Seal is a blockchain solution for authenticating genuine products and keeping its members safe from merchants who sell counterfeits. Its public sale is about to go live on 13th May and below we will take a look at the ICO.

It uses a combination of NFC chips which are embedded in the product to be authenticated via the Seal network and the Seal app.

A token is produced for each product and maintained on the blockchain including records of ownership transfer, insurance, and other specific information. Using the Seal app, anyone can check the authenticity of the item with their smartphone. Brands protect their products from counterfeiters and purchasers are guaranteed the authenticity of the items they purchase.

Markets

Counterfeits are a major problem globally, with major brands such as Nike suffering the most. Around 85% of such counterfeits originate from Asia and represent approximately 20% of China’s production. With literally hundreds of millions counterfeit items being shipped it is estimated that by 2022 the counterfeit market will reach $1,954 billion.

The profits from such enterprises frequently fund organised crime and terrorism, while fake goods such as drugs, airbags, and automotive parts jeopardise safety. The further problem is that manufacturers of genuine products produce unlicensed copies during ‘midnight shifts,’ thus undermining the original brand.

In addition to primary markets, secondary and second-hand markets are also affected with many buyers on markets such as eBay and Amazon falling victim to fraud.

Technology

Existing anti-counterfeit technologies include water-marking, invisible inks, holograms, micro-print, Mire patterns, etc. Most of these, however, can be overcome by dedicated counterfeiters. In fact, all offline antifraud methods offer only limited protection.

The Seal online platform disrupts all counterfeiters. By embedding a proprietary NFC chip in the physical item and matching that to a token on the blockchain, guaranteed authenticity can be checked simply using a smartphone.

Online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon would be able to integrate the technology with their distribution network to verify product authenticity before listing.

Benefits:

In additions to guaranteeing the authenticity of items, there are many additional benefits, some of which have been developed already and others still in the pipeline including:

· Authenticity verification

· Ownership registration

· Ownership transfer

· Theft protection

· Marketing information

· Product recalls

Business model

Brands are charged a commission fee for access to the Seal network, typically 1.5% of the product sales value. 25% of that would fund the Seal network, 5% of which would be burnt. Additionally, the brand would be charged a mining fee for each token generated.

Some brands would be able to offset the fees by tapping into the second-hand market. The system would enable the original brand to charge a fee when the product is sold on. Various pricing options are possible including dynamic and static pricing.

Seal will generate additional revenues through sales of the NFC chips to brands; subscription SaaS services; and consulting and API integration.

Token distribution

Tokens will be allocated as follows:

· Token sale: 41%

· Team and advisors: 13%

· PR: 7%

· Retained for building the business: 22%

· Future R&D: 17%

Timeline

· Development of backend processes: completed by end 2017

· Crowd sale: Q1 2018

· Product development: Q3/Q4 2018

· Additional services Q1 2019

· Analytics dashboard for brands: Q3 2019

· Migration of blockchain from Ethereum to new Seal blockchain: Q1 2020

· New NFC chip design: Q1 2020

ICO

The pre-token sale is currently live, and the soft cap has already been achieved. The public sale begins on 13 May 2018 and lasts for 14 days. Key information:

· Start date:13 May 2018

· End date:27 May 2018.

· Token: SEAL

· Platform: Ethereum

· Pre ICO-Price: 1 SEAL = 0.08 USD

· Price: 1 ETH = 7,000 SEAL

· Soft cap 33,000,000 SEAL

· Hard cap 492,000,000 SEAL

· Pre-sale: 384,000,000 SEAL

· Public sale: 108,000,000 SEAL

· Currencies accepted: ETH

· Minimum investment: 1 ETH

· Country: Netherlands

ICO Ratings

The ICO has received some good ratings from the sites that have looked at it, but some of the main ones like ICO Drops and ICO Bazaar haven’t reviewed it yet. The main scores of the ones that have done so are:

• ICO Bench: 4.2/5
• Track ICO: 4.6/5

Conclusion

So there you have it, this looks like an interesting project and it would be great if counterfeiting could be reduced through Seal Network’s technology. Certainly this is one ICO where there is a genuine use-case for blockchain technology being used.

You can check out the Seal Network ICO here