During the last two weeks ICON Foundation showed average level of activity in media landscape. Firstly, ICON has announced some changes to the ICON Incentives Scoring System, or IISS, the system that determines how much you’ve helped the network and how much you should be rewarded for it. The updated IISS limits some of the authority previously granted to the network’s Public Representatives, or P-Reps. Instead, the team has now pre-determined the reward structure for DApps, EEPs and voting ICONists. Secondly, the partnership with ‘MixMarvel,’ a blockchain-based global game publishing company aims to connect game content creators with players with the goal of building a game community filled with voluntary participation. Thirdly, P-Rep candidates released promotion videos on the official ICON YouTube channel. In order to help the ICONists learn about the potential P-Reps better, icon.community has collaborated with the candidates and prepared the introductory videos. The candidates have kindly agreed to film themselves and introduce their passion to become a Public Representative and grow the ICON Ecosystem. Vote for Paradigm Citadel!
Development
The ICON Team has continued to refine the governance and incentive structure of the ICON Network. ICON shares several enhancements to the original design, and a few more details on the Pre-Voting period beginning in August.
The update includes limitations on the power of P-Reps, as the initial design gave P-Reps too much authority. Rewards received by DApps (i_dapp), EEPs (i_eep) and rewards received by voting ICONists (r_eep, r_dapp, and r_rep) are no longer decided by P-Reps. None of these updates will affect the expected annual issuance amount. ICON also added a variable un-staking period based on the percentage of the network staked.
> Delegation Annual Reward Rate for Voters: It is now a function of the percentage of the network delegated. Even if the DBP and EEP processes are not developed upon the launch of delegation, ICONists will still receive r_eep and r_dapp for voting for a P-Rep.
> Un-staking period: The un-staking period will also be a function of the percentage of the network staked.
> Price (P) variable has been removed. All variables will be entered in terms of ICX
> Maximum Issuance Rate: This has been changed from 15% to 20% based on stress-test scenarios to ensure security and aligned incentives given extreme market conditions.
> i_eep & i_dapp: Hard-coded as 25% of i_rep
> Minimum i_rep: Hard-coded as 10,000 ICX
Pre-Voting Period Details (August 2019)
> The ICON Foundation has decided on a pool of ~3 million ICX to be released during the course of the pre-voting period in August
> Based on a 30% delegation rate assumption, the average ICONist can expect a 15.81% (5.27% * 3) annualized reward during the pre-voting period
Contest Period
> Application begins on May 2nd
> TX Counting begins on June 3rd
> Application and TX Counting end on July 31th
> Services (DApps or websites) are evaluated for the Final Award on July 31th
Application is open from May 2nd until the end of the event.
TX Count for TX rewards for teams that have completed their applications will start on June 3rd.
The ICON Team is launching the ‘ICON TX (Transaction) Challenge’, a large blockchain development contest with a total prize pool of 1 million ICX (ICON’s cryptocurrency), starting on June 3rd.
>> Pre-registration & Request Test ICX
In order to support developers around the world with the goal of developing the blockchain ecosystem, the ‘ICON TX Challenge’ takes the form of a competition in which participants produce their own DApps(Decentralized Applications) or websites. Future blockchain experts including developers, university students, and anyone who has ideas to implement the blockchain technology in building services or wants to experience new technologies can participate in this contest.
The ICON Team plans to provide operating costs and technical support to participants during the contest, which runs for approximately two months starting from June 3rd to July 31st. Where existing development efforts have been slowed down by factors such as transaction (TX) costs, server hosting costs, and technical barriers, the ‘ICON TX Challenge’ will allow participants to access new technology and quickly validate their ideas.
In order to participate in the contest, smart contracts that can generate transactions should be completed in advance. After completing the production and verification of ‘SCORE (Smart Contract On Reliable Environment, ICON’s own smart contract development environment)’ using the ICON protocol, one can apply for participation by developing DApps or websites utilizing the SCORE. Teams who are confirmed to take part after the application process will be given 200 ICX each as a participating prize and a separate reward of 0.01 ICX per 1 TX for transactions occurring through the SCORE during the contest will be given out.
