Merculet ICO Review And MVP Token Analysis
Share this article
Merculet ICO Overview
The Merculet ICO and MVP Token offer a new protocol suite that leverages blockchain to capture and monetize consumer attention. The product Merculet offers is designed specifically to address the difficulty faced by enterprises at all levels to acquire new users. Through the creation of an interface that provides incentives for users to engage with new content, Merculet aim to address the difficult process of acquiring new customers and disrupt the current b2c relationship paradigm.
Merculet ICO Value Proposition
Merculet is predicated on the idea that decreasing consumer attention leads to a loss for both businesses and consumers alike. The team are building their protocol to evaluate, incentivize and ultimately capture consumer attention for the benefit of businesses who utilize the product.
The core components of the project include:
- User Attention Value (UAV): The UAV system effectively evaluates user attention and integrates the results with reward systems offered by participating enterprises.
- UAT (User Attention Token): the attention incentive system of Merculet allows participating enterprises to issue UAT to users based on the UAV value assessment. The UAT is anchored to the MVP (Merculet Value Protocol) token. Businesses can integrate into this system and assign their own value of UAT denominated in MVP tokens.
- Open Content Platform: the platform is the main interface for the promotion and production of content on Merculet. The platform provides the means by which consumers, enterprises, content creators and advertisers can interact and exchange value.
The Merculet Value Protocol (ERC-20) token is the underlying means of value exchange for consumers and businesses. Consumers can receive rewards in either the underlying MVP or UAT tokens (denominated in MVP) based on the value of their attention. Businesses are also rewarded with MVP for utilizing content from the Open Content Platform and allowing their own advertising system to support the consumption of MVP. Users of Merculet are able to stake MVP for reputation as well.
Merculet ICO Team
Ivan Jiang (Founder and CEO) – Ivan has 12 years of experience in software engineering and leadership in tech companies. His previous roles include VP of Engineering at Ad Master Digital Marketing and as a Software Engineer with both SAP Success Factors and HP. He previously founded Magic Window, an intelligent digital advertisement distributor, before moving on with a number of team members to Merculet.
Shen Jun Zhang (CTO) – Shen Jun has 12 years of experience with software engineering and has also come over from Magic Window, where he served as Co-Founder and CTO. Previously, he served as Associate Principal Engineer with EMC and as Engineering Director with Ad Master Digital Marketing.
Jerry Gao (CPO) – Jerry has 15 years of experience with UI/UX development. He most recently served as CPO at Magic Window before joining Merculet. He also worked alongside Shen Jun and Ivan at Ad Master and Magic Window as a frontend developer before joining Merculet.
Advisors to the project include Roger Lim of Neo Global Capital, Shen Bo of BitShares and Fenbushi Capital, Shou Cheng Zhang of Danhua Capital, Yue Feng Qiu of Roots Capital, Iris Yin of Super Hash Capital, and Bin Sen Tang of ELEX.
For more information on the 10 member team and list of advisors please visit the Merculet homepage.
Merculet ICO Strengths and Opportunities
Merculet have designed their protocol suite to appeal to both consumers and enterprise users alike. Consumers will be able to earn rewards through running the protocol and interacting with the content provided by enterprise users of the platform.
From the enterprise angle, the Merculet suite includes all the protocols and templates that enable companies to quickly onboard token-based operations. Merculet focus on the idea of “unattended operation” as a crucial design principle, which allows the suite to manage the deployment of the complex architecture with minimal effort from enterprise perspective. Ideally, companies with little blockchain knowledge will be more inclined to deploy the protocol through this design.
Merculet ICO Weaknesses and Threats
Merculet have provided an article on Medium that introduces the enterprise UI via several videos and screenshots. They have also provided a link to their GitHub, which at present is nearly empty. While the process of onboarding for enterprises seems relatively straightforward to those who are familiar with blockchain, deeper questions remain regarding consumer adoption and conversely, enterprise interest in the product.
Participation on Merculet will rely on a number of factors, such as which companies choose to adopt the protocol and the level of interest from consumers to engage with these companies via the platform. So far, Merculet have partnered with Chinese game app company ELEX and Solo Ads, an ad recommendation provider for mobile phones.
