You may have noticed that Phore recently rebranded to Phore Blockchain. A rebrand is always risky. Firstly, you’re messing with an established name, but also because the market is highly-volatile at the moment. If the market has a huge “red day” it can look like it’s due to the rebrand.

Thankfully, Phore held up quite well during this process and is well-positioned to climb during the market recovery that many of us feel is on the way soon. The cryptocurrency space seems a bit more positive of late and it seems like it’s a case of “the boy who cried wolf” when it comes to high-profile FUD that’s kept many a good alt down lately.

So why did they rebrand?

An End To Anonymity

Well, it seems like the Phore Blockchain team have taken a huge step in the right direction by ending their anonymity. Don’t get me wrong, it’s perfectly understandable that the creators of a privacy coin with a decentralised marketplace on the way would want to remain anonymous, but it’s also understandable that some investors don’t want to buy into projects run by anonymous teams.

I’ve been lucky in that I’ve never been scammed for a meaningful amount, every time I’ve come close though, it been due to an anonymous dev.

By revealing their names and faces, they take on responsibility and accountability for their project. Now when we take a look on their website we see their names and faces. This sends a very clear message that they will not dump and run, they cannot, their reputations now depend on them doing their best for investors.

This might not sound like such a big deal when so many coin’s devs are known, but in this market it’s still quite unusual for teams to want to show their faces. By taking this step the team have given Phore a bit of extra security that many projects still do not have.

It also makes it easier to get listed on different exchanges. For most big exchanges it’s now a requirement that the team reveals their identity.

Finally, we can see the credentials of the Phore Blockchain team, where they have experience and how that experience can be of benefit going forward. I always knew that Phore had a solid team because I did my research and asked around, but it’s good to see it confirmed.

The Phore Foundation

I’d read about this in the whitepaper and didn’t really grasp what they wanted to accomplish with this. The new website — which coincides with the rebrand — makes it a little clearer.

In their words:

It will be a non-profit entity whose purpose will be to support, standardize, and promote the development of Phore Blockchain. This will be achieved through various avenues including: Establishing partnerships Engaging in industry networking Supporting the pursuit of new business ventures Making strategic investments Enabling the development of new blockchain technologies Providing legal counsel and protection of our intellectual property (IP) Enabling promotional efforts within the community and industry Engaging in philanthropy Staying on top of, and preparing for, future industry regulation and compliance In essence, the Phore Foundation will be the tool with which the development of many aspects of the project will be enabled to flourish and grow. This entity will empower Phore Blockchain to engage in key support activities that will put us in a position to stay competitive in our fast paced environment.

If we are to unpack this, it seems that the goal of establishing a non-profit foundation is to make Phore a serious business within a blockchain. Although it might not be as exciting as a killer roadmap item, it shows the team are serious about Phore’s future. Everything is sensible, and while sensible might not blow your mind, it will put Phore in a very good position going forward. There will be regulation coming to our market, there will be challenges that cryptos will have to face that we can’t even imagine right now. By setting up this foundation they are showing they’re in it for the long-haul and preparing in a very grown-up way for what may be ahead.

Phore Labs (updated)

I incorrectly assumed this was the name of Phore’s upcoming crowdfunding project. Apparently that’s not the case. Phore Labs is being introduced as part of the foundation to provide seed funding for products, services and IPs prior to sale in the Phore marketplace, or for further funding through Phore’s decentralised crowdfunding. It looks like a smart thing to do from Phore’s perspective as it will surely encourage people to create and sell their products through Phore.

Up to 10 products and services will receive investment. These investments will be made in the form of Phore currency and participants will sell exclusively through the Phore marketplace online for a fixed minimum period before being allowed to sell their product locally offline. The Phore Foundation will invest in projects to help them reach market and then reinvest profits from the sale of these into further Lab projects.

Anyway, if you’ve read this blog before you know I’m a fan of Phore Blockchain and the team, even more so now that I know who they are. I think some day soon when we have an alt-coin surge, Phore is in a good position to climb past its ATH.