Band Protocol (BAND) is a cross-chain data oracle platform that aggregates and connects real-world data to smart contracts. The project’s mission is to bring external data sourced through traditional web APIs, such as stock prices and weather, onto blockchains. Band Protocol is blockchain-agnostic, which allows for interoperability between smart contracts and the traditional web.

Band Protocol released its token via an Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) in the fall of 2019. During the IEO, tokens were sold for $0.473 to the public, representing 27.37% of the total supply of BAND tokens. Other holders of BAND tokens include private investors, advisors, the Band Protocol Foundation and the Band Protocol ecosystem. The total supply of BAND tokens is capped at 100 million, a figure expected to be reached by mid-2024 according to the token release schedule.

On Sept. 18, 2019, BAND token debuted trading at $0.64 per token. On Apr. 12, 2021, the BAND token hit an all-time high of $23.23 but experienced a drawdown in May and June amid a broader market sell-off. For the next several months, BAND continued to trade between $5 and $10 per coin.

The token is supported on several centralized and decentralized exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, Huobi and Uniswap.

Band Protocol falls within a category called “oracles”, which act as a middleman between decentralized applications and various data sources. Other oracle projects include Ethereum-based Chainlink and Pyth Network, which is based on the Solana blockchain.

In June 2020, the project officially launched the public mainnet of BandChain, the protocol’s blockchain in the Cosmos, which is a network that allows the exchange of data between different blockchains. BandChain uses the native BAND token to secure the decentralized oracle network through the proof-of-stake method. That means a person can validate block transactions according to how many BAND tokens he or she holds. Validators stake their tokens to fulfil data requests in return for a portion of the usage fees and to earn block rewards.

According to the project’s website, “For every data request to BandChain, which requires BAND tokens in the form of transaction fees, validators and their delegators earn a fee for fulfilling oracle requests and producing blocks.” This ensures that all stakeholders on the oracle network including data requestors (protocols, developers), validators and BAND token holders are economically aligned. The more usage on BandChain, the more protocol fees are accrued by validators and token holders creating a positive feedback loop enhancing security and demand for BAND.

The Band Protocol project was founded in 2017 by Soravis Srinawakoon, Sorawit Suriyakarn and Paul Nattapatsiri. As of October 2021, all three co-founders are still at the helm of the project, with Srinawakoon serving as CEO, Suriyakarn as CTO and Nattapatsiri as CPO.

The project received funding from venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and cryptocurrency exchange Binance, as well as Dunamu & Partners, Spartan Group, Alphain Ventures, Woodstock and SeaX.