ZEL Project Analysis
About
Intro
In another edition of our project reviews, we decided to have a look at Zel, who are developing an ongoing ecosystem of products around the Zel currency.
So what is the deal with Zel? In this review, we will dig deep into this project and give you all the answers. We took an in-depth look by examining the project, its team, tokenomics, community and technical analysis, among other metrics.
If you wish to skip to the summary to see the SWOT analysis, matrix score and rating, click here.
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Overview
Zel was launched in January 2018 and is a hybrid Proof of Work/Masternode based on the Zcash codebase and features.
The project will develop an ongoing ecosystem around the Zel currency which aims to include a decentralised exchange, DApp store, wallet/asset platform (ZelCore), ID management platform (ZelID) alongside various other features.
Zel’s technologies work in symbiotic relationships with each other and with technologies outside the Zel ecosystem. Zel is designed as an open system in partnership with closed source technologies.
Use case
Taken from the Zel website “ Zel underpins every project, product and idea surrounding its namesake ecosystem. Zel is crucial as the transacting currency for all data processing on the ZelNodes Computational Network.”
Zel’s aims to address this by developing products in the Zel ecosystem, which not only benefit users such as ZelCore but also aim to secure other blockchains via its decentralised node network.
On its surface, Zel is a mineable digital currency based on the technological foundations of the cryptocurrency Zcash. Zel utilises zero-knowledge proofs first coined in digital currency by Zcash and used by many other privacy coin projects.
Zel has chosen to utilise the privacy features of Zcash to enforce a level of anonymity for its blockchain and to increase the adoption of such features through an extensive, scalable network.
Zel offers an economic incentive for our decentralised node network, ZelNodes, to provide a truly scalable, decentralised blockchain development network. This incentive is created through a portion of block rewards and, eventually through different economic models such as transaction fees or operation tariffs for DApps. This is to support the project’s vision for a robust and decentralised node network to allow separate blockchains, apps, tokens, smart contracts, and more [ref].
According to the whitepaper, Zel will be an ongoing, developing ecosystem. The team is dedicated to the world-changing benefits of blockchain and cryptocurrency. To that end, they aim to proactively engage with new and emerging tech, projects, and leadership development. They believe the blockchain space will need leaders to usher in new technology, and we would like to be at the forefront.
Adoption
The scope for adoption for the Zel project is potentially a large one as they aim to introduce products and features in their ecosystem such as ZelCore,
The vast range of products and functions within the Zel ecosystem indicates that the team is developing these with mass adoption in mind.
Zelcore was launched in April of 2018, and there have been over 40,000 downloads of the Zelcore platform which is impressive.
There are 885 active ZelNodes at the time of review, which represents around 44% of the circulating supply.
As mentioned above, adoption for Zel is also taking place amongst other blockchain projects including Haven with their utilisation of the ZelNode network and with NEO with the addition of NEP-5 assets on ZelCore.
We can also gauge adoption sentiment for the project from the coin distribution and community engagement later in the review.
Competition
In terms of competition, various blockchain projects offer similar features as Zel such as their ZelCore Multi-Asset Wallet.
Competitors in this sector include Ethos with a similar market to Zel at $11.2M and Coinomi.
Products/Features
The Zel project is packed full of features and products as follows:
- ZelCore (Active)
- Zel dApp Store
- Zel ID (Active)
- Zel Technologies (Active)
- ZelChains (Active)
- ZelDex (In Development)
- ZelPay (In Development)
- ZelLabs (Active)
- Zel Nodes (Active)
- Zel VPN (In development)
About Summary
| ✅ POSITIVE | ⛔ WEAKNESS | 📝 IMPROVEMENT |
|---|---|---|
| High level of adoption | Working on several products at same time | |
| Highly active development on products and features | ||
| Generating revenue from its products and services |
Tokenomics
Token info
| SYMBOL | ZEL |
| GENESIS BLOCK | JAN 2018 |
| BLOCK EXPLORER | EXPLORER |
| CONSENSUS | POW/MN |
| CIRCULATING SUPPLY | 80,423,600 ZEL |
| MAX TOKEN SUPPLY | 210,000,000 ZEL |
| % MAX SUPPLY MINTED | 38% |
Financials
| MARKET CAP (AVG 30 DAY) | $4,321,514 USD |
| VOLUME (AVG 30 DAY) | $3,380,145 USD |
| PRICE | $0.048 |
| VOL TO NETWORK | 76% |
| AVG PRICE 30 DAY | $0.055 USD |
| TRADING PAIRS | BTC, ETH + USDT |
Token distribution
Circulating supply
ZEL Emissions
- There are 150 ZEL released every 120 seconds, resulting in a daily emission of 108,000 ZEL per day and 39,420,000 ZEL annually.