In addition, a total of 6 teams will be selected according to the evaluation standards including the completeness, business value, technicality, blockchain utility, etc. of DApps or websites. These teams will be awarded the final prize of 50,000 ICX per team. The evaluation of DApps and websites will be based on the state of the DApp/website on the ending date of the contest. ICON is also considering additional benefits such as helping attract investment to the participating teams, providing extra points for recruitment of the ICON office in Korea or internship opportunities.
As the ‘ICON TX Challenge’ is also an open demonstration of the stability and transaction processing performance of the ICON Mainnet, we expect many future blockchain experts to participate. Join the ‘ICON TX Challenge’ to win massive rewards and experience ICON’s DApp development environment!
>>> Pre-registration & Request for Test ICX
>>> Registration for ICON TX Challenge
See: About this Guide
Aegis is the ICON blockchain stored into a MySQL database. It lets you query quickly and efficiently any information from the ICON blockchain for analysis purposes.
See also:
Social encounters
Do we have any updates on MOU’s ICONLOOP signed back in 2017/2018, Samsung, Deloitte etc?
To my knowledge, there’s no update from last month’s AMA. That said, I’ll double check if there’s anything noteworthy we can release.
How will ICON try to bring value to the ICX token in the future?
Near term we want to increase network participation and adoption by building and/or supporting the build of useable applications and features in the ecosystem.
What will the p-rep rewards be and what does ICON think about the effect that will have on token value? Increased selling pressure should lead to cheaper ICX in my opinion, which doesn’t look too promising for new investors.
P-Reps should be taking a longer term view. However, like you, I believe selling pressure is a risk. You should consider this when voting for P-Reps. As far as rewards, we’ll be releasing more details in the coming days.
How far is ICONLOOP with the development of interoperability?
Please reference the latest monthly development update and recent JH interview.
Will we, as outsiders, have the possibility to know for sure that a created Stable Token is backed 1–1 with real tangible assets ie USD?
I think the burden of proof probably falls with the provider. If our provider utilizes a fiat collateralized stable coin, audit-ability will be extremely important.
How does ICON / ICX benefit from ICONLOOP being an AWS Advanced Technology Partner (ATP) where AWS offers blockchains built on IBM Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum.
AWS is agnostic to blockchain technology providers to my knowledge. Think of it more as a distribution arm. By partnering, they can support our technology for AWS clients.
Does Icon expect that ICONLOOP’s private partners will opt to publish their data on ICON’s public chain?
Yes. I think that in general public/private blockchains will converge over time as the technology matures.
Will a company opting to publish its data on ICON’s public chain require ICX token to accomplish that?
Yes, any interaction with the public chain will require ICX.
ICON has created a new featured article section called People of ICON. ICON will introduce blockchain experts in various fields including business strategy, service planning, technology development, and corporate culture through interviews.
‘Without Doubt’ project team is the long-awaited first interviewees of People of ICON. The ‘Without Doubt’ project team joined ICON through a student internship program upon ‘Cultivating Innovative Youth Talents 2018’ project. Previously in 2018, ICONLOOP was selected to participate in the government-sponsored public project supervised by the Korea Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and Korea Institute for Information & communications Technology Promotion (IITP). And as a part of the initiative, ICONLOOP offered a 1,000 hours of intensive curriculum for students including the ‘Without Doubt’ project team, majoring in information security and multimedia education at Baekseok University.
May 15th, 2019 — P-Rep candidates released promotion videos on the official ICON YouTube channel.
