The common denominator, in practice
CCBT in Practice.
From model prices to a common denomination.
From a CCBT balance to model consumption.
Understand the model. Construct the basis. Follow it through time. Choose an allocation.
00 / The core model
Market Usage.
Market Prices. One Basis.
First understand what the common token represents. Then change the inputs, follow the market through time, and allocate a balance.
The price of the tokens
the market actually consumes.
Give each model’s token price a weight equal to its share of aggregate market token usage. Add those weighted prices. The result is the price of one common token for that market and period.
Aggregate market usage.
How many qualifying tokens of each model the whole defined market consumes—not one buyer’s usage or preferred basket.
Open-market token prices.
What a token from each qualifying model costs in the market, expressed on a consistent pricing basis—not the cost of a particular GPU or a score for model quality.
CCBT priceSum of (model price × market token usage)Total qualifying market tokens consumed
Market usage sets the weights. Your allocation comes later. A model serving 40% of qualifying market tokens carries 40% of the weight. The result is usage-weighted, not an equal average of available models.
Read the methodologyLooking for dated market data? Research publications and source records
01 / Understand the calculation
One Basis.
Different Model Economics.
The usage inputs stand for aggregate token consumption across a fictional market—not your personal model allocation. Together with model-token prices, they construct its common reference.
Change the inputs.
See the common basis change.
All three models, prices, and usage quantities are fictional. This is a worked arithmetic example, not a benchmark observation or a proposed market weighting.
Weights follow each model’s share of total fictional market usage.Price arrows move in $0.10 increments per million tokens.
Relative model prices
CCBT per model tokenEnable JavaScript to compare the example inputs interactively.
Usage composition
Share of fictional usagePrice × usage share.
Width is usage. Height is price.
Each colored area is a contribution.
The visual calculation appears when JavaScript is enabled.
$0.4040 + $0.6869 + $0.7576
(0.80 × 50 + 2.00 × 34 + 5.00 × 15) ÷ 99
An economic reference—not a measure of intelligence, output quality, or completed work.
Change a price or usage quantity to follow its effect through the calculation.
The models change.
The market keeps a price.
Follow one representative segment for three abstract years. Models arrive, gain usage, and fade. The common basis follows the market—not a permanent basket.
Drag the timeline or click a chart. All three views follow the same period.
A changing usage mix.
Different price paths.
Percentages show usage at the selected period. Select a model to highlight it; the calculation does not change.
A new basket. The same rule.
At each date: price × usage share → sum.
A usage-weighted mean, not the median model price.
One price
through time.
USD / 1M CCBTThe denomination continues.
The models and the price change.
Inspect the selected snapshot and scenario rules
The quarterly view samples quarter-end months; it does not average each quarter. The monthly view uses 36 constructed snapshots. A model is available in this example only while its usage is positive. A and B leave; D remains eligible at 1%. Prices are standardized fictional token prices; total segment volume is not modeled.
| Model | USD / 1M tokens | Usage share | Contribution | CCBT / token |
|---|
Choose the time.
Then choose the models.
The index basket sets the reference. Your allocation sets what you consume. Start with a CCBT quantity or a dollar budget, then explore the available model tokens.
Illustrative entry reference:
Holds the CCBT quantity fixed as the purchase date changes.
Illustrative pricing rule: budget ÷ purchase-date reference = CCBT balance. That balance converts at the consumption-date reference. The later dollar equivalent is a calculation—not cash held or a promised payout. Actual forward pricing and delivery terms are not modeled.
The market’s weights are not your instructions.
Your CCBT allocation
Slices are shares of your balance, not token counts or market usage.
Native tokens—not a measure of equivalent work, intelligence, or output quality.
Conversion rules and what this example assumes
Purchase and consumption are separate.
All quantities are measured in millions. With purchase-date reference P₀ and budget B: N = B ÷ P₀. At consumption date T, a model priced at pᵢ,T costs pᵢ,T ÷ Pₜ CCBT per token. An allocation share aᵢ therefore yields N × aᵢ × Pₜ ÷ pᵢ,T million model tokens.
This is not a forward quote.
The demo assumes a prepaid, index-linked entitlement, priced at the selected spot reference and carried without fees. It does not model financing, forward premiums, basis, capacity limits, execution, credit, or delivery guarantees. Same-date conversion is ordinary budget allocation.
“Market token mix” is price-aware.
To reproduce the market’s token shares wᵢ, CCBT allocation shares must be aᵢ = wᵢ × pᵢ ÷ Pₜ. Simply copying usage percentages into the spending pie would produce a different token mix. The preset uses unrounded values.
Availability and rounding.
Only models with positive usage are eligible in this fictional scenario. Presets refresh when dates change; a custom basket keeps surviving allocations and redistributes exited-model shares proportionally. New models start at zero in a custom basket. Calculations use full precision; displayed numbers are rounded. Nothing here places a trade.
From illustration to evidence