At the intersection of scientific research and technological innovation, BIO Protocol has quietly emerged as a pioneer in the field of decentralized science (DeSci). By integrating blockchain technology and cryptocurrency into the research and development of biotechnology, BIO Protocol is not only challenging the traditional scientific funding model, but also redefining the boundaries of scientific innovation. Imagine a world where scientists can obtain funding directly through the global community, research results can be shared on a transparent and tamper-proof platform, and intellectual property becomes a tradable asset - this is the future that BIO Protocol is depicting for us. In this fascinating story, we will explore how BIO uses the power of decentralization to liberate the potential of science and bring us into a more open, collaborative and innovative era.
What is the BIO protocol?
BIO Protocol is a curation and liquidity protocol for decentralized science (DeSci). Its mission is to accelerate the development of biotechnology by allowing patients, scientists, and biotech professionals around the world to co-fund, build, and own tokenized biotech projects and intellectual property (IP). BIO Protocol was built by the team that created Molecule, an early-stage biomedical tokenization platform, and VitaDAO, the largest decentralized community in longevity science. BIO is designed to promote the development of the on-chain scientific economy through decentralized funding, incentives, and liquidity. Users holding BIO tokens can access BIO's scientific community network and its IP, giving them broad exposure to the DeSci economy. BIO provides specific functions and resources for different groups:
Crypto/DeFi users: Through Bioconomy and Launchpad, you can participate in the decentralized bioeconomy.
Scientists and Biotech Professionals: Resources to support new biotech projects and DAOs through the BIO Incubator and the BioDAO Bible.
Community: Through Telegram and Discord platforms, members can communicate and collaborate.
In short, the BIO Protocol aims to promote innovation and development of biotechnology through a decentralized approach.
To achieve these goals, the BIO protocol has five core operations:
Curation (BIO Staking):
BIO token holders participate in curation to decide which new BioDAOs join the ecosystem, taking a bottom-up approach to funding science. BioDAOs selected by the community will receive funding, added to the treasury, and ultimately supported by the BIO protocol. Because the BIO protocol relies on high-quality BioDAOs, curation requires locking BIO tokens to participate, ensuring that participants are aligned with the network in the long term.
Using vBIO (locked BIO), BIO holders can express confidence in new DAO applicants recommended by “operators” (network stakeholders who support the BioDAO incubation phase).
BIO holders pledge their support for the BioDAO they wish to adopt through vBIO tokens, and if the DAO they support is selected, stakers will gain access to whitelisted funding rounds and priority access to that DAO's products, data, or services.
Funding:
If a BioDAO applicant is accepted into the BIO Network, all vBIO stakers who have committed to that BioDAO will have the opportunity to participate in an initial private auction, a pre-whitelist seed round.
Through BIO, users are able to support groundbreaking science from day one, on terms comparable or better than VCs or other institutions. For BioDAO, this creates an opportunity to align with a pre-established high-value scientific community and become a network participant in a specific research area.
Liquidity:
BioDAO should focus on science, not managing liquidity. BIO solves this problem by managing BioDAO’s secondary market liquidity position.
The BIO Protocol can leverage BIO tokens and other token holdings in the BIO Treasury to support on-chain liquidity of the BIO Network.
BIO tokens can be paired with BioDAO tokens (such as VITA/BIO, HAIR/BIO) and other assets (such as BIO/ETH) in liquidity pools to enable low-cost conversions within the network, collect fees and build protocol-owned liquidity (POL).
Bio/acc rewards:
The BIO Protocol may issue rewards in the form of BIO tokens (“bio/acc rewards”) to incentivize BioDAO to achieve key milestones that increase the value of the network (AUM).
BIO holders may choose to use bio/acc rewards to incentivize the BioDAO to reach milestones such as funding a certain value of on-chain science, maintaining a certain level of token liquidity, developing IP that reaches clinical trials, or generating sales from consumer products/services.
Meta-Governance:
The BIO Protocol will hold various BioDAO tokens in its treasury and thus serve as a meta-governance layer, empowering BIO holders to manage the broad BioDAO and scientific IP assets.
What is BioDAO?
BioDAOs are community-owned scientific research networks focused on a specific area of science or medicine. They leverage the collective power of globally distributed stakeholders such as patients, scientists, and biotech builders to accelerate the R&D process and develop new intellectual property (IP). BioDAO members pool resources (data, capital, labor) for their mission. By sharing resources, these communities are able to reduce the cost of innovation and shorten the time to commercialization.
