The BlockStack ICO

This refers to https://blockstack.com/


To all purposes, this is fiction, not advice nor endorsement.


Today Mr. Positive Blue and Mr. Negative Red meet Mrs. Inquisitive Brown to analyse the BlockStack Coin offering. Mr Neutral Black has made a through reading of the document and Mr Technological Green is around just in case.

- So, what is this one about?
- This one is in the category of "Blockchain Services". The products proposed are:
a) A decentralized domain name register and the underlying server technology, similar to a DNS, but using blockchains.
b) A peer to peer network, kind of a decentralized internet.
c) A decentralized storage systems.

- What is a DNS?
- It is the protocol that converts names to numeric addresses. For example, google.com to 8.8.8.4, so that browsers and other services can find where it is in the internet.
- So potentially, this project could bring a whole new name register business?
- Yes, in fact they will develop a pricing model based on length and type of characters.
- I think that their pricing model does not make the most of the system. Typically, names should be auctioned, not priced beforehand.
- What about the other characteristics?
- I don't really see that they solve any real problem. At least, not any large scale problem.- Why?
- Because DNS, peer-to-peer networks and storage systems are already out there. Blockchain does not add a lot of value to that.

- The team makes the process "trustless" instead of dependant on Certificate Authorities.
- That means that web page impersonation would be very difficult and Certificate Authorities redundant, that is interesting.
- I think is a small market and very hard to expand unless it is compatible with current browsers.
- On the plus side, they already have a test network running.
- What about the teams experience?

- They come from a background of software engineering and have already tried a few technologies.
- So they are technically competent.
- It seems so.
- But how does all this really look to a prospective user?
- At the moment is a very simple interface, it can be installed or seen here https://browser.blockstack.org/
- It does look quite interesting.
- It doesn't do anything!
- This is a concept for future development.
- So, if I invest in this company I am investing on an idea and a team, since they do not have a MVP.
- A what?
- A Minimum Viable Product, it is the most basic working prototype of your idea, just the basics of the product at the cheapest possible price.
- As far as development, this start-up is just beginning. They work in a field in which many competing alternatives are also launching products.
- Overall, it is a risky bet as a business.
- What about the token itself? What can it be used for?
- It is a services value backed token. That is, it is used to perform operations in the Stack chain, at the moment mostly name grabbing.
- So an strategy is to buy tokens, register names and hope that the technology is adopted and they multiply in price right?
- That would be very risky!
- And could be very rewarding.
- What about the regulatory issues?


- There are quite a few regulatory risks... just to mention one, see their FAQ: " 8. Can Blockstack block illegal content on the Blockstack network?

The Blockstack Core is open-source software that provides the infrastructure for a decentralized

network that is not under the control of anyone, including Blockstack Public Benefit Corp and its

affiliates. It’s technically not possible for Blockstack PBC or Blockstack Token LLC to block any

illegal content. The Blockstack Browser, the main software users are expected to use to connect

to the network, is also open-source software. In the future, Blockstack PBC plans to implement

client-side blacklists that users can use to opt-out of seeing certain content. This functionality

currently does not exist and may never exist."- Overall, this seems like an investable token sale if you want high risk investment. Just don't bet your house on it!