This may or may not be suitable for LeoFinance; I wasn't sure, so I played it safe and came here to ask...
On one hand, cryptocurrency is one of the top topics discussed in LeoFinance. On the other hand, my question isn't in any way financial.
In much of the news and articles and other content we read concerning cryptocurrency, we see physical representations of these "coins"-- especially market cap leaders Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.
We know that cryptocurrencies are digital in nature-- bits and bytes and stuff that's nice. We also know it's hard to discuss them in media without some sort of physical representation or avatar.
So where do these physical representations come from??
(It's a splinter that's been bothering my mind so much I had to include a second question mark.)
These coins (rounds, tokens, medallions, whatever their proper name is) have to come from somwhere, otherwise we wouldn't see them used as props in media.
I have other questions related to the major question in this post's title:
Assuming these physical representations of crypto coins are real items, where can people buy them? I doubt people can get them for free just for the asking.
Who makes them? For all I know, they could be made at a mint, a foundry, a factory, or at some woman's 3-D printer. I have no idea!
Who sells them? I doubt they are made to be given away just for the asking. Even if someone gets them after having purchased actual cryptocurrency, it's not given without the expenditure of money.
Is there a market for these physical representations separate and apart from the cryptocurrencies they represent? We may not have enough cryptocurrency in our wallets, but perhaps we can make a buck or quid from selling these things. My bet is eBay, but I don't know.
I know I'm not the only one out there who's been wondering about these "coins," but I haven't found answers so far. I'm sure I missed something, maybe even something obvious. Even so, I've been scratching my head at this.
If anyone has answers, feel free to share them, or at least point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance!!