Welcome to a new series of Biweekly update on IOST!
First, IOST Unveils IRC-721 NFT Standard. The official IOST NFT standard protocol: can be directly used by developers (for the basis for issuance), which lower the threshold & difficulty for developers to issue NFT assets; makes the NFT standard based on the IOST public chain unified, hence providing convenience for the NFT assets circulation (uniform issuance and circulation standards); makes the reuse of NFT assets on different platforms or games on the IOST chain possible. For users, the use of IOST NFT assets can promote the “NFTlization” of digital assets such as game assets, realize the confirmation of digital assets, solve the security problems of digital assets, and greatly improve the circulation of digital assets in the IOST ecosystem. Secondly,
The Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology Research Institute, Coinbene and IOST reached an in-depth strategic cooperation. The two parties will hand in hand explore blockchain technology innovation, brand building, government-enterprise cooperation, etc., to jointly create an open and win-win blockchain business ecosystem. They will fully share resources between both parties, jointly deepening the blockchain technology innovation and industrial development, while accelerating the cooperation between government and enterprises. IOST will be included in the first batch of top tier projects in the CoinBene derivative product series. In the future, both parties will also carry out in-depth cooperation in digital finance. Next, as we know BTCManager is a globally leading blockchain & cryptocurrency news publication that is committed to editorial news independence and strives for accurate and impartial reportage. Having been in a collaborative partnership since 2019, it was only a matter of time before BTCManager and IOST took their alliance to the next level. Stepping up from the current collaborative relationship, BTCManager now officially joins the IOST ecosystem as a partner node. Finally, HUPAYX and IOST have signed a Strategic Partnership MOU. IOST is building a high throughput TPS blockchain infrastructure to meet the security and scalability needs of a decentralized economy. This cooperation will focus on co-marketing, technological cooperation and various other potential synergies.
More news to follow! Stay tuned!
Development
Technical Ecosystem
[Development]
- Fixed TimeError of api.iost.io
- Fixed IOSTABC node instability
- Improved NFT related documents
- Development of the new version
[Operation and maintenance]
Performed node’s technical communication for access and exit
Ecosystem Development
IOST will release a new version of the FAQ, focusing on project introduction, technical advantages, project funds and liquidity, IOST mainnet progress, partner nodes plan, IOST Enterprise Edition Aiou Technology and aircraft carrier plan, community development, and project planning, etc.
With the launch of the Crypto kitties game in 2017, a new form of blockchain digital asset- Fungible Tokens NFT emerged.
If you’ve ever owned a cat, you’ll know that they are unique and not easy to replace. CryptoKitties replicated this concept in the crypto world — with each cat’s digital genetic material being stored on the blockchain
The common tokens that we see, such as IOST, are all fungible. There is no difference between each IOST (just like two 100 USD notes), which can be interchanged and divided. NFT are the opposite. Its important features are as follows:
- each NFT has a unique token ID
- NFT are not mutually interchangeable
- the minimum unit is 1 and is indivisible (0.5 IOST exists, but in NFT, there only can be 1 NFT, for example, 0.5 crypto kitty does not exist)
NFT assets are the value medium used to characterize non-monetary assets. Thanks to the decentralization, immutability, and cryptographic confirmation of the blockchain, NFT solves a series of real problems of the real-world assets with the following characteristics:
- Better liquidity → can be traded efficiently and atomically;
- Cryptography confirmation → prevention of forging assets.
In addition, NFT has also achieved features that cryptocurrencies lack, such as characterizing negative assets (liabilities), identity, proof of equity, and virtual prop items. NFT fills the gap in crypto assets, allowing us to include assets with independent value into the scope of the crypto economy and obtain the protection of the blockchain.
IOST has begun to fully lay out the NFT market & now unveil the official IOST IRC-721 NFT standard to you.
