We have recently done third ‘questions & answers’ session in our official Telegram group on 27th of February. This post is a summary of the Q&A.
Q: Why are we not applying for patents for this project, for TAI technology etc.?
A: EXRNchain protocol and EXRN products after release are all going to be open-source not affected by founders or any other entity, so patents are unnecessary.
Q: Obviously the devs love and believe in the blockchain technology and we’re sure they would be keeping up with other innovations and developments from other projects in crypto space. Which other recent innovations/technology impressed the devs most? Are we adopting any such for the benefit of EXRN project? And are devs in talks with any other such projects which will have mutual benefit with EXRN project?
A: We are following Ethereum 2.0 development with interest, and are thinking about adopting their technologies to our products if or when it becomes viable. We are in talks with small project teams that plan to build projects with EXRNchain and on EXRT network and might be beneficial to our growth as well.
Q: We respect the dev team decision to wait on the exchanges and marketing until product is ready. However, with the existing exchanges for EXRN/EXRT, there is almost zero liquidity and hardly any new investors. Please provide your thoughts.
A: Firstly, we do not possess EXRN/EXRT as an asset for investment, therefore, attracting ‘investors’ is out of our interest. We will be interested in attracting users of our products when they get released.
Lack of liquidity is also a non-problem at the current stage of EXRN/EXRT, liquidity will come in the future with release of our EXRNEx and other DEXes based on our protocol.
Q: Alphanet is scheduled for Q1-Q2 this year. We’re nearing the end of Q1. At this point, are there any more updates on registration for alphanet and when alphanet will be launched.
A: Alphanet is currently estimated to launch in Q2 of this year and progress update will follow its launch. There will not be a registration for it though, as this network will be private without third-party access.
Here’s a reminder of all testing stages that we shared last year:
Testnet is a usable prototype of EXRT Network consensus, where end users can try sending transactions, validating, running contracts, launching DApps. Users report issues that they have while using the system.
Alphanet is a stage with another private TestNet (based on the one we have public) that will have alpha protocol of EXRNchain (crosschain ability) connected to it. Once we launch it, it will be our main backbone for testing crosschain and audition of issues.
Betanet is basically addition of our AlphaNet accomplishments to the public testnet, so it’s beta version of EXRNchain that will be connected to public testnets of other assets for the purpose of testing the crosschain.
Q: Alphanet is the only one scheduled for 2020 and rest of the developments for 2021. Considering the history of the project and development pace, it is very likely that rest of the development may get pushed to 2022–2023 or beyond. We understand the bear market and not being able to hire new devs last couple of years to speed up development. But is this going to continue and EXRN progress is always at the mercy of market conditions? Is there any other explanation why such a delay apart from incosistent crypto market?
A: Market conditions are main reason, however I’d say we are working in a great pace completing our development tasks considering our small team. If you look at other crosschain projects with larger teams, they are on the same level, none of them have working accessible product (even in testing stage). Alphanet stage is likely going to take a year of testing before we can move further. The roadmap goals are always adjusted according to our estimated plans of development progress and may be subjected to change later.
Q: EXRN project is now 2+ years old. We have heard several times from other blockchain project CEOs that they tend to be in constant touch with other projects developments in crypto space. Did EXRN project have such exposure so far and did any other major projects ever reached out to EXRN team? If so, what is the team’s approach?
A: We are not in contact with any major cryptocurrency project, just with small enthusiast teams. We will be looking for specific partners to begin product adoption when mainnet release comes.
Q: How many developers are currently working on the project?
A: We have three full-time developers that are part of the project from the very beginning, two part-time volunteers and one UI/UX designer on our team working on EXRNchain.
Q: Blockchain interoperability is currently categorized into two groups: “open protocols” and “multi-chain frameworks”. Where does EXRNchain fall in these two groups?
Open protocols: Standardized protocols that allow blockchains to communicate with each other without intermediaries or trust processes needed. The most recognized open protocol is the “Atomic Swap”.
Multi-chain frameworks: Blockchains can plug into a framework to become a part of the standardized ecosystem and transfer data and value between each other. Multi-chain frameworks are more complicated than open protocols. They are often referred to as the “internet of blockchains.”
A: If we’re comparing these two categories then EXRNchain falls more into the “Multi-chain framework” one, however overall EXRNchain is still a unique concept different from other projects in development. EXRN is a complicated protocol as well and will allow other chains to plug into its crosschain ecosystem, however we are working on a network where third party volunteer developers should also be able to write code to implement specific unique blockchain into EXRNchain network without any fork/changes on that blockchain end.
