Digital platforms, such as Alibaba and Amazon, operate an online marketplace to facilitate transactions. This paper studies a platform’s business model choice between accepting cash and issuing tokens, as well as the implications for welfare, resiliency, and interoperability. A cash platform free rides on the existing payment infrastructure and profits from collecting transaction fees. A token platform earns seigniorage, albeit bearing the costs of setting up the system and holding reserves to mitigate the cyber risk. Tokens earn consumers a return, insulating transactions from the liquidity costs of using cash, but also expose them to the remaining cyber risk. The platform issues tokens if the interest rate is high, the platform scope is large, and the cyber risk is small. Unbacked floating tokens with zero transaction fees or interest-bearing stablecoins can implement the equilibrium business model, which is not necessarily socially optimal because the platform does not internalize its impacts on off-platform activities. The model explains why Amazon does not issue tokens, but Alipay issues tokens circulatable outside its Alibaba platforms. Regulations such as a minimum reserve requirement can reduce welfare.

阿里巴巴和亚马逊等数字平台运营在线市场以促进交易。本文研究了平台在接受现金和发行代币之间的商业模式选择，以及对福利、弹性和互操作性的影响。现金平台搭便车使用现有的支付基础设施，并从收取交易费用中获利。代币平台赚取铸币税，尽管要承担建立系统和持有准备金以减轻网络风险的成本。代币为消费者赚取回报，将交易与使用现金的流动性成本隔离开来，但也使他们面临剩余的网络风险。平台发行代币利率高、平台范围大、网络风险小。零交易费用的无担保浮动代币或计息稳定币可以实施均衡的商业模式，这不一定是社会最优的，因为平台不会内化其对平台外活动的影响。该模型解释了为什么亚马逊不发行代币，但支付宝发行可在其阿里巴巴平台之外流通的代币。最低准备金要求等规定会降低福利。