IOST Official NFT Standard
The official IOST NFT standard protocol:
- can be directly used by developers (for the basis for issuance), which lower the threshold & difficulty for developers to issue NFT assets
- makes the NFT standard based on the IOST public chain unified, hence providing convenience for the NFT assets circulation (uniform issuance and circulation standards)
- makes the reuse of NFT assets on different platforms or games on the IOST chain possible.
For users, the use of IOST NFT assets can promote the “NFTlization” of digital assets such as game assets, realize the confirmation of digital assets, solve the security problems of digital assets, and greatly improve the circulation of digital assets in the IOST ecosystem.
IRC-721 defines the NFT standard in the IOST ecosystem with the following technical features:
- The main feature of IRC-721 is “Non-Fungible Token” (NFT). Each IRC-721 token has a unique token ID, and there will be only one owner;
- A standardized process for seamless cross-chain transfer of assets will be applied
- According to IRC721 specs, NFT can store token ID as well as metadata in its contract. When the metadata size is too big which is not cost-effective, developers can store the external URL of metadata and links to the metadata in the contract.
- A locked transfer mechanism for digital assets/collections has been formulated to provide the flexibility in NFT assets issuance
- A blacklist management function is available to meet the management needs for games and entertainment applications;
With IRC-721 standard, IOST envisions it to be the leader in the new generation of NFT asset standards.
NFT- IOST Tapping On New Blockchain Applications
Two major currency-free application areas of blockchain technology are consortium chains and NFT.
With consortium chains, IOST builds a one-stop BaaS platform to help developers or enterprises build chains quickly and provide enterprises with professional and targeted blockchain solutions.
The official IOST NFT standard is another strategic layout for IOST to implement blockchain technology.
Taking the field of online games where NFT is the most widely used as an example. Game props contain all relevant assets owned by players in the game. These assets have a common feature: players must acquire them either through playing the game and earn it or purchase with money.
Game props are a data form that is very suitable for characterization using NFT:
- game props are produced and used on-chain, value support is provided by the game
- most of the game equipment and characters are unique and can circulate freely, which matches the characteristics of NFT
- NFT’s game props can also be used for cross-scenario, cross-server, and even cross-game property and reuse, making game assets no longer limited to an isolated scenario, but may become a truly universal currency within the ecosystem.
The official IOST NFT standard will be the basis for the IOST blockchain game field to attain the game assets rights and the free & efficient circulation among players. IOST aims to link the blockchain games and game assets in the IOST ecosystem through the NFT standard, open up the data isolation between blockchain games, and realize the mapping and reuse of NFT assets among multiple independent games.
In addition to games, the development of NFT will pave the way for IOST in new directions & opportunities: Collectibles, notes, registered securities, identity information, visas, property rights certificates, business agreements, membership cards, etc. are all potential application scenarios for NFT. NFT can be used where specific information needs to be recorded or personalized, to ensure that personal information cannot be tampered with or stolen so that the ownership of digital assets is clear.
In the future, IOST will fully deploy the NFT ecosystem and encourage the “NFTization” of digital assets such as game assets within the IOST ecosystem, which will bring new and fresh ideas for the implementation of IOST blockchain technology.
Mainnet Statistics
As of April 14th, 2020
Social encounters
At 20:00 on March 27, 2020, GMT+8, IOST held the 2020 Q1 Global Partner Nodes Conference. More than 50 representatives from around the world gathered together to share their contributions in the first quarter of 2020 and their development plans for the next quarter.
IOST’s Progress in Q1 2020
At the beginning of the conference, Blake, head of IOST’s Korean market and the IOST Foundation representative delivered a speech introducing the milestones achieved since IOST’s mainnet launch to the first quarter of 2020.
IOST is an international team with more than 400 partner nodes from about 20 countries around the world in its ecosystem, including many media companies, exchanges, mining pools, and top tier dev teams and, of course, the community.