- The next block halving is estimated around August 2020 [ref] and will reduce emissions by 50%, reducing the block reward to 75 ZEL per block.
- The block reward is split 75% POW / 25% ZelNode operators, for every block.
Token utility
Zel is currently used as a payment method for subscription to ZelCore+ and is also used as payment to process verification for the 2FA on ZelID.
Token Summary
| ✅ POSITIVE | ⛔ WEAKNESS | 📝 IMPROVEMENT |
|---|---|---|
| Highly secure network |
Team
Experience
The team is listed on the website alongside LinkedIn profiles and Github accounts, with 32 team members listed in total.
The CEO and founder, Miles Manley, founded the project at 15 years old and is currently working on the project full time. Miles has worked on several blockchain projects previously.
Other notable team members include Parker Honeyman, who has over ten years experience as a project manager for various start-up level medical device companies and Daniel Keller, who has 20 years experience in leading start-up businesses.
There are over seven developers listed on the team, along with 20 members of the community and marketing team.
The Zel project is a registered company, Zel Technologies GmbH, registered in Switzerland.
Funding for the project has been raised via a 6.2% Premine which equates to 13,200,000 ZEL.
These funds have been kept in transparent labelled addresses for all to audit via the block explorer.
Development fund assets have been used solely to fund the ZelCash project since launch and a detailed breakdown of how these funds have been used is available in the Zel foundation report.
The team issue quarterly reports with a breakdown of their financials, which is very rare amongst blockchain projects, Definitely a positive for the team in terms of transparency.
The Zel team are working to generate multiple revenue streams through the services they provide, such as the ZelCore+ subscription service. The number of subscribers will be available to view in the Q2 Zel financial report.
Advisors partnerships
The two listed advisors for Zel are both legal advisors. Patrick is the CEO of PST Legal & Consulting, which was set up in 1992 and established for over 25 years. His primary practice areas are national and international tax law, corporate law, and notarial services. Patrick also holds a seat on the Ethereum Foundation board.
Alexandra is a Private client lawyer with 15 years of experience, specialising in general estate planning, taxation, trust creation and management and advising charitable trusts. She joined the Zel Team as a legal advisor to the team and personal attorney to Miles. Alexandra shares the same surname as Miles, so they are likely related in some form.
Zel recently announced a partnership with Haven to run their oracles on ZelNodes to process the necessary data for Haven’s dual-coin blockchain.
This is an excellent use case for a projects blockchain, utilising the computational power of the Masternode network, and is seen as a positive that Zel is building partnerships will fellow blockchain projects.
The Zel Labs project is also seen as a positive influence for Zel to develop partnerships across the sector. The scope of Zel Labs means that Zel has the potential to build on the number of connections it has.
Development
The roadmap listed on the project website gives a highly detailed outline for the upcoming milestones for the project.
Milestones are listed with dates for completion alongside progression completed so far on each pillar. Roadmap dates back to launch and looks forward to Q1 2020.
Notable developments since launch in Jan 2018 is the launch of ZelCore and ZelID.
Anticipated upcoming developments include the launch of the ZelVPN service.
Updates on the developments for each milestone are published regularly by the team.
