StorX Network Community Q&A August 2024
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the StorX community for your unwavering support and dedication. Your active participation and feedback are invaluable as we innovate and improve. Many of you have recently expressed concerns and questions about the upcoming changes in our reward structure. In response to your queries and in keeping with our commitment to transparency, we invited you to raise your questions in a dedicated AMA channel on Discord. We are pleased to present the collected responses from this session, addressing your most pressing inquiries and clarifying the changes ahead.
1. The new Plan states:
“Storage Node Hosting Rewards will be reduced by 5.00 % every three months to adjust for inflation”
So, after one year 300 SRX rewards will further decrease to 244.35 SRX, so one year from now we will see a 67.4% reduction and after 2 years we will be down to 199 SRX, down by 73.5%. Where is the incentive for existing node holders, or for potential new node holders who need to purchase 40k SRX plus all node holders have fixed monthly hosting costs? Please explain the economic benefit to node holders as it looks like there are none whatsoever!
A: The revised storage node rewards plan has been worked out to enhance the value of each SRX token minted or in the custody of every StorX Network community member. Now, with the mainnet launch, We expect demand generation from customers who will be paying us by buying SRX (to pay for storage) from the open market. We see potential demand for SRX tokens in the future.
Yes rewards are going down in SRX term but price of SRX token will improve due to lower supply of tokens in circulation coupled with more demand from customers. In fact, we see Node Operators getting higher rewards in USD/BTC term once this plan comes in effect.
We are committed to creating wealth for all Node operators and investors who have supported us in our journey, and we request every community member to continue to support us to make it one of the top projects in the Blockchain ecosystem. The community can check our project ranking on coinmarketcap, and one can see that the Market has given thumbs up to our initiatives till now. Our Rank is today 720 from above 3000+ 2 years back, and we are confident to take this rank even higher, below 500 in 2025 and possibly below 200 in 2026.
2. It has been some time since StorX became a member of MOBI and ITFA. However, there has been no information sharing since then. To confirm whether there will be definite demand for nodes, please provide information on the current involvement with MOBI and ITFA, and specific plans for the future (what will be done in which month). Regarding the listing on exchanges mentioned in the Q3 roadmap, by when and how many exchanges are you aiming to be listed on?
A: We are active members of ITFA and MOBI. We work with both MOBI and ITFA Teams. Currently, our involvement with these organizations has been limited only to participation in and contribution to the working groups. If there is any new development, we would be happy to announce it to the community.
3. New server requirements in terms of RAM + disk space are basically non-existent on the VPS provider market, or extremely costly (over $100 per month). This suggests other storage networks, centralized or decentralized, don’t run on such high specs. StorX’s goal is to be a faster network offering great service but how do you expect nodes to be profitable, especially with rewards reduction to about $20 per month at current SRX price ? Share an exemple of an existing VPS we could use for migration with its price, explain the need for such requirements and how do you expect operators to reach and sustain profitability.
A: As our network keeps growing the demand for better infrastructure by clients also keeps enhancing. We request you not to check the current SRX price to calculate the viability of the node but look at this project from long-term potential and wealth creation opportunity. While there has been only one change that was made from the inception. Our network is currently grown from Beta to Mainnet, With live data of clients. This can also change as per client requirements in the future. For sharing the name of VPS, As per our policy, We do not want to quote or promote any specific service providers or service locations to promote maximum decentralization on our network. But, be assured multiple ISPs in Europe and the US provide VPS around these price points.
4. Currently 2237 active nodes run the network, with an average of 780 SRX monthly rewards. It represents $105 000 worth of rewards / inflation at current price ($0.06) Traded volumes for SRX is about $39M per month, so inflation equals 0.27% of that total, assuming all rewards are sold. Why did you chose to lower inflation to 0.15% of traded volume while slashing incentives to create nodes and stake SRX, putting the network growth and even existence at risk?
A: Thanks for sharing this valuable insight. From our inception, our focus has been to enhance the value of our stakeholders and, subsequently, the growth of the overall ecosystem. With the reduction in the number of tokens minted, gradually reducing them over a period of time in phased timelines, the value of each token minted should rise. With fewer tokens produced, The value of the existing node operators and tokens in their custody is expected to increase gradually. This will create an immense value proposition for all our existing node operators who have diligently maintained their nodes. The idea is to create a self-sustainable ecosystem.