BioDAOs raise funds through token sales and use their treasury to support and develop biotech projects relevant to their mission, creating shared IP ownership among members. BioDAOs use Molecule's on-chain IP framework to own, license, and trade the intellectual property generated by the projects they support. Proceeds from IP and product sales can flow back into the BioDAO's treasury to fund and advance the next generation of R&D, furthering the BioDAO's mission.
Compared with traditional scientific models, BioDAOs have the following advantages:
Capital efficiency: pooling resources to reduce the cost of innovation.
Flexible working model: allows experts to contribute on a part-time basis.
Shared IP ownership: Incentivize contribution through IP ownership.
Open access: removing barriers in science funding and decision-making.
Diversified portfolio: Work on multiple biotech projects simultaneously and reduce risk.
Success Stories:
VitaDAO: has raised over $5 million for longevity science, has received backing from Pfizer Ventures, and is working with Newcastle University.
HairDAO: Focuses on treating hair loss, owns the DAO patent and the consumer product Follicool.
CerebrumDAO: Advancing brain health research, raises over $1.5 million, reaches agreement with Fission Pharma to address mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases.
ValleyDAO: Focused on synthetic biology, raised $2M+ and is working with Imperial College London.
AthenaDAO: Advancing women’s health R&D, with $500,000 funded for translational research and 14 IP deals pending.
CryoDAO: Advancing the cryogenics space, raising over $3 million, building projects with Oxford Cryogenics and Advanced Neurobiosciences.
PsyDAO: Focused on psychotropics, PsyDAO launched OPSY, a new platform for leveraging psychotropic trials and data.
BIO Second Batch Early Acceptance:
Long COVID Labs: Dedicated to finding a cure for the more than 100 million long COVID patients. Founded by Rohan Dixit, a former Stanford neuroscientist, medical entrepreneur, and long COVID survivor.
Quantum Biology DAO: Building quantum microscopes to advance biological research. Founded by Clarice D. Aiello (MIT PhD, world-leading quantum biologist) and Geoff Anders (Executive Director of Leverage Research).
Curetopia (Rare Diseases): Addressing the $1 trillion+ rare disease market by uniting families and patient communities. Founded by Ethan Perlstein (Harvard PhD, entrepreneur, Y-Combinator alumnus).
These examples demonstrate how BioDAOs can innovate scientific research through a decentralized approach and advance various medical and biotech fields.
What is Curation?
BIO token holders decide which BioDAOs are accepted into the BIO network by staking BIO tokens on the BioDAOs they wish to accept.
BioDAOs that are voted into the network will receive funding through the BIO Launchpad, as well as token liquidity support, incentives, and other acceleration services from the community.
If the DAO you stake is eventually accepted by the community, you will have the opportunity to receive BIO token rewards, as well as priority access to the DAO's initial token financing round and the IP asset financing round conducted by the DAO.
What are Bio/Acc Rewards?
Bio/Acc Rewards incentivize BioDAO and its members to take actions that help increase the overall value of the network. According to BIOPSY-5, 4% of the total BIO token supply (a total of 132.8 million tokens) will be allocated to Bio/Acc Rewards.
Bio/Acc Rewards are awarded to BioDAOs in the form of BIO tokens for achieving the following key milestones:
Initial Token Auction via BIO Launchpad
Funding Science (IP Token Issuance)
Consumer product launch with significant revenue
Conducting decentralized clinical trials
Rewards can also flow directly to users of BioDAO products, incentivizing biohackers to participate in activities such as:
Participate in clinical trials or voluntarily report health data
Use of BioDAO products (e.g. Follistatin, Vitarna, Bionic Implants, etc.)
Buy BioDAO products online or in offline stores
These reward mechanisms are not only direct support for BioDAO, but also an incentive for its members and users, promoting more people to actively participate and driving the value growth of the network.
What are IP Tokens?
Intellectual Property Tokens ("IP-Tokens" or "IPTs") Pioneered by Molecule AG, intellectual property tokens (IP-Tokens or IPTs) represent partial governance rights over generated intellectual property (IP). These tokens offer holders the opportunity to directly participate in the development, decision-making and future direction of research.
BioDAOs and IPTs
BioDAOs develop and take ownership of IP-Tokens. Each BioDAO typically holds a portfolio of IPTs containing intellectual property related to its specific field of scientific research. For example, VitaDAO developed and owns IPT shares of VitaRNA and VITA-FAST.
How IPTs work
When you acquire IPTs, you are effectively acquiring a stake in the IP generated by your research, which can include patents on novel compounds, proprietary screening systems, and potentially even therapeutic approaches. However, it is important to note that IPTs do not guarantee the holder a financial return or revenue share from the commercialization of these assets. Instead, IPT holders receive the following benefits:
Governance: IPT holders can participate in key decisions related to the development, management, and licensing of intellectual property. This includes voting on major milestones, strategic partnerships, and research funding allocations, allowing the community to directly influence the direction of the project.
