When it comes to crypto stuff I am a hands on learner. I can read whitepapers all day, but then spending some Bitcoin on the actual coin, even if just a small amount, is what makes it real to me.

I think that's why I still visit Bitcoin faucets, even though I really don't need an extra 100 satoshi, and why I am getting my kids to make their own faucet claims in order to get their feet wet.

So it didn't take me long to buy my first VIVA coins, and that is only the beginning.

First things first. The way you participate in the VIVAconomy is you register an account on TradeQwik. From there you can deposit Bitcoin, Steem, and various other currencies. Once the deposit confirms you can go shopping, and that's where it gets interesting.

When Steemit came on the scene with its use of Steem, Steem Power, and Steem Backed Dollars, that was a game changer. Rather than launch a new coin Steemit launched a simple ecosystem built around a social media platform. This ecosystem took not one, but three separate token types to power it. From here on out any new crypto initiative that is just a coin will never make it long term. Being just a coin is so 2015! Just coins are out; entire economies are in.

If you thought it was crazy trying to sort out the three tokens in Steemit, the VIVAconomy has even more tokens!

For starters, there is VIVA, the gateway coin. VIVA is the first thing you buy if you want to get any of the other tokens. VIVA is a pegged currency, currently to within ten percent of $5.50. The price is allowed a twenty percent spread to keep the speculators interested because they provide liquidity. The spread is limited and the coin is pegged in order to protect purchasing power. The end goal is that you will spend your VIVAs on real things like rent, groceries, and vacations. You only do that if the coin is pegged and doesn't deviate too much from the target.

But for those of us wanting to save up for next summer's vacation, a short term goal, we can do even better than that. We can take our VIVAs and trade them for Vx, where x is a national currency like US Dollars. Each vUSD is priced in VIVA at exactly one US Dollar. No matter what the price of VIVA is doing vUSD will always trade for a Dollar's worth of VIVA. This means that if my vacation is going to cost $3,000 and I save up 3,000 vUSD, I am all set.

My understanding is that debit cards which seamlessly convert VIVA to national currency at the point of sale are on the way. So once I save up enough vUSD I will be able to pay for my vacation expenses with my debit card the same way I would if the funds were kept in a regular checking account.

In America at least, we're always told that we have to save beyond our next summer vacation, in preparation for a time when we will be unable or unwilling to work a job, otherwise known as retirement. Well guess what, there is also a VIVA retirement savings vehicle. It's called the VIVA investment pool. Some of my VIVAs can be used to buy shares in the VIVA investment pool, or VIP. These shares earn compound interest until I can accumulate enough to begin withdrawing.

The conventional wisdom on retirement accounts is that you want to make them as big as possible in order to be able to support a more generous monthly withdrawal. The VIP account, on the other hand, has only one available withdrawal amount: 24 VIVAs per day or one per hour. It will withdraw until it runs out or you switch it back into accumulating or compounding. If you have a small account it will run out sooner, but you don't get to live any more extravagantly off your VIP payouts just because you have a large account. The VIP is very egalitarian. It exists not to make anyone rich but to cover basic living expenses so that people are freed up to pursue a dream or a passion, and generally make the world a better place for everyone.

If you are hoping the VIVAconomy will make you fabulously wealthy, there is a place for you. Another VIVAconomy instrument you can buy on Tradeqwik is a crown, which among other things gives you license to create an agreed upon amount of new VIVAs every 90 days. You do this by running a mint, which in terms of hardware is comparable to a small crypto mining operation. Once the new VIVA are minted there are a number of ways to put them in circulation, but a notable one is by funding expenses for a business associated with the mint. It's a bit like how a bank might put money into circulation by loaning it to a local business, only without the bank. The mints assume the risks associated with placing money into circulation so that the "retirees" living off their VIP pensions are protected. Without getting into too much detail, the crown holders and mints work together in a way that keeps the price of VIVA to its twenty percent spread around $5.50. You do take some substantial risks when running a mint, but the reward is that you get to literally make money.

A crownholder's right to produce more VIVA is itself another VIVA instrument that can be purchased on TradeQwik. It's the VIVA Treasure Right or VTR. If you don't have a mint, you can sell your VTR to a mint or add the amount to be minted to your VIP account. You can also buy VIVA Crowns on TradeQwik.

All the assets I mentioned, VIVA coins, Vx, VIP, VTRs, and Crowns work together to both power the VIVAconomy and keep it balanced. Just like in any healthy economy where everyone contributes in different ways and with various financial instruments underwriting those contributions, the VIVAeconomy is not just a coin, but a multifaceted ecosystem.

This article has barely scratched the surface, and it comes from the perspective of exploring it for the first time. To get more of the details and how you might fit into it, you can read the whitepaper and catch up on the technical details by visiting the VIVAconomy website.