Band Protocol serves as a cross-network data oracle platform that can gather real-world information and deliver it to blockchain applications. It also connects APIs to smart contracts, enabling smooth data exchange between on-chain and off-chain systems.
By providing reliable, verifiable external data to blockchain environments, Band Protocol allows developers to explore a broad spectrum of new possibilities. They can integrate various types of data, such as sports scores, weather conditions, random numbers, and price feeds, into their decentralized application (DApp) logic.
Originally launched as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum in September 2019, Band Protocol shifted to the Cosmos network in June 2020 with the introduction of Band Protocol 2.0. This version operates on BandChain and utilizes the Cosmos SDK. Oracle nodes on BandChain don’t just transmit data; they also participate in block creation and validation, giving them dual functionality.
The ecosystem's native token, BAND, acts as collateral for validators processing data requests and serves as the primary medium for transactions on BandChain, including payments for secured data.
Who Founded Band Protocol?
Band Protocol was established in 2017 by Soravis Srinawakoon, Paul Chonpimai, and Sorawit Suriyakarn.
Soravis Srinawakoon, now Band Protocol's CEO, previously worked as a software engineer at Ericsson and as a management consultant at The Boston Consulting Group. Paul Chonpimai is the Chief Product Officer and has past experience as a web developer with Turfmapp and an engineer at Tripadvisor. Sorawit Suriyakarn, holding the position of CTO, is a former software engineer from Dropbox and Quora and is also a gold medalist competitive programmer.
Beyond the founders, Band Protocol's LinkedIn page lists around 20 additional team members, including designers, developers, and engineers, mostly based in Asia. The project has backing from major global investors like Sequoia Capital, Dunamu & Partners, Spartan Group, and Binance.
What Distinguishes Band Protocol from Others?
Band Protocol aims to be quicker and more resource-efficient than other oracle solutions, with compatibility across most blockchain and smart contract platforms, ensuring dependable data flow across multiple blockchains.
To enable cross-chain data sharing, Band Protocol intends to use Cosmos' upcoming Inter Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol. However, the timeline for IBC's full readiness is still uncertain.
Band Protocol offers a permissionless system for oracle creation, allowing anyone to respond to data queries. It also facilitates easy smart contract integration, enabling developers to employ data from Band Protocol oracles with minimal coding effort by utilizing a pre-set interface.
How Many Band Protocol (BAND) Tokens Are in Circulation?
The BAND token was initially distributed through an initial exchange offering (IEO) on Binance Launchpad in September 2019. About 27.37% of the total token supply was sold across seed, private, and public sale rounds.
The total supply of BAND tokens is capped at 100 million. As of November 2020, slightly more than 20% (20.49 million tokens) were actively circulating.
In total, 20% of the BAND token supply is allocated to the founding team, with an additional 5% designated for advisors. The Band Protocol ecosystem receives 25.63% of the supply. According to the projected emission rate, the full supply is expected to be distributed by 2025 at the earliest.
How is the Band Protocol Network Kept Secure?
BAND tokens shifted from the ERC-20 standard to native tokens on the Band Protocol mainnet, known as BandChain.
Holders of the original tokens can perform a 1:1 exchange by depositing their ERC-20 BAND tokens into Binance and withdrawing them as native tokens. This is essential for participating in BAND staking, which is exclusive to mainnet tokens.
Built using Cosmos SDK, BandChain is secured through a Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus algorithm, which defends against various attacks. This is paired with a delegated proof of stake (dPOS) model, safeguarding the network's oracles and allowing BAND holders to earn staking rewards by delegating their tokens to nodes.
