Issuance meaning is to create somETHing and make it available. Similarly, in the crypto space, issuance refers to the generation of new cryptocurrency tokens or coins and this process can occur in a range of different ways, according to the parameters specified by the creators of the project.
In Bitcoin, issuance happens through a process called mining, where mining nodes invest a lot of resources to verify new blocks of transactions and then generate brand new Bitcoins as a reward for their work. Although Bitcoin issuance is dependent on mining and on the Proof of Work consensus mechanism, there are some other cryptocurrencies that are not mineable, and so they undergo issuance in another way. Such cryptocurrencies often have other consensus mechanisms like Proof of Stake and so on.
Other than mining, investors may be able to receive new coins through the Initial Coin Offering sales of new crypto projects. The issuance of these tokens are usually determined by a smart contract which decides properties such as the max supply, initial total supply, and the rate of issuance.
In conclusion, issuance meaning in crypto is the generation of new cryptocurrency tokens or coins from a blockchain.
