# Introduction to BIM Protocol

## What is BIM?

BIM is a decentralized cryptocurrency protocol where users can buy exchange sell bridge and stake their token. Providers provide liquidity for staking to earn passive income

Please join the [<mark style="color:orange;">BIM Community Discord server</mark>](https://discord.com/invite/3SYQe4aWGc); the BIM team and community members are eager to help you understand and use BIM.

## Why BIM Protocol?

BIM Protocol has been audited and secured. The protocol is completely open source, which allows anyone to interact with a user interface client, API or directly with the smart contracts on the Polygon network and other EVM blockchain. Being open source means that you are able to build any third-party service or application to interact with the protocol and enrich your product.

## How do I use the BIM protocol?

To Buy Sell, Bridge, Provide Liquidity, Swap Tokens, or Vote on Governance Proposals, go to the [<mark style="color:orange;">BIM Exchange</mark>](https://exchange.bim.finance/) interface and connect a Web3 wallet.

## What is the cost of interacting with BIM protocol?

Interaction with the protocol requires transactions and therefore transaction fees for using Ethereum Blockchain or another polygon like blockchain, which depend on the state of the network and the complexity of the transaction.

## Where are the funds provided stored?

Your funds are allocated in a smart contract. The smart contract code is public, open source, formally verified and audited by third-party auditors. You can withdraw your funds from the pool on demand or export a tokenized version of your staking position.

## Is there any risk?

No platform can be considered entirely risk free. The risks related to the BIM platform are the smart contract risk (risk of a bug within the protocol code) and liquidation risk (risk on the collateral liquidation process). Every possible step has been taken to minimise the risk as much as possible-- the protocol code is public and open source and it has been audited. Additionally, there is an ongoing[ <mark style="color:orange;">bug bounty campaign</mark>](https://docs.bim.finance/whitepaper/technical-reference/bug-bounty) live and running.

You can find additional security related information [<mark style="color:orange;">audits sections</mark>](https://docs.bim.finance/whitepaper/technical-reference/audit).

## BIM (BIM) token

BIM is used as the center of gravity of BIM protocol governance. BIM is used to vote and decide the outcome of BIM improvement proposals. Apart from that, BIM can be staked in staking. Punters earn rewards and staking fees through the protocol.

Documentation on [<mark style="color:orange;">tokenomics</mark>](https://docs.bim.finance/whitepaper/token-bim/tokenomics) and governance is available in the <mark style="color:orange;">Whitepaper</mark> and with more details in the full documentation. Please feel free to join the discussion on the [<mark style="color:orange;">Governance Forum</mark>](https://discord.com/channels/1019989933009682503/1093837658456858667).

## Mobile App

Be careful, BIM doesn't have any downloadable mobile application available. If you find one, it is a scam. BIM Protocol would not ask for your seed passphrase ever.

BIM never advertises on any social media or search engine. If you see any advertisement, those are scams and phishing sites.

## Additional information and resources about BIM

Feel free to refer to the [<mark style="color:orange;">WhitePaper</mark>](https://docs.bim.finance/whitepaper) for a deeper dive into BIM Protocol mechanisms. Developers can access the [<mark style="color:orange;">Documentation</mark>](https://docs.bim.finance/developers-docs/) for a technical description of the BIM decentralized protocol.

{% hint style="info" %}
If you still have any questions or issues, feel free to reach the BIM team the [<mark style="color:orange;">discord</mark>](https://discord.com/invite/3SYQe4aWGc)
{% endhint %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.bim.finance/faq/introduction-to-bim-protocol.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.