Seal - The Currency of Authenticity

in #ico7 years ago

Blockchain  is an irrefutably resourceful invention which is practically bringing  about a revolution in the global business market. Its evolution has  brought with it a greater good, not only for businesses but for its  beneficiaries as well. But since it's revelation to the world, a vision  of its operational activities is still unclear. The main question stick  in everyone's mind is - What is Blockchain?To start with,  Blockchain technology serves as a platform that allows the transit of  digital information without the risk of being copied. It has, in a way,  laid the foundation of a strong backbone of a new kind of internet  space. Originally designed to deal with Bitcoin - trying to explain the  layman about the functions of its algorithms, the hash functions, and  digital signature property, today, the technology buffs are finding  other potential uses of this immaculate invention which could pave the  way to the onset of an entirely new business dealing process in the  world.Blockchain, to define in all respects, is a kind of  algorithm and data distribution structure for the management of  electronic cash without the intervention of any centralized  administration, programmed to record all the financial transactions as  well as everything that holds value.The Working of BlockchainBlockchain  can be comprehended as Distributed Ledger technology which was  originally devised to support the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. But post heavy  criticism and rejection, the technology was revised for use in things  more productive.To give a clear picture, imagine a spreadsheet  that's practically augmented tons to times across a plethora of  computing systems. And then imagine that these networks are designed to  update this spreadsheet from time to time. This is exactly what  blockchain is.Information that's stored on a blockchain is a  shared sheet whose data is reconciled from time to time. It's a  practical way that speaks of many obvious benefits. To being with, the  blockchain data doesn't exist in one single place. This means that  everything stored in there is open for public view and verification.  Further, there isn't any centralized information storing platform which  hackers can corrupt. It's practically accessed over a million computing  systems side-by-side, and its data can be consulted by any individual  with an internet connection.
 

What is  a marketplace? If I said to explain it in a few words I bet you would  say it's a place to go and buy stuff. That would be exactly right. It's a  place where goods and services are exchanged. Going a little further,  why do people go to a marketplace? Choice! They go because once they get  there, there are choices to make, things to see, stuff to compare. As  consumers of products and services we love choices. Go to the grocery  store and take a peek at the cereal aisle. Do you see one kind of  cereal? No. You see many types being offered and like it or not, we love  those choices.A marketplace offers choices and there are many  types of marketplaces. The store is one type. There are also online  marketplaces such as when you are shopping for car insurance. That is a  type of marketplace because you can choose the various companies and  compare services, prices, etc. Sites like eBay are yet another type of  marketplace.So how does a marketplace help a business? To answer  this question, it's probably best to know that as a business you can  either be the recipient of such a marketplace or you are the one going  to the marketplace. In both cases there are advantages to marketplaces.  Next I will explain how both scenarios help a business.Let's take  the example of how a marketplace helps a business that is looking for  services/products. For one thing, the marketplace is full of various  choices each with their own pros and cons. You get to decide which best  fits your needs. Secondly, whether you are online or not, a marketplace  offers you these choices in one place. You don't have to search all over  to find any of your choices. Everything is right there for you.  Convenience is the factor here. A third benefit of a marketplace is that  you can learn a lot by seeing the various choices you have. You get to  learn about pricing, services offered for various prices, connect with a  brand, and make smarter choices.Now let's take an example of  being IN the marketplace. Suppose you are a business this is part of a  market and you are therefore a part of a marketplace in one way or  another. How does this help you? First, it helps you become a better  brand. If you know that you are being compared with your competitors,  side-by-side, then you tend to look at your brand with that much more  clarity and importance. Secondly, you have to really think about what  your market needs and wants in order to "stand out" and assist potential  customers/clients in making their choice to engage with you. Lastly,  being in the marketplace is a way to see what others are doing - and  there is nothing wrong with noticing that. Just don't copy them - do  something better.

 What is Seal?
Seal  is a blockchain powered product authentication and services platform  which will provide consumers and manufacturers with product trust.
Seal  enables anyone the ability to confidently, quickly and economically  verify the authenticity of any product which is Seal enabled.
The  Seal proprietary technology utilizes NFC compatible Seal chips which can  be effectively, securely and discretely incorporated with any  physically manufactured product. Upon integration of the Seal chip, the  product is paired with the digital counterpart on the blockchain.  Verification of authenticity is instantaneous with a simple tap or scan  with any smart device. 

 The Seal platform consists of several components:

1) Products with an embedded Seal-chip that uniquely identify physical products
2) The Seal-app installed on an NFC-compatible smartphone
3) The Seal-token which allows communication between the different parts of the platform
4) The Seal-network, an immutable blockchain database where each transaction is recorded and validated by its nodes

 

Brands are the sole issuer of product-pairings on  the blockchain. This way, brands can ensure exactly how many authentic  copies are released. Disingenuous manufacturers are no longer able to  produce imitations that can be passed off as authentic, because they  cannot replicate the token.

Token Utility
Utility
Seal Tokens are used to pay for services by consumers and brands. The number of supported services will increase as
we improve the platform. The current version of the app already provides authenticity checks and ownership
registration. The table at the bottom displays all the features we have currently developed or scheduled. In the future
brands might be able to pay customers for certain activities (e.g. via a loyalty system).

Currency of Authenticity
The ultimate goal for Seal is to become the currency of authenticity, a currency optimized for the exchange of consumer
products. In this way, the Seal Token is a medium of exchange. This is not listed as a service since it does not require
additional fees. If used in this manner, the Seal Tokens can be used as a currency to pay for products directly.
Purchasing products with Seal Tokens directly claims ownership while payment to the seller occurs simultaneously via
the blockchain. Using Seal to pay for products provides both buyer and seller a guaranteed exchange of goods. With
regular fiat money transactions, there is no way to tell with certainty whether (a) the product is genuine and (b) physical
money / banknotes are not counterfeited. The Seal Token acts as a currency that is optimized for transacting consumer
goods, an especially powerful feature in the secondhand market trade. Sovereign currencies like USD or EUR are
primitive in comparison to Seal and its powerful properties as a medium of exchange and utility token.

Decentralized Apps for Brands
Seal will help brands set up their own decentralized apps for their products on the Seal Network. Seal Tokens can be
used to interact with these decentralized brand apps (bApps), each with their own logic and services attached to them.
We envision a future where all major brands communicate with the Seal Network where Seal Tokens serve as the
communication medium between the Seal Network and the bApps.

Value Creation
The value in the Seal ecosystem is linked to the brands that place their products on the Seal Network. Each service on
the Seal Network costs a service fee. Brands decide on the price of ownership transfers so that it suits their product,
strategy and brand image. The more value is captured and protected by Seal chips, the higher the value of the entire
network becomes. This will depend on the total volume and value of these goods.

Network Effects
The utility of Seal tokens increases as more and more brands adopt the platform. To explain how network effects
improve utility, a classic example is a phone network where the utility of the first phone in the network is low, but
becomes more useful as more people start using phones. Network effects will impact the value of Seal, for the same
reasons the increasing adoption of Bitcoin and Ethereum has impacted their respective value. When more brands use
Seal and when more services are available for use within the Seal Network, consumer adoption of the token will
increase, together with its demand. With time, more and more products will reach the secondary market, where we
expect Seal and its token to have the biggest impact.

Tokens Required
Seal tokens are required to enter the ecosystem. The Seal tokens power the Seal Network. They enable low-cost
micropayments between the Seal Network, consumers, and brands.

Future Use
Depending on future developments and regulations, additional properties can be added to the token. These properties
could include voting rights or other token holder incentives.

For more information visit:

  

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