{"id":7876,"date":"2018-04-07T14:42:53","date_gmt":"2018-04-07T21:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/?p=7876"},"modified":"2018-04-09T14:17:02","modified_gmt":"2018-04-09T21:17:02","slug":"bancor-bnt-beginners-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/bancor-bnt-beginners-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Bancor (BNT)? | Beginner\u2019s Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What is Bancor?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bancor is a blockchain protocol that allows users to convert between different tokens directly as opposed to exchanging them on cryptocurrency markets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/files.coinmarketcap.com\/static\/widget\/currency.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"coinmarketcap-currency-widget\" data-currencyid=\"1727\" data-base=\"USD\" data-secondary=\"\" data-ticker=\"true\" data-rank=\"true\" data-marketcap=\"true\" data-volume=\"true\" data-stats=\"USD\" data-statsticker=\"false\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project offers a network, which we&#8217;ll discuss soon, that works to bring liquidity to the majority of tokens that lack a consistent supply\/demand in exchanges. That network is built on smart contracts and a new class of cryptocurrencies that the team calls \u201cSmart Tokens.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What Problem Does Bancor Aim to Solve?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bancor is looking to provide support to the <\/span><b>illiquidity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that currently exists within the cryptocurrency market. Illiquidity isn\u2019t so much an issue for top coins like <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/what-is-bitcoin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bitcoin<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/what-is-ethereum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ethereum<\/a> because there are always buyers and sellers looking to exchange those coins. It is definitely an issue, however, for the thousands of other tokens that may serve legitimate decentralized purposes but haven&#8217;t attracted enough attention in the market to be liquid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The liquidity of a token is determined by its consistent presence of buyers and sellers. A token with high liquidity is one that you can easily acquire or sell at any particular moment in time. The opposite is true for tokens with low liquidity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bancor team argues that, since a majority of tokens are difficult to exchange, they&#8217;re excluded from the internet of value. Their protocol aims to integrate those tokens by helping to establish their liquidity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The team envisions a future that involves millions of tokens that are highly effective locally, yet tradeable globally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7879 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.56.29-PM.png\" alt=\"Bancor Future worldwide\" width=\"680\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.56.29-PM.png 680w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.56.29-PM-591x559.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.56.29-PM-621x587.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.56.29-PM-300x284.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.56.29-PM-476x450.png 476w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.56.29-PM-600x567.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smart Tokens and the Bancor Protocol<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bancor\u2019s protocol uses smart contracts to create Smart Tokens, which serve as an alternative mechanism for trading. A key characteristic of the protocol is that it doesn&#8217;t call for an\u00a0<\/span><b>exchange<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of tokens with a second party, as in the case of cryptocurrency exchanges. Rather, it employs Smart Tokens to <\/span><b>convert<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> between different ERC-20 tokens internally. These conversions take place through the blockchain&#8217;s protocol and completely outside of cryptocurrency exchanges. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smart Tokens process token conversions internally by holding reserves of other ERC20 tokens within their Smart Contract. They can then convert back and forth between those reserves as users request it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7880 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.58.53-PM.png\" alt=\"smart contract conversion\" width=\"1305\" height=\"699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.58.53-PM.png 1305w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.58.53-PM-591x317.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.58.53-PM-621x333.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.58.53-PM-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.58.53-PM-768x411.png 768w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.58.53-PM-840x450.png 840w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.58.53-PM-600x321.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1305px) 100vw, 1305px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can think of\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smart Tokens as money that holds money. They hold reserves similar to how a central bank holds foreign currency reserves and converts between them. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bancor protocol supports all tokens following Ethereum\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/understanding-erc20\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ERC-20<\/a> standard. Every Smart Token created is ERC-20 compliant and therefore compatible with all other ERC-20 tokens. We already know that a Smart Token can be instantly converted to any of its connected tokens (reserves). But, it can also be converted to any of its connected token\u2019s connected tokens, and so on. This creates a network of linked tokens that makes for quick and automated conversions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7881 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.09-PM.png\" alt=\"token network\" width=\"1175\" height=\"562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.09-PM.png 1175w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.09-PM-591x283.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.09-PM-621x297.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.09-PM-300x143.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.09-PM-768x367.png 768w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.09-PM-874x418.png 874w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.09-PM-600x287.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1175px) 100vw, 1175px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bancor Network Token (BNT)<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bancor protocol has its own native currency, <strong>BNT<\/strong>. BNT is the first-ever Smart Token on the Bancor Network and is held as a reserve by all other Smart Tokens. This connectivity allows BNT to significantly reduce the number of conversions needed to arrive at the end token.