ICO Analysis: Bluzelle

The rapid growth of blockchain technologies is transforming the way data is exchanged via the use of decentralized applications (dApps). These dApps continuously exchange massive amounts of data that must be stored and managed. However, the current blockchain platforms in existence (i.e. Ethereum) are unable to store and manage this data due to lack of space.

While Filecoin and Storj are the leading the pack for file storage and management, there is no clear leader for data storage and management. To fulfill the need for data storage and management, Bluzelle has created a decentralized, on-demand, scalable database service for dApps. Without a decentralized database like Bluzelle in place, dApps would not be able to run efficiently and scale to massive use.

Token

Bluzelle’s platform is fueled by two tokens:

• BLZ: the company’s publicly traded ERC-20 token that can be used to purchased BNT.
• BNT: the company’s internal token used to pay for data storage and retrieval.

For the crowdsale, people will be purchasing BLZ tokens. The BLZ and BNT tokens can be interchanged via Bluzelle’s token gateway. Holders of the BLZ token generate value by converting the token to BNT and using it to pay for services on Bluzelle’s platform.

According to the white paper, 55% of the funds raised (including pre-sale/public sale) will go towards research and development (R&D), 20% towards sales and marketing, 10% towards network costs, 10% towards operations, with the remainder of the pot (5%) towards accounting, legal and compliance.

BLZ tokens are valued at 0.1181 USD per BLZ token. The amount of tokens to be sold is capped at 500,000,000 BLZ – approximately 19,500,000 USD.

The company intends to list the BLZ tokens on major crypto exchanges.

Team

Bluzelle’s core team consists of seasoned professionals who have in-depth experience in developing dApps. As compared with the majority of ICOs, Bluzelle’s core team and advisory board is top-tier.

The company’s CEO, Pavel Bains, has over 15 years experience in operational management, digital technology and finance. Previously, Pavel was the co-founder of Storypanda, a digital book platform that published critically acclaimed titles by DreamWorks, Warner Bros, Peanuts, and more. Pavel has also held GM and CFO roles video game studios, including looking after 7 Disney studios across four continents and 350 people and $150M budgets.

The company’s CTO, Neeraj Murarka, is an engineer and computer systems architect with over 20 years experience. Neeraj has worked for Google, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Lufthansa and Thales Avionics. Neeraj’s projects have included: the lock-down of a modified Android OS for retail markets; multicast UDP satellite-based systems; the design and development of secure and FFA-approved systems for Airbus and Boeing. Neeraj was also the fourth employee of acquired blockchain start-up, Zero Block.

The rest of the team consists of five senior developers, a QA specialist, a head of sales, and a product development associate.

The team’s advisory board consists of nine technology heavyweights that come from companies such as: Facebook, Paypal, Linkedin, Ripple, and more.

The company’s early-stage investors consists of several VC firms: Global Brain, True Global Ventures, Lun Partners, and Kenetic Capital.

Verdict

Bluzelle presents a speculative buying opportunity for investors interested in long-term capital appreciation.

Awarded the “Tech Pioneer” status by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2017, Bluzelle is a rare gem amongst the majority of ICOs. The company’s quality of team, technological capability, size of market, and vision isn’t something you normally come by in the ICO space. Additionally, the company is backed by notable venture capital firms – a strong signal for future potential and another scarce quality.

Overall, Bluzelle has the potential to play a pivotal role in the blockchain infrastructure landscape. The company’s decentralized database services have the potential to fulfill a significant need for the advancement of blockchain technologies in enterprise use-cases.

As a side note: the “Tech Pioneer” award by the WEF is carefully selected – past winners include AirBnB, Google, Kickstarter, Spotify and Palantir.

Risks

• Incumbents in the traditional database management and cloud services sector could easily create new products and teams for decentralized database services, including: Oracle, Alibaba, Microsoft and RedHat. In short, Bluzelle’s solution lacks defensive positioning – no IP barriers. -1

• The company’s dual token system may cause some problems when on-boarding large enterprise customers. Even though the company is providing database services for blockchain infrastructure, there doesn’t seem to be a clear reason for the need of a “token.” -1

• The company faces direct competition from Wolk, a decentralized database services provider that has already launched a successful ICO – first-mover advantage. -1

Growth Opportunity

• The size of market for Bluzelle’s database services is large and rapidly growing. The cloud database and database-as-a-service (DBaaS) market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 67.3 percent to 14.05 billion by 2019. +3

• The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) is a large consortium consisting of 105+ members including: Deloitte, JP Morgan, Toyota, Microsoft, UBS, Cisco, BP, MasterCard, Samsung, and more. All of the EEA members are developing enterprise-focused Dapps that are supported by Ethereum. Bluzelle stands a strong chance at being the database service provider for the EEA, since the company has already worked with some of its core members. +3

• In addition to developing database services, the company has successfully pursued other blockchain initiatives in the past. Previously, the team created shared ledger KYC products for large banks (HSBC, etc.), a blockchain-based insurance app for KPMG, and also assisted Deloitte in it’s integration of the Ripple distributed payment system. Meaning, the company has a proven track record of securing large customers/partners. +2

• At an early-stage, the company is pushing for a global reach with offices in both Singapore and North America. While North America is a large market with solid potential enterprise customers, Asia is an even larger, explosive market that is home to countries that are making blockchain initiatives a priority, including: China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. +2

Disposition

While Bluzelle does face certain challenges, the company does have the potential to become the “Oracle” of the blockchain-industry.

With a strong team, prowess in blockchain technologies and a clear vision, Bluzelle has the potential to be a pivotal player in the blockchain infrastructure landscape. With a lack of direct and indirect competition, the company has significant runway for growth.

In addition to being named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, Bluzelle was also named to the Global FinTech 100 by H2 Ventures – another positive signal for future potential.

Against this backdrop, we believe that a score of 7 out of 10 is warranted.

Investment Details:

Type: Crowdsale
Symbol: BLZ
Pre-ICO Sale: Complete
Public Sale: TBD – Late January / Early February
Payments Accepted: ETH

Source: Hacked