This time I'm going to have a look at Quadrant Protocol, a project that has been under the radar up until recently. Now it is being promoted by many big figures in the ICO field so let me put my two cents in too.
The Idea
Quadrant seeks to create a blockchain-based protocol for the data economy that will support proof of data authenticity, create smart contracts for data and incentivize and remunerate data suppliers. To put it simply, Quadrant will establish an ecosystem where data sellers and data users can trust each other since the former will provide authentic data and get paid for it fairly, while the latter will be able to use this 100-percent authentic data and get the most out of it for their businesses (for example, AI computations, machine learning, etc.).
The Technology
The main technological innovation of Quadrant Protocol is that it is capable of mapping together all disparate data and make it available to any consumers (not just big corporations). This will be possible through the following features:
- Proof of Data Authenticity and Provenance,
- Data Smart Contracts (called Constellations) for Disparate Data
Sources, - Fair Remuneration and Incentive Sharing.
Quadrant Protocol differentiates between the following types of the stakeholders who will use the platform. Nurseries, creators of raw data, Pioneers, data vendors who create products using Quadrant's smart contracts, Elons (not Musks:-), visionaries who will use already created data products to build new, innovative products, and Guardians, masternodes that protect the integrity of the blockchain.
The data providers will be able to hash the data and record its unique DNA stamp on the Quadrant Protocol. The consumers will then be able to verify the authenticity of that data and solve any discrepancies should the latter appear.
Constellations will be able to pull and arrange data from various sources, sell it to data consumers and remunerate data providers.
The Token
Quadrant Protocol will utilize two types of tokens, QUAD and eQUAD. The former will be used on the Quadrant network, while the latter is a temporary ERC-20 token that will be available during the token sale and then can be converted to QUAD using the Quadrant Protocol gateway after the mainnet launch (at the 1 to 1 ratio).
The distribution of the tokens will be the following:
The total supply of eQUAD is 1bn, with 40% available for the token sale. The price per token will be $0.05, the hard cap is $20m and the soft cap is $7m. Forty per cent of the raised funds will become immediately available to the team, while the rest 60% will be released over the course of 4 years, meaning that the team is certainly not looking to just grab money but is rather dedicated to the success of the project.
The sold tokens will be unlocked within 30 days after the sale.
The Team and Advisors
From the technical perspective, Quadrant Protocol's team looks strong and capable to deliver. CEO Mike Davie has several years of experience with Samsung while Director of Engineering Barkha Jasani spent many years with various Indian software companies. The rest of the team had different technical roles at DataStreamX, a company that sells commercial data globally, which confirms the team's expertise in the data sector.
The advisors should help the team accelerate at fields they might be not too experienced at and support their blockchain expertise. In addition to Quadrant Protocol, Dorjee Sun also helps such projects as Perlin, Santiment and Airbloc. Benedict Chan is the incumbent CTO of BitGo, while Hari Krishnan held senior managerial positions at many companies, including LinkedIn and Fox Interactive Media. Most recently, the advisor team was reinforced with Bluzelle CEO Pavel Bains.
The Product
Quadrant’s testnet has been live already for almost a month, and, according to the Whitepaper, the mainnet should be launched in the 2nd quarter, which is very soon. Constellation Protocol and Explorer are scheduled for release in Q3.
Conclusion
I like Quadrant Protocol because instead of concentrating on creating unsubstantiated hype, the team preferred to work on their project and offer the product before the sale begins. The Quadrant's product seems to be unique and should have high demand in future. Some may say that the team is not all-star, but they have been working together in the data sector for many years already. Moreover, Quadrant Protocol has a stellar team of advisors as well as a partnership with Bluzelle, whose CEO also advises the project. The token metrics are very decent, and the vesting for the team seems fair. So, in my opinion this project is rather an exception in the ocean of "whitepaper ICOs".
Quadrant Protocol's public sale is scheduled for June 26.
Of course, this article is not a financial advice, and you should do your own research before making any investment decisions.
More info about the project:
Quadrant Protocol website: https://www.quadrantprotocol.com
Quadrant Protocol Telegram: https://t.me/quadrantprotocol
Quadrant Protocol Bitcointalk ANN thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3676988.0
Quadrant Protocol Bitcointalk Bounty thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3739014.0
Quadrant Protocol Blog: https://steemit.com/@quadrantprotocol
Quadrant Protocol Whitepaper: https://www.quadrantprotocol.com/whitepaper.pdf
Thanks for reading, stay tuned for other reviews and feel free to upvote, resteem and follow me!