Bancor’s New Terminology - December 2017

After a long and rigorous process with the best minds in the business, we have confirmed our new terminology which more accurately describes the Bancor ecosystem and its various components. As often is the case with new inventions, we must first use old words to describe new concepts. The lexicon below is adapted to reflect the autonomous and interconnected pieces that comprise the Bancor decentralized liquidity network.

The Bancor Protocol™ —  Is a method (described in our whitepaper) by which one digital asset is related to another. A “Smart Token™” is a new kind of digital asset which holds another digital asset as its “Connector” (formerly known as “reserve”) for the purpose of connecting it to the network for continuous liquidity to other assets in the network.

The Bancor Formula™ —  Is a formula which determines the price between a Smart Token™ and its Connector. The ratio balances buy and sell volumes while holding a token’s Connector “Weight” (see below) constant. The formula incorporates transaction size so each buy and sell affects the price as if it were executed in infinitely small extension.

Weight — The weight of a Connector (formerly known as CRR) is the ratio between the Connector balance and the Smart Token’s Total Token Value (which is its supply x unit price.) This creator-configured parameter defines the sensitivity of a token to its Connector: A higher weight results in higher liquidity and greater stability, while a lower weight results in lower liquidity and lower stability. The weight of a Connector is held constant by the Bancor Formula while the Smart Token’s supply and Connector balance both rise with purchases and fall with sells, mandating that the price change accordingly.

Smart Token™ — A Smart Token™ can be purchased for any of its Connectors and sold for any of its Connectors, directly through the smart contract. Beyond its initial creator-configured supply, a Smart Token™ is created when it is purchased and destroyed when it is sold. Because of the fraction in the Bancor Formula, Smart Tokens™ with a total Connector weight of less than 100% increase in price as their supply increases (when purchased) and decrease in price as their supply decreases (when sold.) While demand still governs price, the supply of a Smart Token™ is dynamic and adaptable, not finite, as in traditional markets.

Token Relay™— A Token Relay™ is a unique kind of Smart Token™ with two Connectors, with a combined total weight of 100%. This configuration allows for simple integration of existing ERC20 tokens into the Bancor Protocol, making them backwards compatible. The new Smart Token™ created (for example, GNOBNT) is purchasable with either of its Connectors, and can be sold for either of its Connectors, making it a channel for converting one to the other. Token Relays™ in the Bancor Network™ hold one Connector in BNT and the other in an existing ERC20 token, thus enabling the latter to convert into any token in the network, via BNT, which is itself a Smart Token™ (with a 10% weight ETH Connector.)

The Bancor Network™ — Every token utilizing BNT as a Connector is part of what we call the Bancor Network™ and thus convertible for any other in the network through a maximum 2 hop process via BNT. The Bancor Network™ allows for autonomous, continuous, asynchronous convertibility between integrated tokens. This is the world’s first and only decentralized liquidity network.

The Bancor Web App — This front-end UX allows users to create a Smart Wallet™ on the Bancor Network™ which they can use to buy and sell any token in the network by interacting with the Smart Token™ contract and convert between them at their formulaically calculated prices. The app will soon be widgetized and portable to any online or mobile destination for easy use throughout Bancor Network™ members’ ecosystems.

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