After the launch of the mainnet, IOST has been interviewed by CCTV and delivered a speech in the Great Hall of the People. In addition, IOST has successfully launched a power trading project in Fujimi City and cooperation with AWS China. In the next stage, we will keep working hard and implementing IOST in all fields.
Recently, IOST released three important announcements. First, IOST launched the aircraft carrier program that will expand its business based on IOST Enterprise Edition — AIOU Technology. IOST Enterprise Edition can be used in various fields, such as government affairs, supply chain, charity, Internet of Things, games, etc. The goal of IOST is to provide better services for each industry based on the experience and data obtained from previous cooperation with governments and enterprises, which will help traditional enterprises to more easily adopt the IOST blockchain.
In addition, based on feedback from the community over the past year, the IOST Foundation updated the Node Program and decided to share more rewards with tier 1 to 3 partner nodes. Since a large number of nodes have to divide one’s share within each tier, this led tier 1–3 nodes to receive a relatively small amount of rewards compared to what IOST foundation and the nodes expected at the very beginning. Moreover, tier 4–5 nodes took a comparatively large amount of rewards with lesser efforts. The foundation believes that this situation is undesirable and unfair for the IOST ecosystem partners. Through this change, IOST will distribute rewards more fairly, providing more rewards for nodes who make more contributions to the ecosystem.
Finally, IOST’s staking mechanism has also been updated. In a highly volatile crypto market, the one-week freeze period adds uncertainty, so the IOST Foundation shortened the 7-day freeze period to 3 days. While working on establishing a better ecosystem and realize the widespread implementation of blockchain technology, IOST also hopes to provide everyone with a better user experience through this upgrade.
Partner Nodes’ Sharings: Q1 2020 Contributions & the Next Quarter Plans
Next, 15 partner nodes shared their contributions and thoughts at the conference. For more information, please follow the link.
On March 25th, the Jinse Salon 46th “Application layer — scenarios and protocols” event hosted by Jinse Finance was successfully held online. IOST co-founder Terry was invited to attend the event and joined the guests to discuss the “blockchain application layer — scenarios and protocols” in depth.
In the event, Terry said: “The most important things for a blockchain project aren’t brand and data, but the protocol and ecosystem derived from the underlying technology infrastructure.” He also explained to the audiences which scenarios are most likely to capture value for the blockchain application layer and protocol layer, and how the main value of the blockchain is shifted from the application layer to the protocol layer.”
Finance
Token holders and the number of transactions dynamics
IOST will be the first coin available for staking on Bithumb.
Roadmap
IOST 2020 roadmap has been finally revealed! In 2020 IOST will surely continue to contribute to an open, efficient and rapidly developing blockchain network! A creative and progressive IOST team never fail to inspire the most advanced community! Check out what’s been recently unveiled!
Q1:
- IOST Node Program v2.0
- Cross-Chain Technology Mass Adoption And Application Showcase
- IOST Staking Mechanism v3.0
- Start Compliance Progress in Japan, Korea, The US, Singapore, Vietnam, etc.
- Start Organizing Offline Meetups In 23 Cities Worldwide
- Launch Three Top-Quality DApps
- Improve Ecosystem Services And User Experiences
Q2:
- Accelerate The Expansion of IOST Partners Program to 30 key countries, Forming An Ecosystem With Global Connectivity And Healthy Competition
- Fulfill Compliance Standards in Japan, Korea, The US, Singapore, Vietnam, etc.
- Develop Partnership With At Least five Leading Enterprises
- Built and Sustain a Better Community Ecosystem
- Plan Initiate Campus In 80 Universities Globally
- Popularize Blockchain Tool Applications
- Improve Ecosystem Services And User Experiences
Partnerships and team members
On April 3, 2020, the Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology Research Institute, Coinbene and IOST reached an in-depth strategic cooperation. The two parties will hand in hand explore blockchain technology innovation, brand building, government-enterprise cooperation, etc., to jointly create an open and win-win blockchain business ecosystem.