But for this type of product to reach mass adoption, Merculet will have to onboard a multitude of large-scale enterprises that can attract a significant userbase. Without large-scale enterprises to offer content, there will be no consumer incentive to participate on the platform. Without a significant consumer base utilizing the platform, the task of onboarding enterprises becomes all the more difficult. The Merculet ICO team have yet to elaborate on how they will address this issue.
In addition, there is at present no product demonstration of what the consumer experience will look like and how interaction with content will occur. These questions are fundamental to ascertaining the potential of the project and loom large over the future of the Merculet ICO.
The Verdict on Merculet ICO
While the issue of capturing consumer attention is an increasingly pertinent issue for enterprises, we are not sure a decentralized platform based on tokenized incentivization represents the solution.
At this stage in the development and adoption of blockchain technology, the Merculet ICO is treading into highly speculative territory. Without a product demo to get an idea of what the end user experience will feel like and little information on adoption strategies, we are not confident enough to place a bet on this project.
What Would Change our Minds?
- An example of a successful ecosystem predicated on a similar model. There are many planned projects which will launch similar platforms that reward consumer attention. The appeal of this framework to both enterprises and consumers is largely untested
- A working prototype that would demonstrate how users interact with content via the Open Content Platform. As of right now, the whole user experience on the platform remains a vague concept that necessitates, above all else, a simple example to give potential investors an idea of what they are actually investing in.
- A roadmap to adoption that is backed up with efforts to onboard successful enterprises. At this stage, it’s unrealistic to expect large-scale enterprises to be flocking to the platform. But at the same time, the Merculet ICO hasn’t made public any efforts to pitch their product to big industry players or laid out a concrete strategy for doing so.
Learn more about the Merculet ICO from our Telegram Community by clicking here.
MERCULET ICO REVIEW SCORES
SUMMARY
The Merculet ICO (MVP Token) wants to monetize the concept of consumer attention, which is something advertising agencies have been striving to do for decades. Their novel approach has attracted some big name advisors and a couple of customer commitments. But this notoriously two-sided market means massive scaling on the consumer side in order for enterprises to demonstrate interest… and they will do so when the enterprises are using the platform. Few companies emerge from these markets unscathed, and we don’t yet see a clear plan to address it.
Founding Team……………………….8.1
Product…………………………………..4.8
Token Utility…………………………..8.3
Market…………………………………..5.7
Competition…………………………..5.0
Timing……………………………………7.2
Progress To Date……………………5.3
Community Support & Hype…..7.4
Price & Token Distribution……..6.1
Communication……………………..8.6
FINAL SCORE……………………….6.8
UPSIDES
- Founding team are well experienced in advertising field
- Designed to address crucial issue of capturing consumer attention
- Decent level of organic community support for project
DOWNSIDES
- Strategy for consumer and enterprise adoption is unclear
- Product development is still at a very early stage
- Concept is not well communicated
Token Symbol: MVP
Website: https://merculet.io/
White Paper: Click here
Crowdsale Hard Cap: 37,000 ETH = $24 million (1 ETH = $650)
Total Supply: 10,000,000,000 (pre-minded)
Token Distribution: 30% to token sale, 35% to foundation, 20% to team and advisors, 15% to marketing
Price per Token: 1 ETH = 70,000 MVP
Fully-diluted Market Cap (at crowdsale price): $80 million (1 ETH = $650)
Accepted Payments: ETH
Countries Excluded: China, USA
Bonus Structure: N/A
Presale Terms: N/A
Whitelist: https://tokeneed.com/
Important Dates: May 4th, 8:00AM CST
Expected Token Release: 6 weeks after token contribution completes
Additional Information: https://t.me/Merculet
ICO Review Disclaimer
The team at Crypto Briefing analyzes an initial coin offering (ICO) against ten criteria, as shown above. These criteria are not, however, weighted evenly – our proprietary rating system attributes different degrees of importance to each of the criteria, based on our experience of how directly they can lead to the success of the ICO in question, and its investors.
Crypto Briefing provides general information about cryptocurrency news, ICOs, and blockchain technology. The information on this website (including any websites or files that may be linked or otherwise accessed through this website) is provided solely as general information to the public. We do not give personalized investment advice or other financial advice.
