Bloom is an end-to-end protocol for identity attestation, risk assessment and credit scoring, entirely on the blockchain. Bloom allows both traditional and digital currency lenders to serve billions of people who currently cannot obtain a bank account or credit score.
There are 5 issues with current credit
infrastructure that Bloom aims to address:
ISSUE #
Borrowers must expose all of their personal information when applying for a loan - the same info an attacker can use to open new lines of credit.
ISSUE #
Credit histories are not portable across countries, forcing individuals to re-establish their credit track records from scratch when they relocate.
ISSUE #
Most credit systems rely almost entirely on historical debt repayment information and therefore cannot easily accommodate users who are new to credit.
ISSUE #
Borrowers in markets with less developed financial and regulatory infrastructure struggle to access credit as lenders have limited identity and scoring data.
ISSUE #
Credit data is centralized. In most markets, a single provider scores credit, resulting in an uncompetitive ecosystem for evaluating credit risk.
The Bloom Protocol provides solutions allowing any lender authorized by a borrower to safely and securely issue credit to that borrower.
The three main components of the Bloom protocol are:
BloomID
BloomIQ
BloomScore
BloomID lets users establish a global,
federated identity with independent
third parties who publicly vouch for their
identity information and legal status.
BloomIQ
BloomIQ is a system for reporting
and tracking current and historical
debt obligations that are tied to
a user’s BloomID.
BloomScore
BloomScore is a dynamic and inclusive
indicator of an individual’s likelihood to
pay debts that adapts to the maturity
of a user’s credit history.
The Bloom token allows organizations to participate in evaluating user identities and creditworthiness. It also serves as the governance token to guide the evolution of the Bloom protocol.
BLT will serve as a voting mechanism for instituting changes to the BloomScore phases and algorithms.
Payment history providers and lenders will need to submit proposals to the ecosystem regarding why they are trustworthy, what their business does, and why their data should be included in the BloomScore.
Identity attesters and risk assessors on the Bloom network will be able to set prices and receive payment for their services in BLT.
These organizations pay BLT as an application fee and, in turn, users who vote on their eligibility will receive a portion of that fee.
While the network is in its infancy without a wide arrayof attesters, it is more susceptible to attack. In order to increase the immediate resilience of the network, users will be required to put up a small amount of BLT as collateral for users who they invite.
This collateral serves as protection against a mass-scale network of malicious accounts.
THE FIRST BLOOM PROJECT
THE FIRST BLOOM PROJECT
BloomCard is one of the first projects based on Bloom credit infrastructure, launched alongside the Bloom protocol.
The BloomCard will help you build up your BloomScore by spending responsibly.
The Bloom Protocol will be developed
in 5 major phases.
phase
Phase 1 will allow for users to use BLT to invite their friends and colleagues to seed the initial net-work securely. Users with BLT will be able to vote on early development-related proposals for the future of the network.
phase
Phase 2 will deploy an application allowing users to verify their identity and get matched with their BloomID. During this phase, users will be able to confirm identity information and connect data for BloomIQ.
phase
Peer to Peer staking modules
will be built first, followed by
organizational staking.
phase
Phase 3 will allow users to check their score, as well as open up a developer ecosystem to lenders to check a given user's BloomScore, providing sufficient privileges are granted from the loan recipient.
phase
Once the risk assessment and scoring protocol is complete, Bloom will launch the BloomCard. The BloomCard will serve as a brand new way for individuals to display creditworthiness and improve their BloomScore.
phase
Over time BLT flows through the network. Lenders, data attestation providers, and borrowers will all own Bloom Network Token and their amount acquired will correlate to their influence on the network.
Jesse studied computer science at Stanford University. Jesse is an advisor to The Alchemist Accelerator, a Thiel Fellow, and a mentor at the European Innovation Academy. He’s served as a guest lecturer at Stanford University, The University of Southern California, DePaul, among others. Prior to Bloom, Jesse founded enterprise analytics software, NeoReach. NeoReach provides analytics for Fortune 500 brands including Microsoft, Citrix, Walmart, among others.
Ryan Faber developed a behavioral recognition methodology designed to leverage online psychographic data for user acquisition. Using his research, Ryan launched Flatiron Collective. Flatiron now manages over $100M annually in digital marketing spend. His developments in user acquisition have allowed him to become a 3x Webby Award winner and his methodology has been attributed to the exponential growth of numerous billion dollar brands.
Daniel Maren studied computer science at Stanford University. He founded solar power electronics company, Dragonfly Systems, which was acquired by SunPower Corporation in 2014. Daniel remains an advisor to SunPower, guiding solar + storage product efforts and international business development. He has expertise in international infrastructure development, finance, and energy, where he is a recipient of a Forbes 30 under 30 award. Previously, he architected a biofuels program for Indonesian farmers, who struggle with seed and equipment financing.
Alain Meier studied computer science at Stanford University and served as a research scientist for Stanford Bitcoin Group. Founded by 21 CEO, Balaji S. Srinivasan, The Stanford Bitcoin Group is Stanford University’s blockchain research organization. Alain developed a number of open source cryptography projects including CryptoNote.me, an open-source service allowing users to send encrypted, single-view messages in seconds. Following his work at Stanford, Alain is serving as the CEO of compliance and identity verification company, Cognito (formerly BlockScore).
John is a founding research scientist at Stanford Bitcoin Group and studied computer science at Stanford University. He is a Thiel Fellow and cofounder and CTO of identity verification company, Cognito. John is an expert at identity infrastructure, previously engineering data preprocessing algorithms for large-scale entity extraction for deterministic and probabilistic record linkage. This is currently implemented into Cognito’s core identity resolution and record linkage infrastructure, now 14 processing identity and compliance for tens of millions of cryptocurrency users globally.
Shift developed the Shift Card, a VISA debit card that currently allows Coinbase users in select states and territories in the U.S. to spend bitcoin anywhere VISA is accepted.
Joe is the co-founder of District0x, an Ethereum dApp decentralizing the world’s marketplaces. Prior to this, Joseph founded Sourcerers.io, a consultancy supporting leading Ethereum-based projects. Joe previously spent three years as an Operations Manager for Coinbase. Prior to Coinbase, he was a derivatives trader for Three Arrows Capital, an international hedge fund based in Singapore.
David Raphael is the CEO of Infinity Media, a digital agency specializing in conversion rate optimization. He studied at the University of Chicago and has spent the last six years sharpening the product-marketing funnels for companies like Artsy, FanDuel and Wag!
Devon Zuegel studied Computer Science at Stanford University, where she also served as the Editor in Chief of the Stanford Review. She’s worked as a software engineer at Affirm, a financial services company that provides an affordable, flexible, and transparent credit option. Devon built out Affirm’s identity infrastructure, ensuring that users are who they say they are and linking that information into the credit underwriting system, which funds millions of dollars of loans every day. Now, she works as an independent consultant advising startups on technology and strategy.
