> You need permission from an existing player in order to start participating.
This is an incorrect explanation of what a permissioned blockchain is. A permissioned blockchain is one in which the ability to add blocks is limited to a certain collection of entities whose public keys are hard coded into the blockchain's consensus mechanism. We don't say that needing to buy tokens constitutes needing "permission" any more than you need permission from a chip manufacturer to buy ASICs to mine a PoW cryptocurrency.
This is an incorrect explanation of what a permissioned blockchain is. A permissioned blockchain is one in which the ability to add blocks is limited to a certain collection of entities whose public keys are hard coded into the blockchain's consensus mechanism. We don't say that needing to buy tokens constitutes needing "permission" any more than you need permission from a chip manufacturer to buy ASICs to mine a PoW cryptocurrency.