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7883\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.24-PM.png\" alt=\"BNT Bancor Token\" width=\"804\" height=\"334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.24-PM.png 804w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.24-PM-591x246.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.24-PM-621x258.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.24-PM-300x125.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.24-PM-768x319.png 768w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.24-PM-600x249.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 804px) 100vw, 804px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bancor\u2019s Liquidity<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bancor brings liquidity to tokens by removing the need for buyers and sellers to match in order for an exchange to take place (as in the case of cryptocurrency exchanges). Instead, you can make conversions at any time directly through smart contracts on the network. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bancor&#8217;s Protocol guarantees that liquidity by\u00a0programming a Constant Reserve Ratio (CRR) in all Smart Token contracts. The CRR effectively prevents Smart Tokens from depleting their reserves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As tokens work their way through different smart contracts, the prices of conversion are calculated by a collection of formulas and algorithms (made available in the project&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/about.bancor.network\/whitepaper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">whitepaper<\/a>). These formulas are specifically designed to help ensure conversion rates while avoiding depletion. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[thrive_leads id=&#8217;5219&#8242;]<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Converting Tokens on the Bancor Network<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can access the network and convert between its supported tokens through Bancor\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bancor.network\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">web application<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&#8217;s walk through what a token conversion might look like. S<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ay you want to convert an ERC-20 token like <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/what-is-dragonchain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DragonChain<\/a> to another, say, <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/what-is-eos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EOS<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7884 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.54-PM.png\" alt=\"token conversion\" width=\"1135\" height=\"142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.54-PM.png 1135w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.54-PM-591x74.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.54-PM-621x78.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.54-PM-300x38.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.54-PM-768x96.png 768w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.54-PM-874x109.png 874w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.59.54-PM-600x75.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1135px) 100vw, 1135px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the web app, you would just need to select these two tokens and click \u201cconvert\u201d (assuming you\u2019ve attached a wallet that provides you with some DRGN token to exchange). After you click \u201cconvert\u201d, the Bancor protocol initiates a series of requests to different smart contracts. The first request converts your DRGN to a Smart Token that holds DRGN in its reserves. That Smart Token is then liquidated for another Smart Token that holds EOS in its reserve. Once the chain of conversions is complete, you receive the EOS.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conceptual Real World Use-Case<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Say, for example, Dutch Airlines and American Airlines both start using crypto and their respective air mile credits are modeled as ERC-20 tokens. The Bancor protocol, then, would work to allow a user to exchange Dutch Air miles for American Airline Loyalty points without the need for someone wanting to do the exact opposite trade at that moment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7885 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.14-PM.png\" alt=\"bancor application use case\" width=\"1113\" height=\"597\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.14-PM.png 1113w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.14-PM-591x317.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.14-PM-621x333.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.14-PM-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.14-PM-768x412.png 768w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.14-PM-839x450.png 839w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.14-PM-600x322.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1113px) 100vw, 1113px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bancor Team<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bancor team consists of a core Foundation Council and their Advisory Board. The Foundation Council includes four individuals based out of Zug, Switzerland.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7882\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.35-PM.png\" alt=\"bancor core team\" width=\"590\" height=\"181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.35-PM.png 590w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.35-PM-300x92.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>Bernard Lietaer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a Belgian civil engineer, economist, author, and professor. Lietaer specialized in monetary systems and promotes the notion of communities creating their own local currencies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Eyal Hertzog<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the project&#8217;s product architect and is noted for co-founding the video-sharing company, Metacafe. Hertzog also co-founded Appcoin, a project similar to Bancor that makes use of user-generated marketplaces and private currencies. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Guy Benartzi <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">serves as co-founder and is recognized for founding the gaming company, Mytopia. Benartzi also co-founded Particle Code, a development studio based in Tel Aviv, Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Guido Schmitz-Krummacher <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is an executive of the Bancor Protocol foundation that\u2019s involved with a variety of commercial entrepreneurial ventures in Switzerland. His involvement in the crypto space includes that of Bancor as well as an executive position in crowdfunding network, Tezos (XTZ)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Tim Draper<\/strong>, well-known venture capitalist and founder of Draper Associates, sits on the advisory board along with 9 other individuals.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7886 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.46-PM.png\" alt=\"bancor advisor board draper\" width=\"741\" height=\"345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.46-PM.png 741w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.46-PM-591x275.