Team Summary
| ✅ POSITIVE | ⛔ WEAKNESS | 📝 IMPROVEMENT |
|---|---|---|
| Regular financial reports | Young CEO | |
| Transparent team | ||
| Registered company | ||
| Active partnerships |
Code
Code Summary
| ✅ POSITIVE | ⛔ WEAKNESS | 📝 IMPROVEMENT |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | No code audit | Code audit recommended |
Community
Engagement
The majority of the Zel community involvement and engagement takes place on Discord which is healthy as it allows for 2-way conversations between the team and community
The Zel discord is one of the most highly organised we have come across, with various categories including an international section. Another positive is that Zel has a WeChat channel, giving it a presence amongst Chinese/Asian investors and traders.
There is a daily activity in the chat and admin/mods are engaged with any questions from the community replying promptly, often answering immediately.
The CEO, Miles, also has an AMA channel in the discord, which is a nice touch and an effective way to communicate with the project CEO directly.
Zel has a dedicated weekly podcast called The Core, and this is part of the overall ZelHub, which is aimed at informing the public around the project.
Governance
There is no currently no formal governance model within the project, however the community is consulted by the Zel Foundation on core issues before making any strategic decisions.
Community Summary
| ✅ POSITIVE | ⛔ WEAKNESS | 📝 IMPROVEMENT |
|---|---|---|
| Active engagement with community | website not multilingual | |
| Large community base | ||
| Monthly AMA with CEO | ||
| Large Chinese community |
Technical analysis
Chart
Chart Analysis
Price has returned to a previous level of accumulation before the breakout in the last cycle price.
Areas of interest include a breakdown below 600 satoshis which could lead to that level turning from support into resistance. On the upside, the area of interest would be a breakout above 1000 satoshi.
Price Summary
| ✅ POSITIVE | ⛔ WEAKNESS | 📝 IMPROVEMENT |
|---|---|---|
| Listed on several exchanges | None identified | None identified |
| Low risk of delisting | ||
| High liquidity | ||
| Previous price cycle | ||
| Price returned to previous levels of accummulation |
Summary
Conclusion
In summary, the Zel project scored a highly impressive 78/100 based on our scoring matrix and we rate the project at an A grade.
| ABOUT | USE CASE ✅✅ |
COMPETITION ✅✅ |
ADOPTION ✅✅ |
FEATURES ✅✅✅ |
ROADMAP ✅✅✅ |
| TEAM | PUBLIC ✅✅✅ |
EXPERIENCE ✅✅ |
DEVELOPMENT ✅✅✅ |
PARTNERSHIPS ✅✅ |
FINANCES ✅✅✅ |
| CODE | AUDIT ✅ |
CODEBASE ✅✅ |
ACTIVITY ✅✅ |
DOCUMENTATION ✅✅ |
ENGAGEMENT ✅✅ |
| COMMUNITY | COMMUNICATION ✅✅✅ |
FOLLOWERS ✅✅✅ |
GOVERNANCE ✅✅✅ |
ENGAGEMENT ✅✅✅ |
WEBSITE ✅ |
| TOKENOMICS | DISTRIBUTION ✅ |
EXPLORER ✅✅✅ |
EMISSIONS ✅✅ |
UTILITY ✅✅ |
ENTRY ✅✅ |
| PRICE | EXCHANGES ✅✅ |
LIQUIDITY ✅✅ |
PAIRINGS ✅✅ |
T.A ✅✅✅ |
DATA ✅✅✅ |
| MISC | LEGAL ✅✅✅ |
HYPE ✅✅ |
PLATFORM ✅✅✅ |
Breakdown
Disclaimer
- This is a community voted review
- This review is intended for educational purposes only and SHOULD NOT be considered by you as financial advice.
- Before investing in any project, we recommend you do your research + consult a registered financial adviser.
- All information listed is accurate at the time of publishing in October 2019.
Methodology
- We use a combined rating score out of 100, covering all the listed metrics for project reviews.
- Each metric is rated out of 3, including a potential bonus point in every metric.
- We also reserve the right to award a bonus point for outstanding achievement for a project.
- Our rating and grading framework is available here.