Q: Is exrnchain registered as a company that is a legal entity for tax purposes? If so what is the company address? Is the crypto held by exrnchain property of Yon and devs or property of the Exrnchain company?
A: EXRNchain is open-source community based, volunteer funded project. We are standing strictly on the side that no cryptocurrency project/asset needs a legal entity backing. There is no EXRNchain company and there will never be one. Crypto held is the property of the team and part of it will be used as a payment to the team that is currently working on this project full-time self-funded without pay.
Q: I wanted to know about the marketing efforts put by the team, as it seems the project lacks marketing and without it, it’s hard to keep up in the market, though we have a good product.
A: As said before, marketing will come at the point of mainnet, at the point of EXRNswaps & EXRNex release. We do not have biggest budget for marketing activities, and are certainly not marketing prior to the product delivery, but we are looking to market into crypto-aware people to expand our community, who then will promote our apps themselves after seeing and trying them.
Q: Why did you decide to issue the tokens before the tech was ready?
A: As cryptocurrency market was gaining traction, it was a good time to gather project awareness and community. It is worth noting that it was not an ICO, was never promoted on any ICO tracking sites and we didn’t launch any ads or promotions. We decided to distribute most of the tokens (70%) for free in the form of airdrop to keep the community interested in our project even if development takes longer than expected.
Q: Will alias have a service charge?
A: Alias economics are still discussed and not decided. It will probably have a service charge or an auction based system to protect Alias from spam-registering. We are open to any ideas and community input about this topic.
Q: Will EXRNex allow for fiat “swap”purchases of crypto?
A: We have a lot of interest in this and are exploring all possibilities that are accessible, but we are not going to be those who bring fiat support to the EXRNchain. Some partners or 3rd party projects that will use EXRNchain tech will build a fiat gateway. It is possible to be done, but it has to be done by a company with license and etc. Swapping with stablecoins should be available from day one though.
Q: Has the team looked into mainnet compatibility with any of the hardware wallets?
A: Yes, we are exploring EXRT mainnet compatibility with popular hardware wallets and will put effort for this to be available soon after launch of the mainnet.
Q: At what point will we need more developers? Any plans?
A: We will probably be fine with the current amount of developers until the product release. Once product becomes open-source, further work will bring many of collaborated community developers.
Q: Has your vision for the prject changed as new technologies appear? Is EXRN still unique?
A: Our vision is still the same, EXRN is absolutely a unique project compared to other solutions that we know.
Q: Website update?
A: We have a full website update on our checklist of upcoming tasks.
Q: Has the testnet changed at all from first release if i were to go on it now would it be different?
A: Testnet frontend look didn’t change, but backend running the network was under a couple of changes, updates and refreshes, specifically we upgraded underlying protocol of the network and worked on troubleshooting and improving stability of the nodes.
Q: What is the confirmed consensus algorithm in place for the EXRT network PoW vs. PoA vs PoS vs dPoS. etc. Each of these has significant pros and cons to each and which ever is chosen will have a direct impact on holders.
A: We are leaning towards a variation of POA consensus with specific rules for voting on validators (that are more like from DPoS network). However even non-validators will have their way of staking EXRT.
Q: Has the latest roadmap been made with the currently available funding in mind, or could the work and milestones planned potentially need additional fundraising?
A: Current roadmap is formed with available funds in mind and no additional funding will be necessary. Our goal is to complete the project and start its marketing. Then once project becomes fully open source, it can be holders/developers driven, with development/marketing being funded by partners and enterprises that will use the underlying technology without founders participation in it as there is no owner-entity of EXRNchain, so we do not need much funds for a long-term maintenance.
Q: If ever a hack will EXRN pay back hacked tokens by increasing supply?
A: No, we are strongly against issuing additional supply no matter what. As for ERC20 based EXRN token, we do not have any actual ability to increase it’s supply. It is fixed and can’t be changed.
Q: What are some of the dream final implementations, i.e. real world applications of the EXRN tech that the team would like to see? Like way in the future, when everything’s finished, when all is said and done?
A: We’d like to see EXRNpay being accepted payment option everywhere (considering how easy it will be to set it up) with people all around the world making easy crosschain payments using EXRN apps that are bringing them financial freedom and full control over their funds.