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.46-PM-621x289.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.46-PM-300x140.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.46-PM-600x279.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px\" \/> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coin supply and sustainability <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smart Tokens can be created or liquidated at any time, adding or removing from the total supply in circulation. Therefore, the token supply fluctuates relative to the conversions taking place on the Bancor network.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\nbaseUrl = \"https:\/\/widgets.cryptocompare.com\/\";\nvar scripts = document.getElementsByTagName(\"script\");\nvar embedder = scripts[ scripts.length - 1 ];\n(function (){\nvar appName = encodeURIComponent(window.location.hostname);\nif(appName==\"\"){appName=\"local\";}\nvar s = document.createElement(\"script\");\ns.type = \"text\/javascript\";\ns.async = true;\nvar theUrl = baseUrl+'serve\/v3\/coin\/chart?fsym=BNT&tsyms=USD,EUR,CNY,GBP';\ns.src = theUrl + ( theUrl.indexOf(\"?\") >= 0 ? \"&\" : \"?\") + \"app=\" + appName;\nembedder.parentNode.appendChild(s);\n})();\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As mentioned, BNT is Bancor\u2019s native currency and the first Bancor protocol-powered Smart Token. BNT has a total supply of 74,319,827, but since it&#8217;s a Smart Token, the amount of BNT in circulation fluctuates as well. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Transactions of BNT are processed on a level separate to the primary layer of Ethereum\u2019s Casper Proof-of-Stake protocol.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where Can You Buy and Store BNT?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can obtain BNT tokens directly through Bancor&#8217;s smart contract by converting from any other supported ERC-20 token on the Bancor web app.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Otherwise, you can find BNT on the following exchanges: <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/binance-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Binance<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/bittrex-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bittrex<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/gate.io\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gate.io<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, HitBTC, OKEx, Liqui, Upbit, LATOKEN, COSS, AEX, and Tidex. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can also store BNT on most popular wallets such as <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/myetherwallet-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MyEtherWallet<\/a>, Parity, and imToken.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Final Thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bancor\u00a0Protocol ultimately exists to bring liquidity to niche tokens so that they may have a place in global markets. Bancor makes it easier to acquire or liquidate tokens that have low trading volumes while helping them establish a market price. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the cryptocurrency space does progress towards a system involving a large number of locally-effective tokens, Bancor could very well be a central figure for exchanging those currencies.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smart Tokens are user-generated assets created by smart contracts on the Bancor Network.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smart Tokens serve as a medium for converting between different ERC-20 tokens<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bancor <\/span><b>converts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tokens through smart contracts rather than <\/span><b>exchanging<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> them with a second party.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mechanism of converting through Smart Tokens was introduced to help bring liquidity to under-represented tokens.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7887\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.59-PM.png\" alt=\"bancor\" width=\"693\" height=\"444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.59-PM.png 693w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.59-PM-591x379.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.59-PM-621x398.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.59-PM-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-4.00.59-PM-600x384.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 693px) 100vw, 693px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bancor is a blockchain protocol that brings liquidity to tokens by allowing users to convert between them directly. Learn more about it in our guide here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":7878,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"iawp_total_views":9,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5712],"tags":[6124,8647],"class_list":{"0":"post-7876","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-guides","8":"tag-altcoins","9":"tag-bancor"},"wppr_data":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is Bancor (BNT)? | Beginner\u2019s Guide - CoinCentral<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bancor is a blockchain protocol that brings liquidity to tokens by allowing users to convert between them directly. Learn more about it in our guide here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/bancor-bnt-beginners-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is Bancor (BNT)? | Beginner\u2019s Guide - CoinCentral\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explaining the blockchain protocol that allows users to convert between different tokens directly.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/bancor-bnt-beginners-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CoinCentral\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-07T21:42:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-04-09T21:17:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.00.39-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"693\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"446\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Phillip Moskov\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Explaining the blockchain protocol that allows users to convert between different tokens directly.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Phillip Moskov\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/bancor-bnt-beginners-guide\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/bancor-bnt-beginners-guide\/\",\"name\":\"What is Bancor (BNT)? | Beginner\u2019s Guide - CoinCentral\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/bancor-bnt-beginners-guide\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/bancor-bnt-beginners-guide\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-3.00.39-PM.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-07T21:42:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-04-09T21:17:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf657498043d071976d947afd725a03c\"},\"description\":\"Bancor is a blockchain protocol that brings liquidity to tokens by allowing users to convert between them directly. 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