Unification

A hybrid blockchain environment that connects interoperating private work-chains to a public mainchain secured via delegated PoS by a rotating set of 96 validators.
Context: The low adoption of public blockchains indicates they still might be “solutions with no urgent problems to solve yet”, but private blockchains are a different matter altogether. Most enterprises looking into distributed ledgers are eyeing some flavor of private or permissioned implementation, maybe with a public chain anchor.
What it is: Trying to capitalize on this seemingly emerging trend, Unification has built a public blockchain with private work-chains that run applications and exchange data in closed environments, but in an attestable manner. They use a delegated proof of stake model where 96 nodes are selected as validators in rotating random sets of 24. The private work-chains have zero transaction fees and occasionally anchor to the public mainchain.
Funding & token action: The team sold ~$1mn worth of tokens at $0.048 - $0.05 in a private round. They mentioned not planning to do an ICO and targeting organic growth instead. They however did do two IEOs on Bitforex and Probit. They call those 'zero-sum games', as the team bought tokens from the open market and made them available to the IEO platforms with the goal of putting tokens in the hands of more people.
The project holds ~97% of the tokens, which they will gradually release in circulation as a percentage of REAL volume traded. They also listed on Binance DEX, where they have a daily volume of $50k, the minimum amount needed for Binance CEX eligibility. Their other volume is relatively small, totalling $94.6k daily at the time of writing, with a $1mn current market cap and ~$30mn fully diluted.
What I like:
- The private/public blockchain combo seems to be emerging as winning architecture
- There already is a public testnet
- Listed on several exchanges
- Claims of collaborations with notable government, medical & gaming entities (private due to NDAs)
What I dislike:
- The private & hybrid blockchain space is already packed with incumbents that are hard to compete against
- Actual product is just an Ethereum fork with some changes here and there, not all for the better (96 rotating validators in dPoS, a separate beacon component, etc)
- Team controlling 97% of tokens is similar to the Ripple model so might be subject to the same negative price action when team sells
- Confusing practices such as two 'zero-sum' IEOs
Overall, I dislike it. I honestly think a mix of public and private blockchains will be the emerging trend in enterprise adoption. The Unification team understands that and build a product to meet this trend head-on, via a self-funded project with a low circulating supply.
The team seems focused on keeping the token price as stable as possible, to reduce volatility for business customers. They view their token buyers as customers, not investors, which is great for potential customers but a caveat in their own funding model and a deterrent for prospective token buyers.
On the tech side, it’s an Ethereum fork with some features, with nowhere near the tools, documentation, experience, expertise, resources, etc etc of any of the other already incumbent private blockchain projects that can anchor to any public blockchain that is infinitely more secure than Unification is likely to become.