Bancor

BNT’s flexibility is thanks to the Bancor Protocol (the operational model of the Bancor Network), which allows for the standardization of a new type of natively liquid brand token. The authors of the Bancor Protocol Whitepaper describe the Bancor Network Token as a “token for tokens.” The fundamental pillars of the Bancor Protocol are the so-called “Smart Tokens”. The smart tokens are ERC20 compliant tokens that hold one or multiple connector balances in their smart contracts. Thanks to that, smart tokens can be traded against any of the tokens on the network (if they are present in their connector balances). What all smart tokens have in common though, is that they hold a shared connector balance in BNT. This makes all of them tradable against each other. The conversion between tokens happens instantaneously, without the need for matching buyers and sellers and at continuously calculated rates.

The idea behind the creation of the Bancor Network Token is to ease the use of the Bancor Network and link all tokens into one system that allows for instant and easy conversion. The operational model of the Network supposes that if there is significant buying interest in a specific token (ETH, for example), it will result into an increased supply of BNT since the supply of its sub token (ETH in that case) has grown through new deposits of BNT into the connector balance.

The BNT’s Token Generation Event took place on June 12, 2017. BNT then became the first smart token launched on the Bancor Network (a decentralized cross-chain liquidity network). The BNT is managed by the Bprotocol Foundation, a nonprofit, headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, that aims to promote the Bancor Protocol as the leading global standard for Smart Tokens.

The Bancor project has four co-founders - Eyal Hertzog, Galia Benartzi, Guy Ben-Artzi, and Yudi Levi. All of them are known for their vast experience in the tech field and venture capital industry. The Bancor Foundation has also attracted industry experts from a variety of industries. The board of the Foundation consists of 13 members among which can be distinguished the names of Tim Draper, founder of Draper University and Draper Associates, John Henry Clippinger, research scientist at MIT and strategic advisor to multiple organizations, Brock Pierce, Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation and co-founder of EOS Alliance, Yoni Assia, founder and CEO of eToro, Justin Rosenstein, co-founder of Asana and others. The Network was lead by the well-respected international monetary policy expert Bernard Lietaer before his death on February 4, 2019.