Coinbene Research Institute: Boosting Blockchain Technology Innovation and Industry Development
The Coinbene Blockchain Research Institute was established in July 2018 and as a digital asset and blockchain technology research institution established by CoinBene.
As an independent institute with industrial and commercial qualifications and certification, the Coinbene Research Institute aims to launch comprehensive research on core issues such as industry trends, technological innovation, and implementation, based on the various products, rich industry resources, and massive global data of Coinbene.com as core advantages. It launches not only comprehensive research reports, but also products and applications, as well as promotes government-enterprise cooperation while providing strong support for blockchain technology innovation and industrial development.
At present, the four main directions of the Coinbene Research Institute are:
- Blockchain + industry research, regular release of industry research reports;
- The construction of a blockchain talent training base, with currently designing relevant training courses to serve universities and local government agencies;
- Promote the construction of blockchain industrial parks while providing technical services and consulting services for traditional enterprises. Carry out enterprise-level cooperation in the supply chain, justice, Internet of Things and other fields;
- Design and development of the consortium chain technology, with having reached strategic cooperation with local technical service providers in Korea, Japan, and Brazil.
The Coinbene Blockchain Research Institute intends to carry out all-round and in-depth cooperation with a selection of enterprises and institutions around the world to jointly build a blockchain talent training base and a blockchain sandbox laboratory, among other plans, to push the blockchain research field to a new level.
The development goals of the Coinbene Research Institute coincide with IOST. As a global enterprise-level blockchain technology application platform, IOST is committed to promoting the application of blockchain technology to various industries businesses and dedicated applications of clients hence launched the IOST enterprise edition -Aiou Technology in 2017.
On March 6, 2020, based on the rich experience of cooperating with government and enterprises and to further promote the implementation of blockchain applications, IOST launched its “IOST’s One-Stop Blockchain-as-a-Service Platform”, and its enterprise version of Aiou Technology officially opened enterprise-level services in 12 fields including government affairs, justice, supply chain, charity, Internet of Things, energy, games, medical beauty, etc., directly providing technical services, consulting, blockchain training, promotion and other internal resources to fully support and help more traditional enterprises that are turning to blockchain solutions.
IOST X Coinbene Research Institute: Accelerate the cooperation between government and enterprises
The cooperation between IOST and the Coinbene Research Institute is a win-win move to fully share the advantageous resources of both parties, jointly deepening the blockchain technology innovation and industrial development, while accelerating the cooperation between government and enterprises.
CoinBene has 9 international sub-stations and has been operating for nearly 3 years now with a large number of international partners and resources. It will complement IOST in terms of globalization, build in-depth brand cooperation, and jointly expand the market.
In addition, through this cooperation, IOST will be included in the first batch of top tier projects in the CoinBene derivative product series. In the future, both parties will also carry out in-depth cooperation in digital finance.
It is worth mentioning that government-enterprise cooperation will also become the main position for both parties in 2020. Combining the resources of the Coinbene Research Institute, and the rich experience of IOST and government and enterprise cooperation in promoting the implementation of blockchain applications, in terms of enterprise-level business cooperation, the two parties will expand more channels and enhance profitability such as traffic monetization, including but not limited to: cooperating to promote government-enterprise cooperation, enriching the B-side business layout, and cooperating to operate the blockchain industrial park.
In regards to this cooperation, the representatives of the Coinbene Research Institute stated that what they value the most are consensus foundation, resource advantages, and clear development goals of IOST:
“IOST has a very high reputation, extensively developed consensus and a massive fan base in blockchain industry. The strength of the IOST community is known by all rin the business. No matter the bull or bear market, its popularity is undiminished. In the early stages of the blockchain industry, the consensus is the foundation and core element of the development of projects and determines whether a project can run in a long-term.
