Bio Protocol (BIO) — a token for decentralization of science

The Bio Protocol token is trying to support AI research and capitalize on the audience's interest in biotechnology.

What is Bio Protocol?

Bio Protocol is a blockchain ecosystem that supports scientific research and its decentralization. The ecosystem is primarily focused on biotechnology development, but it is stated that in the future, researchers working in other fields will also be able to get funding through it.

The current research funding model has several problems, a notable portion of which Bio Protocol is trying to address. These include:

• Complicated procedures for obtaining funding cause scientists to spend more time and effort on financial issues than on the research itself.
• Difficulty in obtaining funding for projects with a high risk of commercial failure.
• Centralizing the financing in a limited pool of "research hubs" leaves many promising research and researchers unfunded.
• Complex and opaque regulation of copyright issues for research results.

Bio Protocol uses an entire Ethereum and Solana blockchain ecosystem to solve these problems. At the core are many specialized DAOs (ten as of mid-January 2025, up from seven at launch). Each DAO specializes in its specific area. For example, CryoDAO deals with cryopreservation, and CerebrumDAO deals with neural degeneration and diseases affecting the brain.

Each DAO has its treasury and independently decides to finance specific projects in the respective industry. In doing so, the DAO is entitled to dividends from research results, which must then be distributed among the DAO members. Copyrights on research results are tokenized, and each DAO issues its own tokens.

In addition to DAOs, the Bio Protocol ecosystem includes a launchpad for decentralized research projects, which is set to launch in Q1 2025. Plans also include an incubator for decentralized biotech projects where they will receive funding, consulting, and other support.

Several major players in the cryptocurrency world, including Binance Lab, have supported the Bio Protocol project. However, we cannot but recognize that the project has significant risks. First, the mechanism for monetizing research results and receiving dividends from DAO participants is unclear. Secondly, the return on investment in science takes time, and it is unclear whether Bio Protocol will be able to keep the audience's attention for many years.

BIO token

The BIO token is an ecosystem management token. Token holders can vote on ecosystem management issues in general, including the launch of new DAOs. In addition, BIO token holders gain access to invest in new biotech projects earlier than the general public. Finally, BIO provides intra-platform liquidity between different DAOs.

BIO went public on the significant exchanges on January 3, 2025. The listing price was $0.7822. As of January 12, the token price had fallen to $0.44. the historical high of $0.8723 was also reached on January 3, 4 hours after the start of trading.

BIO's capitalization as of January 12 is $564 million. According to that indicator, the token is ranked 136th in the CoinMarketCap ranking.

In general, BIO's market history is not very optimistic so far — the price has held above the listing price for less than a day, and since January 4, it has been continuously falling. Even the protocol extension to the Solana blockchain didn't help — news about it didn't lead to any noticeable upward price movement.

BIO prospects

Given that less than two weeks have passed since the token's launch, it is impossible to say anything confidently. Significant resources have been invested in the project, and several major players are involved in its development, so even in case of complete failure, the token's "death" will take more than one month.

However, it is already apparent that the BIO token did not become a "hit at the start". Its growth is possible if the protocol demonstrates real efficiency in financing science and can show a transparent mechanism of financial remuneration of token holders. So far, however, there are no objective grounds for optimism.