>> View the intro videos on YouTube
> ICONNECT
> Noris
> SOMESING
Upcoming events:
> Event: IEEE ICBC 2019 (International Conference on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency 2019)
> Date: May 14–17, 2019
> Venue: Supex Hall, 4F, SKT Tower / 65, Eulji-ro, Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
> Website: http://icbc2019.ieee-icbc.org
International Conference on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency 2019 will be held at the SKT Tower in Seoul from May 14–17, 2019. This is the first technical conference on Blockchain sponsored by IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc), the world’s largest professional organization in ICT. ICBC 2019 is expected to be a place where leading global companies, major open source projects, and academia come together to share the latest research results in the blockchain industry and engage in talks on topics such as regulations, policies, standards, and applications.
> Event: Korea Future Forum (KFF) 2019 & Blockchain Tech Show
> Date: 09:00 ~ 17:00, May 20–21, 2019
> Venue: Crystal Ballroom, Main Tower 2F, The Lotte Hotel Seoul / 30, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
> Website: https://kff.news1.kr/en
Korea Future Forum (KFF) 2019 & Blockchain Tech Show will be held at the Lotte Hotel Seoul on May 20 & 21, 2019. Hosted by News1 Korea, a news agency established by MoneyToday Media group, and the UN Future Forum, this forum is the ideal place to examine future trends as well as discuss challenges to our society with the world’s most renowned professionals. This year’s event will focus on the market shifting paradigm that is the ‘Digital Transformation’.
J.H. Kim, Council member of the ICON Foundation and CEO of ICONLOOP, will give a presentation titled <ICON, an Interoperable Platform for Enterprise and DApp Ecosystem> at 15:20–15:40 for the ‘Case Studies’ segment of the panel on the 21st May (Day 2).
> Event: Blockchain: Cross, Emerge, Breakthrough
> Date/Time: May 16, 2019, 15:30 ~ 18:00 (PST)
> Venue: Plug & Play Tech Center Sunnyvale (440 North Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale)
> Event Website: http://bit.ly/2Vr6WqG
> Host Website: https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/
ICON announced its participation in the Blockchain: Cross, Emerge, Breakthrough Meetup Event on May 16, 2019, at Plug & Play Tech Center located in Sunnyvale, CA (USA). The event is co-hosted by Blockchain Lab (Plug & Play Tech Center), SNZ Holding, and DHVC.
The event invites blockchain startups, corporations and investors to discuss in depth about the application and landing of the blockchain in the current industries. Participants will learn about the practical applications of blockchain in enterprise architecture and solutions, as well as exploring new demands, new markets and new opportunities created by the intersection between blockchain and other industries.
Min Kim, ICON Foundation council member, will provide a 10-minute overview of the ICON project and some of its real-world applications. He will join other notable projects and companies in the industry including Cosmos, PlatON, Infinite Stones, Origin, and HBUS.
Finance
Roadmap
P-Rep TestNet
In May, P-Rep candidates and those who want to sign up can set up ICON nodes in advance and operate blockchain testnets. P-Rep candidates can prepare for stable network operation by pre-emptively installing ICON nodes and configuring networks before the election of P-Reps in the third quarter.
Check out the recent notice on the Updated News of P-Rep TestNet
Check out the P-Rep TestNet Application Form
Interchain
The Interchain Development Team is in the process of commercialization after the design and POC verification of the BTP protocol for interconnecting private chains with public chains. Through the Merkle Proof and Validator verification in heterogeneous chains, the risks of Oracle’s falsification and fakes have been solved. This opens the way for enterprise chains to work with ICON’s public blockchain. The ICON Team will also provide an environment in which tokens and data published in the internal private chains of companies can also be distributed on to ICON’s public blockchain.
DEX
DEX implementation is complete and ready to be published on the ICON GitHub. The ICON Team will guide anyone on running the DEX service through the sources and guidelines published on our GitHub. Please feel free to contact the ICON Team if you want to operate the DEX service.
Fee 2.0
The development of a feature that allows DApp providers and service users to control or avoid paying fees is nearly complete and in the QA phase. If the QA is completed quickly, it will be launched in May, but may be launched in June if an additional stabilization period is required. By using Fee 2.0, DApp providers can have service users to avoid paying fees or have them pay fees with Virtual Step* generated through staking instead of the actual ICX.
