Upcoming Updates or: Why You Should Talk to Users
Talking with users is the lifeblood of all startups. It’s a wellspring of constructive feedback, new ideas, and fresh insights.
Since launching ISC, we’ve spoken with hundreds of people. And we’ve received a deluge of requests and potential integrations. Which is a good, but intense, problem to have. 🙃
Message us if you’re a smart contract developer. We’re hiring!
TLDR
- ISC is going cross-chain on ETH, SUI, and ARB
- Fixing total supply of our governance token to 1B (with adjustments)
- Governance token airdrops are coming soon (also, with adjustments)
Throughout all of our conversations, the following questions were most common:
- Wen Cross-chain?
- Wen Tokenomics Update?
- Wen Governance Token Airdrop?
After much internal discussion, we’re excited to share the following updates:
ISC is Going Cross-chain with Wormhole
While our liquidity will mostly remain on Solana, ISC needs to go cross-chain to achieve widespread adoption. Yash Agarwal has written an excellent essay on this topic.
Our architecture allows for ISC to be bridged natively, so that users aren’t exposed to bridged tokens that are susceptible to hacks. We’re open sourcing this project because it’ll assist other projects in limiting their exposure and protecting their users, while enabling them to issue native tokens across multiple chains. If you’d like to contribute or have suggestions, check our GitHub and message us!
We’re targeting Ethereum because of its substantial capital pool, Sui for an integration with Bucket protocol, and Arbitrum to act as collateral for Nuon.
We’re Sticking to a 1B Fixed Supply (with adjustments)
Why We Believe in a Fixed Supply
Multiple tokenomics experts have suggested that we switch to an inflationary supply for our governance token (IGT). But we decided against this for several reasons.
Firstly, ISC holders, via Twitter, Telegram and IRL have told us they prefer a fixed supply.
Secondly, we don’t need new governance tokens to finance the project. Our long-term revenue model comes from a 0.5~1.0% interest rate on all ISC Issuer loans. However, this strategy requires us to be frugal with how we spend IGT in the early stages. It also necessitates that we start generating revenue as soon as possible, which is fundamentally a good thing.
Transitioning from a “fixed supply” to a “variable supply” is practically impossible due to public backlash. So, we’re committed to living or dying on a fixed supply of governance tokens. The upside is that this decision makes IGT much more valuable.
Lastly, simplicity was a significant influence in our decision. A fixed supply is straightforward and easier to communicate. A variable supply is inherently more complicated and could potentially confuse or mislead holders.
Tokenomics Adjustments
We’re adjusting our tokenomics to incorporate an Insurance Fund that will act as a buffer for black swan events such as an ISC Reserve having their assets frozen.
Additionally, we’ve combined certain categories because forecasting the exact allocation we need for each category is impossible. While we’re committing to general percentages for Community (40%) and Operations (40%), we need the flexibility to allocate IGT wherever it’s most beneficial for the project’s growth and security.
Airdrops are Coming (also, with adjustments)
Frozen Tokens
We’re working on airdropping frozen IGT tokens ASAP. IGT will remain frozen until we officially launch IGT, through a private sale, ICO, IDO, or similar event. This will allow us to fundraise effectively without having to worry about market forces.
We anticipate that airdropping IGT tokens into wallets, even if they’re frozen, will be much more effective at generating hype for ISC than simply promising an airdrop.
Airdrop Adjustments
The rate of IGT airdrops to ISC holders will be reduced from 5M per month to 1M per month starting from July 15, 2023. This rate is expected to decrease further within this year. We want to use IGT Airdrops to not only reward ISC holders for their holdings, but also to incentivize protocol usage of ISC. The protocols we are currently focusing on include Orca liquidity pools, Solend lending pools, and Bucket stablecoin, a $1 stable coin on Sui.
Going forward, The ISC community should expect further airdrop adjustments to incentivize behaviors that will maximize the growth of the ISC.
