurrency projects that near the top 50 on CoinMarketCap. This week’s installment will take a deep dive into Story, represented by the symbol IP.

What is Story?

Story is a layer one blockchain built as a tool to combat the increasing issues in the world of rights thanks to the introduction of AI. Story is a platform used for registering licenses on intellectual property—ensuring that when certain aspects are used the creator is paid. It additionally plans to evolve to protect the rights of editors, and others involved in the content creation process.

How Does Story Work?

Story turns creative licenses into NFTs, embedding all the information needed to use that NFT directly into the asset. For example, an NFT can represent a digital piece of artwork and the price to use it, say 1 ETH, can be embedded directly in the code of the piece. Then, when someone wishes to use it, they won’t be able to until they pay the price. Story can also embed other restrictions into the code, such as geographical restrictions and royalties.

Story is based on a Proof of Creativity consensus mechanism, and the blockchain tracks the creation of unique items, as well as the editing to ensure creators receive what they are owed. Each user of the blockchain is issued an IP, and anything they create, edit, or use is tied to that IP and this is how royalties are paid. Story can also allow individuals to copyright their inputs used with generative AI to ensure they receive credit for their original ideas—even if AI does the work.

Both humans and bots can use the platform. It was built on Cosmos SDK, and is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, ensuring artists and creators can transfer their NFTs from almost any platform on to Story.  Creators are paid under the ERC-6551 token standards.

In order to register a copyright with Story, the owner of the content must present a proof of ownership, or a timestamped record to confirm their rights. Currently, the platform is in the Beta testing stage, and they aim to make the management of intellectual rights and property accessible to everyone, not just the large corporations that currently have access.

Who Created Story?

Jason Zhao is the co-founder of Story along with Seung Yoon “SY” Lee. Currently, SY Lee serves as CEO, while Zhao serves as head of protocol.

Before becoming involved in this project, SY Lee served as a Global Strategy Officer at a Korean entertainment company. Jason Zhao is a former Google employee, spending his time on the DeepMind project, and becoming well acquainted with the growing issue of intellectual property rights.

Story token launched in February 2025 and is still considered a relatively new cryptocurrency project, though the initial tokens released can now be purchased on numerous cryptocurrency exchanges.

What is IP?

IP is the native token behind the Story Protocol. There is a planned supply of 1 billion tokens, with 25% or 250 million being released upon the soft token generation event in February 2025.

Eventually, the token split will shift, but at launch, of the tokens being released, 10 million will be released into the ecosystem, 5 million to the foundation, and the remaining 10 million to other unnamed initial incentives.

Should You Buy Story?

Compared to some of the other projects we have had on our Altcoin spotlight, Story really does seem to fulfill a need within the artistic and intellectual rights community. At least, we think it does—which brings up the concerns that we have about the project.

First and foremost, Story is new, having just launched in February 2025. Not only that, but they are currently only in Beta mode—meaning we aren’t sure whether or not the protocol even works as intended. Though the creators have released a whitepaper, we encourage any potential investors to wait to ensure the project works before investing.

For all that we know, there isn’t an audience for Story anyway—and even if there is, perhaps it isn’t large enough to sustain this type of protocol. This is something we won’t know until later, and something which makes us hesitant to invest in Story this early.

Additionally, during our research, we found that there wasn’t as much information available about this project as we would like. While this might be attributed to the fact that it is new, that still makes us nervous about its future as many projects that are rug-pull scams present with incomplete information.

That being said, we do think Story is a token that could eventually be successful. But that doesn’t mean that it is a safe investment. You’ll have to make your own decision as to whether or not you will invest, but we recommend moving forward with caution.

Where Can You Buy Story?

If you have decided to take the risk and invest in Story, you can find it on numerous DEFI and CEFI exchanges. Below are the ones where we see it most commonly:

·      Coinbase

·      OKX

·      KuCoin

·      Bitpanda

·      MEXC

·      Bitget

This is not a full list, and do note you may be able to find the IP token on exchanges not listed here.

Overall, Story does seem like a cryptocurrency project that could take the world by storm. But we aren’t sure about the viability of the project just yet, or if people will use the platform—as it is still early in the creation process. We do look forward, however, to seeing where Story goes as it grows; just know that any investment you make in the project is done at your own risk, and never invest any money you don’t intend to lose.