(*Virtual step is a system to mitigate the burden of transaction fees. SCORE operators can receive and utilize Virtual Step by agreeing to deposit a certain amount of ICX for a given period of time.)
Stable Token
The ICON Team is working on a project to issue Fiat money as IRC2 (ICON mainnet-based tokens) with a strategic partner. ‘Stable token’ will be ‘pegged’ to the value of Fiat money and used as a ‘price-stable token’ like Tether (USDT). Within the first half of the year, the Stable Token Issuance Service will be opened and you will be able to trade Stable tokens on the exchanges that we are currently under negotiations with.
ICON DPASS (DID)
‘ICON DPASS,’ a new decentralized identity service, will be released in May. Users will be able to keep their personal information in the DPASS app (iOS and Android) and access multiple existing services and apps without repeating authentication procedures (KYC).
Blockchain based Certification
The ICON Team plans to provide a service to issue various certificates based on the ICON blockchain in June. This service is in the same form as Seoul Blockchain Governance Team’s mobile letter of appointment that is created using ICON’s public blockchain and will be provided as an open service. By issuing certificates on blockchain, permanent archiving is possible without issuing paper documents and allows for certificates to be easily issued, viewed, and verified anywhere via mobile.
The ICON Development Team will continue to sprint in accordance with the planned milestone in May. We are striving to ensure that our outputs are not just blockchain technologies, but services that give users and companies values that they have never before experienced before. We are also organizing and packaging ICON’s blockchain technologies into the ICON BaaS Platform to make it easier for companies to adopt these technologies. Please look forward to them!
See: Detailed ICON Development Roadmap
What’s next?
Partnerships and team members
The ICON Foundation announced its strategic partnership with ‘MixMarvel,’ a blockchain-based global game publishing company.
MixMarvel, which newly joined as ICON’s DApp (Decentralized Application) partner, aims to connect game content creators with players with the goal of building a game community filled with voluntary participation. With its proprietary game series including ‘HyperDragons’ and ‘HyperSnakes,’ MixMarvel is the world’s first large-scale strategy blockchain game publisher more than 6,000 DAU. MixMarvel plans to release its blockchain-based gaming platform MixMarvel Platform in 2Q 2019.
With this partnership, MixMarvel will support ICON’s blockchain ecosystem expansion upon 3 core pillars: integrating its game platform to ICON’s public blockchain network, applying as a P-Rep candidate, and participating in the ICX Station program. MixMarvel plans to complete integration of the ICON Platform to Rocket Protocol, the layer 2 solution for blockchain games, as well as MixMarvel SDK, a toolkit for the developer community to build on Rocket Protocol, within 4Q 2019. Its strategy is to support not only the production of new blockchain games but also the introduction of blockchain technology into existing online and mobile game industry series, reducing the entry barriers.
Additionally, MixMarvel has completed the pre-registration for ICON Public Representative (P-Rep) candidacy. Twenty two P-Reps elected via an on-chain election in upcoming September will have the distributed responsibility of preserving the ICON Network, producing and verifying blocks, validating transactions, and proposing and voting on network policy changes.
ICON will offer MixMarvel a wide variety of consulting services, including but not limited to, business planning, technology development, and game publishing through its global accelerating program called ‘ICX Station.’ ICON is the only blockchain project in Korea with a global accelerator program. The ICX Station has locations in Seoul, San Francisco, Singapore, and Tokyo. Deblock currently serves as ICX Station’s Seoul Launchpad, bringing its local DApp projects into the global market.
Rumours
No updates
Social media metrics
The charts above illustrate an increase in the number of Twitter followers and Reddit subscribers. In general, ICON foundation experiences average level of social activity.
The graph above shows the dynamics of changes in the number of ICON Reddit subscribers, Twitter followers and Facebook likes. The information is taken from Coingecko.com.
