Bloom: A Global Decentralized Credit Protocol
The Bloom whitepaper was written and published by the Bloom core team in late 2024, against the backdrop of growing attention to decentralized identity and data sovereignty, aiming to resolve the contradiction between user data privacy protection and application interoperability.
The theme of Bloom’s whitepaper is “Bloom: Building a New Paradigm for Decentralized Trust and Data Sovereignty.” Bloom’s uniqueness lies in its proposal of a zero-knowledge proof-based identity verification mechanism and programmable data sharing protocol; Bloom’s significance is in laying the foundation for user data sovereignty and privacy protection in the Web3 era, and providing developers with a toolkit for building privacy-protecting applications.
Bloom’s original intention is to empower users to control their own digital identity and data, enabling secure and controllable value transfer. The core viewpoint articulated in the Bloom whitepaper is: by combining decentralized identifiers (DID) with homomorphic encryption technology, it achieves efficient data verification and sharing while safeguarding data privacy, thus building a truly user-centric data ecosystem.
Bloom whitepaper summary
What is Bloom
Friends, imagine that each of us has a “credit file” that records our borrowing history and repayment performance. In the traditional world, this file is usually kept by banks or credit agencies, and the credit record you build in one country may not work in another—you’d have to start over. This is very inconvenient for people who frequently work or live across borders, or for those who don’t have a bank account at all.
Bloom (project ticker: BLT) is a blockchain project designed to solve this problem. You can think of it as a decentralized “global credit file system.” It doesn’t rely on any centralized institution, but instead uses blockchain technology to help everyone build their own, globally portable, privacy-protecting credit identity and credit record. This way, wherever you are, or even if you’ve never had the chance to build traditional credit, you can potentially prove your creditworthiness through Bloom, making it easier to access loans and other financial services.
Its core target users are those who need credit proof globally, as well as the roughly 3 billion people worldwide who cannot access bank accounts or credit scores.
A typical usage flow can be understood as follows:
- Create your “digital identity” (BloomID): Just like having a unique digital passport on the blockchain, this passport proves “you are you,” and you control which information others can see.
- Record your “credit diary” (BloomIQ): When you get a loan and repay it on time, this information is securely recorded in your “credit diary,” forming your credit history.
- Generate your “credit health report” (BloomScore): Based on your digital identity and credit diary, Bloom generates a decentralized credit score for you, like a “credit health report,” allowing potential lenders to understand your credit status.
Project Vision and Value Proposition
Bloom’s vision is to build a fairer, more transparent, and inclusive global credit system. The core problems it aims to solve include:
- Non-interoperable cross-border credit: Traditional credit records often can’t be used across countries, forcing people to rebuild credit after moving. Bloom solves this by providing globally portable credit files.
- Limitations of credit assessment: Traditional credit assessment systems mainly rely on past borrowing history, making it hard for those without such records (like young people, low-income groups, or people in developing countries) to obtain credit. Bloom aims to provide a way for these people to build credit.
- Personal data privacy and security: In traditional models, personal information is stored centrally, making it vulnerable to identity theft. Bloom’s decentralized approach gives users control over their data, enhancing privacy and security.
Compared to similar projects, Bloom emphasizes its end-to-end decentralized credit protocol, covering the entire process of identity verification, risk assessment, and credit scoring, and is committed to serving both traditional financial and digital asset lenders globally.
Technical Features
The Bloom protocol is mainly composed of three core systems, all running on the blockchain, originally based on the Ethereum blockchain:
BloomID (Identity Verification)
This is like your “digital ID card.” It allows users to create a secure, globally usable digital identity on the blockchain. Most importantly, you control who can access your personal information, without handing all your data to a centralized institution. This greatly reduces the risk of identity theft and allows lenders to conduct global lending in a privacy-protecting and compliant manner.
BloomIQ (Credit Record)
You can think of it as a “credit diary.” It’s a system for recording and tracking users’ current and historical debt obligations, all linked to your BloomID. When you get loans and repay them on time within the Bloom ecosystem, these positive credit behaviors are recorded, forming your credit history. These records are immutable, ensuring the authenticity of credit data.
BloomScore (Credit Scoring)
This is your “credit health index.” BloomScore is a metric for measuring consumer credit status, similar to the familiar FICO or VantageScore, but it’s decentralized and uses updated models. Based on data from your BloomID and BloomIQ, it generates a credit score to help lenders quickly assess your credit risk.
In summary, Bloom’s technical features lie in its decentralization, privacy protection, and global portability, reshaping traditional credit assessment models through blockchain technology.
Tokenomics
Bloom’s native token is the Bloom Token, ticker BLT. It plays an important role in the Bloom ecosystem.
Token Basics
BLT is an ERC-20 token based on the Ethereum blockchain. According to available information, its total supply is 150 million.
Token Utility
BLT tokens mainly serve the following purposes within the Bloom ecosystem:
- Access to services: BLT tokens are used to access various services within the Bloom ecosystem, such as creating and sharing credit files.
- Invitation mechanism: In the early stages, users needed a small amount of BLT tokens to invite new users to join the platform. This helps ensure the quality of new users and prevents the creation of malicious accounts.
