Band Protocol initially debuted as an ERC-20 project on the Ethereum blockchain in September 2019 but switched to the Cosmos network in June 2020 with Band Protocol 2.0. The BandChain and the Cosmos SDK are the foundations of the new protocol. Oracle nodes on BandChain serve a dual purpose, both as data relay nodes and as nodes participating in block production and validation. The Band Protocol ecosystem's native token, BAND, serves as collateral for validators processing data requests and as the primary means of exchange on BandChain, which is used to purchase user privacy data.