In terms of resources, IOST has received support from almost all mainstream trading platforms and mainstream media, including Jinse Finance, Coin World, China’s National TV, Sina … In addition, IOST is the first project to be invited to China’s National TV and the Great Hall of the People to give a special speech. Not only that, IOST also has more than 400 partners worldwide in its complete and rich ecosystem.
IOST’s implementations and unique & dedicated applications have achieved results, providing targeted blockchain solutions for government and enterprises. We also hope to participate in the “IOST’s One-Stop Blockchain-as-a-Service Platform” and become a part of the blockchain business ecosystem.”
In the future, IOST and the Coinbene Research Institute will continue to deepen cooperation to promote blockchain technology innovation and industry development; for brand co-construction, digital finance, government-enterprise cooperation, etc., and expand the application and innovative development of blockchain technology.
Coinbene official blog: http://blog.coinbene.vip/
BTCManager is a globally leading blockchain & cryptocurrency news publication that is committed to editorial news independence and strives for accurate and impartial reportage. Their devoted editorial staff and experienced Bitcoin and blockchain reporters from around the globe provide daily content and exclusive interviews to bring readers the most up-to-date news and information.
BTCManager has millions of readers and its journalists work closely with famous blockchain projects, including IOST and Huobi Global. With almost a decade long illustrious history in the rapidly growing blockchain and cryptocurrency media space, BTCManager continues to abide by strict journalistic integrity and ensures that readers are abreast of the most recent and significant developments in the budding crypto industry.
BTCManager Joins IOST As A Partner Node
IOST & BTCManager have been in a collaborative relationship since 2019. The two organizations jointly organized an Article Contest in October 2019, which successfully attracted a large number of talented writers from across the world. The contest not only proved to be a huge success for both the organizations but also provided a tremendous opportunity to talented writers the world over to showcase their writing skills at a highly-regarded crypto publication.
Apart from the Article Contest, BTCManager has been providing high quality & curated content for IOST including an exclusive interview with IOST Co-Founder Jimmy Zhong, IOST 2019 Recap & many more.
Having been in a collaborative partnership since 2019, it was only a matter of time before BTCManager and IOST took their alliance to the next level. Stepping up from the current collaborative relationship, BTCManager now officially joins the IOST ecosystem as a partner node. Alex, the Content Manager of BTCManager commented:
“IOST successfully attracted our attention in a very early stage with its robust underlying technology, innovative PoB consensus mechanism, as well as huge developmental momentum. BTCManager has been closely following IOST since the mainnet launch in early 2019, and IOST has never disappointed us with its rapid growth and increasing global influence. We have covered basically all milestones achieved by IOST in the past and look forward to more to come. In April this year, BTCManager decided to contribute to the ecosystem from a whole new level by becoming a partner node of IOST. With IOST, we expect to witness the future of blockchain realized sooner.”
BTCManager will contribute to IOST by:
- Providing exclusive & curated content for IOST
- Getting exclusive interviews with the team at IOST driving the project
- Sharing sneak-peeks of the upcoming exciting developments in the IOST ecosystem
- Providing a ready platform to IOST to reach out to millions of readers across the globe
This cooperation will focus on co-marketing, technological cooperation and various other potential synergies.
otbTrade has recently listed the METX token on their newly created Decentralized Exchange (DEX). otbTrade currently operates on the IOST Blockchain with plans to expand to other networks. otbTrade leverages the power of the IOST Virtual Machine to power their DEX smart contract.
Metanyx will be using the otbTrade platform to facilitate their previously announced Buyback program moving forward.
Check out otbTrade at https://otbtrade.com
Other
IOST has been ranking in top 5 in blocktivity for 4 weeks in a row, surpassing both ETH & TRX
Blocktivity — The Real Value of Blockchains https://blocktivity.info.
Social media metrics
Social media activity:
Social media dynamics:
The graph above shows the dynamics of changes in the number of IOST Facebook likes, Reddit subscribers and Twitter followers. The information is taken from Coingecko.com.