Decentral Media LLC, the publisher of Crypto Briefing, is not an investment advisor and does not offer or provide investment advice or other financial advice. Accordingly, nothing on this website constitutes, or should be relied on as, investment advice or financial advice of any kind. Specifically, none of the information on this website constitutes, or should be relied on as, a suggestion, offer, or other solicitation to engage in, or refrain from engaging in, any purchase, sale, or any other any investment-related activity with respect to any ICO or other transaction.
The information on or accessed through this website is obtained from independent sources we believe to be accurate and reliable, but Decentral Media LLC makes no representation or warranty as to the timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of any information on or accessed through this website. Decentral Media LLC expressly disclaims any and all responsibility from any loss or damage of any kind whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from reliance on any information on or accessed through this website, any error, omission, or inaccuracy in any such information, or any action or inaction resulting therefrom.
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain are emerging technologies that carry inherent risks of high volatility, and ICOs can be highly speculative and offer few – if any – guarantees. You should never make an investment decision on an ICO or other investment based solely on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional of your choosing if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO or other investment.
See full terms and conditions for more.
Founding Team
This category accounts for the leaders, developers, and advisors.
Poor quality, weak, or inexperienced leadership can doom a project from the outset. Advisors who serve only to pad their own resumes and who have ill-defined roles can be concerning. But great leadership, with relevant industry experience and contacts, can make the difference between a successful and profitable ICO, and a flub.
If you don’t have a team willing and able to build the thing, it won’t matter who is at the helm. Good talent is hard to find. Developer profiles should be scrutinized to ensure that they have a proven history of working in a field where they should be able to succeed.
Product
What is the technology behind this ICO, what product are they creating, and is it new, innovative, different – and needed?
The IOTA project is a spectacular example of engineers run amok. The technology described or in use must be maintainable, achievable, and realistic, otherwise the risk of it never coming into existence is incredibly high.
Token Utility
Tokens which have no actual use case are probably the worst off, although speculation can still make them have some form of value.
The best tokens we review are the ones that have a forced use case – you must have this token to play in some game that you will probably desire to play in. The very best utility tokens are the ones which put the token holder in the position of supplying tokens to businesses who would be able to effectively make use of the platforms in question.
Market
There doesn’t have to be a market in order for an ICO to score well in this category – but if it intends to create one, the argument has to be extremely compelling.
If there is an existing market, questions here involve whether it is ripe for disruption, whether the technology enables something better, cheaper, or faster (for example) than existing solutions, and whether the market is historically amenable to new ideas.
Competition
Most ideas have several implementations. If there are others in the same field, the analyst needs to ensure that the others don’t have obvious advantages over the company in question.
Moreover, this is the place where the analyst should identify any potential weaknesses in the company’s position moving forward. For instance, a fundamental weakness in the STORJ system is that the token is not required for purchasing storage.
Timing
With many ICO ideas, the timing may be too late or too early. It’s important for the analyst to consider how much demand there is for the product in question. While the IPO boom funded a lot of great ideas that eventually did come to fruition, a good analyst would recognize when an idea is too early, too late, or just right.
Progress To Date
Some of the least compelling ICO propositions are those that claim their founders will achieve some far-off goal, sometime in the future, just so long as they have your cash with which to do it.
More interesting (usually) is the ICO that seeks to further some progress along the path to success, and which has a clearly-identified roadmap with achievable and reasonable milestones along the way. Founders who are already partially-invested in their products are generally more invested in their futures.
Community Support & Hype
Having a strong community is one of the fundamental building blocks of any strong blockchain project. It is important that the project demonstrates early on that it is able to generate and build a strong and empowered support base.
The ICO marketplace is becoming more crowded and more competitive. While in the past it was enough to merely announce an offering, today’s successful ICO’s work hard to build awareness and excitement around their offering.
Price & Token Distribution
One of the biggest factors weighing any analysis is price. The lower the price the more there is to gain. But too low of a price may result in an under capitalized project. It is therefore important to evaluate price relative to the individual project, its maturity and the market it is going after.
The total supply of tokens should also be justified by the needs of the project. Issuing a billion tokens for no reason will do nobody any good.
Communication
Communication is key. The success of a project is strongly tied to the project leaders’ ability to communicate their goals and achievements.
Things don’t always go as planned but addressing issues and keeping the community and investors in the loop can make or break a project.
Share this article
