Now we are waiting for a new trendline - connecting real-world data with the blockchain that Chainlink (Link) has started. We are considering Band protocol in the wake of a new trend of “middleware protocols” 

Now, Band is on IEO pre-stage, backed by Sequoia capital and Dunamu&Partners, talented team and live testnet, they have a huge potential and we decided to put them 5 out of 5 rating. 

Midgard Research put it on the radar at the end of July because we found it very promising and well developed! And now we see that Band Protocol is the recent one announced Binance Launchpad IEO project. 

Band Protocol is a Decentralized Oracle and data governance protocol. The project creates a Web 3.0 component layer solution for managing data that resolves the data availability and reliability problem for blockchains in the Web3 technology stack.

The team so far has delivered an infrastructure product with several ecosystem products. The project has already released public Testnet, Data Governance Portal, Band Dataset for dApp integration and a Bloomberg of Crypto. Release Band Protocol on Ethereum is scheduled on Q4 2019.

The team consists of solid programmers that worked in famous companies like Stanford, MIT, BCG, Tripadvisor, Hudson River Trading, Dropbox, and Quora and more.

Band Protocol is backed by Sequoia Capital, the world TOP 10 traditional VC fund that invested in Google, Apple, Airbnb, Instagram, and much more top tier corporations. Moreover, the project is backed by Dunamu&Partners (Upbit owner) and SeaX Ventures (invested $3m in Band Protocol).

The BAND token will play a key role in the ecosystem. Firstly, BAND will be released as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, and will also be available on other integrated blockchains. 

BAND Token usage: 

-Provide liquidity to the data governance groups and guarantee token values.

-Used for governance in protocol level upgrades.

Dataset Token usage:

-Band Protocol utilizes a multi-token model where each dataset is controlled by its dedicated Dataset token. Dataset tokens are issued by collateralizing BAND tokens with a bonding curve. Once created, Dataset tokens are used in the ecosystem to curate and govern oracle data.

-Token holders stake their dataset tokens for data providers that they trust.

-All fees and rewards are paid in ETH, but converted to dataset tokens to reward data providers and stakers.

Note that query fees that are paid in ETH are distributed to data providers and token holders via the following process:

1) ETH is converted to BAND through Uniswap (creating upward pressure on BAND price)

2) BAND are converted to Dataset Token via Bonding Curve (creating upward pressure on Dataset token price, BAND gets locked up as collateral)

Tokenomics of Band Protocol looks solid and reasonable for Binance.

-Launchpad Sale hardcap is $5,850,000 (12.37% of total token supply).

-Seed/Private sales tokens will be vested over the year. 

-LOW initial circulating supply will be 17.08% of total tokens ~$8,000,000 on IEO token price (consists of IEO tokens and a small amount of ecosystem tokens).

Overall, we see both short-term and long-term potential in Band Protocol. If we compare Band Protocol to its competitor Link ($630m Market Cap), we can observe the space where the project can grow. The team has already delivered a lot and proved the idea but still, there is a lot of work to do.