What exactly is the real purpose of Bancor? On their website it says "ANYONE CAN CREATE A TOKEN AND LAUNCH A CROWDSALE" is that the real purpose? I think investors now after Bancor ICO are more cautious, and will not invest blindly into new ICOs, I think Bancor will drop to $1 soon, that ICO bubble is over...
What is the problem Bancor is solving?The Bancor protocol represents the first technological solution for the classic problem in economics known as the “Double Coincidence of Wants Problem,” in the domain of asset exchange.
For barter, the coincidence of wants problem was solved through money, allowing people to transact asynchronously, over time and space. For money, the existing exchange model relies on the labor of market makers providing liquidity, as represented by an order book which creates market depth. This requirement for labor creates a barrier-to-liquidity, meaning that some threshold of trade activity level is required in order to retain high liquidity at the market price. This barrier-to-liquidity particularly affects small cap, custom, lightly traded currencies, such as community currencies or small business loyalty points, as examples.
The Bancor protocol proposes a new solution that removes the barrier-to-liquidity by employing an asynchronous price-discovery model enabled by asset-holding smart tokens. Smart tokens are always purchasable and sellable for the token(s) they hold in reserve. The continuous liquidity of smart tokens removes the barrier-to-liquidity and enables the emergence of the long tail of user-generated currencies. This could lead to a democratization of value creation, similarly to how blogs democratized publishing and YouTube democratized broadcasting.
Beyond enabling the long tail of cryptocurrencies, the Bancor protocol mechanism of intrinsic reserve currencies coupled with the ability of the smart contract to issue and liquidate smart tokens, also holds profound implications in use cases where the goal is not to create new credit (as is the case with most new cryptocurrencies) but rather to enable the exchange of existing currencies without a counterparty or orderbook (see “Token Changers”) or to enable the direct ownership of currency baskets, or index funds, without counterparty risk (see “Decentralized ETFs”).
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https://www.bancor.network/faq/generalThanks for the info, but all I see is big words or theories... in the FAQ it also says that What is Bancor?
"The Bancor protocol
enables anyone to create a new type of cryptocurrency called a smart token, which can hold (and trade) other cryptocurrencies" Really??? Like thanks to Bancor we will get another 500 new coins?! oh wow, thanks alot Bancor! Now just how do we find buyers and demand for each and every one of those new coins?
My questions is, does Bancor still relies on ETH to create those new tokens? or is everything still based on ETH?? If Bancor can create its own tokens and be competitor to ETH then I can see the purpose, but if it relies on Ether then why even bother?
You're welcome. I am not the best person to provide an answer here, but let me give it a shot...
Let's assume I am the owner of a local restaurant - Restaurant X. I want to encourage more people to visit Restaurant X - both locals and people from other parts in the world. I decide to issue discount vouchers in the form of a smart token. In addition, I want the token to be liquid and of value even to those who might choose not to come and eat at my restaurant. So I decide to create and issue my own smart token within the Bancor network. I want to call it Restaurant X (REX). I need BNT tokens to create my smart token. Assuming that I don't own any BNT tokens, I buy some ETH and convert it into BNT tokens via smart contract. Alternatively, I have the option to buy BNT in the open market by paying in any currency or token that the seller will accept.
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All smart tokens issued within the Bancor network will hold the BANCOR token as a reserve (though they may also hold additional reserve tokens. This means that an appreciation in the value of any of the network's smart tokens will appreciate the value of the BANCOR network token, benefiting all other smart tokens in the BANCOR network, since their reserve balance will increase.
BANCOR will also be used a a reserve for the token changers that make up its decentralized exchange network. A BANCOR token changer is basically a smart token that holds a 50% CRR reserve in BANCOR, and 50% CRR reserve in an existing, standard ERC 20 token (e.g. REP, GNT, RLC) allowing end-users to easily convert between the two by buying with one reserve token and selling it for the other."
In other words, those who hold REX smart tokens will not have to come to my restaurant to exchange it for a meal in order to realize the value. They will be able to exchange their REX tokens for other tokens anywhere in the world. E.g. let's assume Luigi, a restaurant owner in Italy, creates and issues a smart token for his restaurant within the Bancor network. He calls the token: Restaurant Italy (RIT). Now I will be able to exchange some of my REX tokens for RIT tokens in order to enjoy a meal at Luig's restaurant in Italy. Or in case I can't make it, I just take the RIT tokens and convert it back into the tokens of my liking (within the decentralized exchange network built by Bancor).
Or even better...
Let's assume someone in Italy received some RIT tokens from Luigi as part of a promotion. However, Sandra don't want to eat at Luigi's restaurant. She wants to buy a pair of designer shoes instead. So she orders a pair of shoes from Gustav in Germany and pays in RIT tokens - partially or in full. Gustav is happy, because he has the option to keep or exchange the RIT tokens for something else of value. Now Sandra goes around, telling her friends and everybody else how she bought shoes in Germany by using RIT tokens. Her friends are blown away. The news spread like a wild fire. Luigi's restaurant is getting a lot of attention!
Meanwhile in Germany, Gustav is telling his friends how he managed to sell more shoes because of his decision to accept RIT tokens. And so the Bancor story continues to spread like a wildfire. Those who sold their BNT tokens for next to nothing are now starting to regret it.
Thus, by creating my smart token or "discount vouchers" within the Bancor network, my token enjoys worldwide liquidity due to the reserve value held and people who make use of the Bancor network. Another benefit that I enjoy is that my restaurant is now getting worldwide exposure. This "discount voucher" keeps on giving!
"My questions is, does Bancor still relies on ETH to create those new tokens? or is everything still based on ETH?? If Bancor can create its own tokens and be competitor to ETH then I can see the purpose, but if it relies on Ether then why even bother?" - As far as I understand, Bancor's products are build on the ETH blockchain. However, while ETH was needed to buy BNT tokens initially, one is now able to buy BNT with any currency a seller will accept. This is because of the ETH reserve value of 0.01 per BNT. However, if I am not mistaken, if one sells BNT by sending instructions via smart contract, it will only return ETH at this stage. The BNT sold will be destroyed. In addition, if one wishes to buy BNT via smart contract, one can only do so by sending ETH via smart contract.
The above is my understanding of how it works (at least the token creation part of it). I am sure I am not 100% spot on, but it might give you a pretty good idea of what the idea is behind Bancor. This could be HUGE!