If the only reason to buy a token is because you expect to sell it later at a greater price, then this is known as a pyramid scheme, not investment. This will end the same way as all other schemes that rely on continual capital gains: collapse when people want to withdraw their profits, turning capital gains into capital losses, and thus revealing that there was never any future profit to be had (unless you were lucky to exit early).
Investment differs from speculation in that it offers a yield on capital, not just a capital gain. When a company pays dividends to shareholders, all holders gain. When a company's stock increases in price, the profits of those who gain are taken from those who've lost. Speculation is zero-sum, investment is not.
A yield on capital is fundamentally different from a capital gain, because a yield is a flow of profit paid out right now, as opposed to an alleged gain that will only be realized in the future (at which point the whole thing collapses, because the system depends on continual appreciation). Importantly, a yield on USD is paid in USD, a yield on bitcoins is paid in bitcoins, etc. Paying a yield in a scarce currency is a challenge, while bidding up the price, as measured by some other currency, is relatively simple.
Investment differs from speculation in that it offers a yield on capital, not just a capital gain. When a company pays dividends to shareholders, all holders gain. When a company's stock increases in price, the profits of those who gain are taken from those who've lost. Speculation is zero-sum, investment is not.
A yield on capital is fundamentally different from a capital gain, because a yield is a flow of profit paid out right now, as opposed to an alleged gain that will only be realized in the future (at which point the whole thing collapses, because the system depends on continual appreciation). Importantly, a yield on USD is paid in USD, a yield on bitcoins is paid in bitcoins, etc. Paying a yield in a scarce currency is a challenge, while bidding up the price, as measured by some other currency, is relatively simple.