- Staking: Although not detailed in all sources, tokens of this type are typically used for staking to participate in network security or governance.
- Governance: BLT tokens may also be used to participate in platform governance decisions, giving token holders a say in the project’s direction.
Token Distribution and Unlocking Information
According to historical data, Bloom raised funds through ICO (Initial Coin Offering) and other means. For example, during the public sale, about 61.82M BLT (41.21% of the total supply) were sold at $0.67 each.
It’s worth noting that BLT’s circulating supply and market activity may change over time. Some sources indicate that BLT currently has low market activity, with no active trading markets shown on some platforms.
Team, Governance, and Funding
There is no direct and comprehensive disclosure of Bloom’s core team members, specific team characteristics, governance mechanism, or treasury and funding runway in the current search results. However, according to project descriptions, the Bloom protocol aims for decentralization, meaning its long-term goal is to establish a community-driven governance model.
The project was launched in 2017 by a team focused on creating decentralized identity and credit scoring systems. Early funding was raised through token sales, totaling over $51 million.
Roadmap
Bloom was launched in 2017. Here are some historical milestones and events:
- 2017: Project launch and token sale (ICO), successfully raising over $51 million.
- November 2017: BLT tokens began trading on exchanges.
- Early development: The project focused on developing its core components, including BloomID, BloomIQ, and BloomScore, aiming to build an end-to-end decentralized credit protocol.
- Ongoing development: The platform continues to evolve, focusing on building partnerships and integrations to strengthen its ecosystem.
Since the project started early, no clear future roadmap or detailed recent plans were found in the current search results. Typically, blockchain project roadmaps are adjusted as the market and technology evolve.
Common Risk Reminders
Investing in any blockchain project comes with risks, and Bloom is no exception. Here are some common risk reminders:
Technical and Security Risks
Although blockchain technology is known for its security, risks such as smart contract vulnerabilities and network attacks still exist. If Bloom’s smart contracts have flaws, it could lead to user data leaks or asset loss. Additionally, the complexity of decentralized identity and credit systems may bring unknown technical challenges.
Economic Risks
Token price volatility: BLT’s price is affected by market supply and demand, project progress, macroeconomics, and other factors, and may fluctuate sharply, posing investment loss risks.
Market activity: Some sources indicate that BLT currently has low market activity and low trading volume, which may lead to insufficient token liquidity and difficulty buying or selling.
Competition risk: The blockchain field is developing rapidly, and more similar or superior decentralized credit solutions may emerge, posing competitive pressure on Bloom.
Compliance and Operational Risks
Regulatory uncertainty: Global regulatory policies for cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects are still evolving, and future policy changes may impact Bloom’s operations and development.
User adoption: Although Bloom aims to solve global credit issues, whether it can be widely adopted, especially by traditional financial institutions and ordinary users, remains a challenge. Education and promotion costs may be high.
Project development and maintenance: Long-term success depends on ongoing development, maintenance, and community support. If the team’s activity drops or community support is lacking, it may affect the project’s long-term development.
Please remember, the above information is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice. Be sure to conduct thorough due diligence and consult a professional financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Due Diligence Checklist
As a blockchain research analyst, when evaluating a project, I recommend friends pay attention to the following aspects:
- Block explorer contract address: Look up the BLT token’s contract address on Ethereum block explorers (such as Etherscan) to view total supply, holder distribution, transaction records, etc.
- GitHub activity: Check the project’s GitHub repository to understand code update frequency, developer community activity, and whether there are unresolved issues. An active developer community is usually a positive sign for project health.
- Official website and social media: Visit Bloom’s official website for the latest project updates, announcements, and partner information. Also follow its official social media (such as Twitter, Medium, etc.) to learn about community discussions and project progress.
- Audit reports: Check whether the project’s smart contracts have undergone third-party security audits. Audit reports can assess smart contract security and reduce potential risks.
- Team information: Try to learn about the core team members’ backgrounds, experience, and past achievements.
- Market data: View BLT token’s real-time price, trading volume, market cap, and circulating supply on major crypto data sites (such as CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko).
Project Summary
Bloom (BLT) is an early blockchain project aiming to revolutionize global credit assessment and identity verification through decentralization. With its three core components—BloomID (digital identity), BloomIQ (credit record), and BloomScore (credit scoring)—it strives to provide a portable, privacy-protecting, and inclusive credit file for users worldwide, especially those underserved by traditional financial services.
The project’s vision is ambitious, seeking to address pain points in traditional credit systems such as cross-border non-interoperability, assessment limitations, and privacy/security issues. Its technical path leverages the features of the Ethereum blockchain to build a trustless credit infrastructure.
However, like any blockchain project, Bloom faces technical, market, and compliance risks. Especially considering its early launch, with rapidly changing market and technology environments, its current activity and competitiveness need further evaluation. Some sources indicate that BLT’s market activity may be low at present.
In summary, Bloom offers an interesting decentralized credit solution with a certain degree of innovation. But for anyone interested, this is not investment advice. Before considering any involvement, be sure to do your own thorough research (DYOR), consult the latest official information, and fully understand all potential risks.