Access to exclusive information: IPT holders may receive updates and detailed reports on research progress and IP development, giving them a deeper understanding of the project’s trajectory and potential.
Priority access and benefits: Depending on the development of the project and partnerships, IPT holders may receive early or priority access to future opportunities for innovation, collaboration or IP-related opportunities, although this is not guaranteed and varies by project.
No guaranteed returns: If the IP is commercialized, it is up to the IP owner to decide whether to pay the IPT holder. Although they may decide to reward IPT holders based on the success of the project, they will carefully consider the regulatory implications before doing so.
The role of IPTs in Decentralized Science (DeSci):
In the decentralized science (DeSci) ecosystem, IPTs are an important tool to promote broader community participation in scientific research. By tokenizing intellectual property, IPTs democratize access to and control of scientific progress, fostering a transparent and collaborative environment where the community can contribute to and influence the development of cutting-edge therapies.
Token Economic Model
Initial Allocation
Total Supply: 3,320,000,000
BIO Token Status: Non-transferable
Maximum supply: Unlimited, determined by BIO governance vote.
New BIO tokens can be minted for future protocol or network growth. This requires deploying a new token contract to replace the current BIO tokens.
BIO distribution in Genesis
The total supply of BIO will be allocated at genesis into eight categories as shown in the table below:
Community: 56%
Community auction: 20%
Community airdrop: 6%
Ecosystem incentives: 25%
Molecule Ecosystem Fund: 5%
Investors: 13.6%
Core Contributors: 21.2%
Consultant: 4.2%
Molecule：5%
Unlocking BIO Supply Schedule
Unlocked supply is different from circulating supply, which is the total supply that can be used but not necessarily deployed.
Distribution of circulating supply in the first three years
Taking into account the 6-year unlock plan for the core team and investors, here is the distribution of circulating supply at the end of the first three years, excluding community-guided inflation.
Distribution of circulating supply at the end of the first year
Distribution of circulating supply at the end of the second year
Distribution of circulating supply at the end of the third year
BIO Protocol Summary
BIO Protocol is a new financial layer built for decentralized science (DeSci), aiming to accelerate the development of biotechnology through cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Its core goal is to establish an on-chain scientific economy through decentralized communities (BioDAOs) to promote scientific innovation, the generation and commercialization of intellectual property (IP).
Key concepts:
BioDAOs: These are community-driven research networks focused on specific scientific or medical fields, leveraging stakeholders around the world to jointly advance the R&D process. BioDAOs raise funds through token sales, develop and share IP, reduce the cost of innovation and shorten the path to commercialization.
IP-Tokens (IPTs): A concept created by Molecule AG that represents partial governance of the intellectual property generated by scientific research. IPT holders are able to participate in the decision-making and direction of the research and receive exclusive information related to the progress of the project.
BIO token: As the governance and utility token of the BIO protocol, BIO token holders can influence the operation of the network by curating BioDAOs, participating in IP token sales, enjoying discounts on health products/services, and conducting meta-governance. The total supply of BIO tokens is 3.32 billion, initially allocated to the community, investors, core contributors, etc., and managed through different unlocking and vesting plans.
Curation: BIO holders stake BIO tokens to decide which new BioDAOs join the network, thereby receiving funding and support.
Bio/Acc Rewards: Incentivize BioDAOs and their members to increase the value of the network by achieving key milestones such as token auctions, scientific funding, product launches, etc. Rewards also encourage users to participate in activities such as clinical trials and use of BioDAO products.
How it works:
Funding and Liquidity: BioDAOs receive funding and liquidity support through the BIO protocol, simplifying their operations in the market.
Governance and transparency: Decentralized governance makes scientific research decision-making more open and collaborative, and blockchain technology ensures transparency and trust.
Ecosystem development: Successful BioDAO cases such as VitaDAO and HairDAO demonstrate how to promote scientific research in a decentralized manner.
Token Economics: The distribution and unlocking schedule of BIO tokens is designed to incentivize long-term participation while supporting continued growth and innovation of the network.
Value accumulation:
By providing funds to BioDAOs to receive tokens and IP asset allocations, the BIO protocol’s treasury accumulates value.
The protocol further enhances its influence by collecting fees and revenue from managing on-chain liquidity, including BIO tokens and other assets.
By combining blockchain technology and the DeSci concept, BIO Protocol aims to reshape the way scientific research is funded, incentivized, and intellectual property managed, and to promote a more open, transparent, and efficient scientific research ecosystem.