5. What are your plans to use and distribute SRX, XDC and USDT incomes from customers ?
A: Customers will buy SRX directly from the open market/exchanges. Token Demand from customers will enhance the SRX price. As and when the Network receives SRX token payments from customers, it will burn those tokens at regular intervals after accounting for expenses. Such events will be disclosed to the community.
6. SRX prices do not always go up; do you reduce them by 5% even during phases when SRX prices are falling? Why are you convinced that prices will go up? You mentioned in your roadmap that you would list on an exchange in Q3. Do you have plans to increase the number of exchanges on which you list? Do you develop Android and iOS apps?
A: The roadmap for reward reduction has already been announced, So this will be diligently implemented on their respective dates. However, We are confident about the project's long-term future, and there is immense interest among our clients and existing/new investors, which makes us believe that barring short-term gains in the long term, the SRX token price can only go up. About listing with more exchanges, Our team has been coordinating with various exchanges and developments are in the pipeline. These updates will be shared with the community on our social media as and when they are ready for release.
7. Hi there, StorX. Loved seeing your articles on the Rclone and Kopia integrations. The initial Medium article you recently released mentions “We have already realigned the price of services, and the realignment of rewards is the next logical step.” What is the price per GB per month that has been set for customers wanting to use StorX? The main storx.tech website mentions 100GB costs 40SRX/month. Is this the revised price being referred to in the Medium article
A: Please check the pricing on https://beta.storx.io
8. When referring to a price, will you aim for customers to have:
• a fixed SRX-denominated price per GB/month? ; or
• a fixed fiat-denominated price per GB/month, but express it in SRX based on the prevailing/floating exchange rate?
A: The price for the StorX service will be pegged in USD $. Customers will buy SRX directly from the open market/exchanges. Token Demand for customers will thus raise the SRX price. As and when the Network receives SRX token payments from customers, it will burn those tokens. Such events will be disclosed to all members.
9. Do you have functionality that would allow for a user to store digital products (ebooks, software etc) and then allow a mechanism that allows for the sale of those products via web3 payment? For example, if I wanted to sell digital products such as ebooks, artwork, software etc it would be great to have a way to store it on StorX and only allow downloading by users who make a web3 payment (in SRX perhaps). Perhaps could be NFT-gated? Or just make it simpler.. Buyer pays the set purchase price in SRX and then immediately receives a download link to the files they purchased. The payment received could then have a component collected by StorX in return for collecting payment for the seller (So it is essentially a way of offering very simple web3 merchant services for digital product sales as an additional value-add layer on top of the storage business)
A: We can term our storage as Web3-compatible immutable object storage. The functions that you are talking about need more than just storage. This has to be implemented using tools like WordPress, Woo Commerce, Magento, etc. It also needs additional management and processing of user information. Since our core focus area is storage, we are looking at integrating our DApp with multiple tools in the future to enhance its usage.
10. Also, if it would make downloading faster for new node operators, can you explore with XinFin whether they would be happy for you to host the XDC chain snapshot on StorX? Only if possible of course. Main thing is that it would need to be openly accessible from servers by using wget or aria etc.
A: This is an interesting use case, and we will discuss the same with the XDC Team.
11. Market conditions are bad right now, SRX is only $0.06. Can we change the Rewards review to start in 2025? Or should it be after the SRX price exceeds $0.1. We are not volunteers. We have to make a profit.
SRX Rewards can be revised in the future depending upon the market conditions, We do not see this happening atleast till mid of 2025 for now.
A: We are confident about the long-term future of the project, and there is immense interest among our clients and existing/new investors, which makes us believe barring short-term abbreviation in the long term, SRX token price can only go up. We are here for the long term.
12. Why are SSD/NVME drives now requirements? Even an old SATA drive can saturate a gigabit connection, and with only 100Mbps is required for bandwidth, what gives? Would it not be better for operators to offer more capacity and redundancy for their money instead of disk speed nobody will be able to use?
A: To make the project really stand out in the crowded storage market, we need to be unique in our service offerings. The configuration of the current node specs was designed taking many factors into consideration, including prospective client feedback. These servers would now be hosting production data, so they need to be fast as well as reliable.
13. When you will send commands out to migrate from old VPS provider to new provider with the steps? Before September 1st? Inflation is not high enough to warrant a drop in reward IMO, at current prices many node holders will NOT be making a profit, so what do you say on this? You want node holders to keep running for almost zero profit? Dropping the reward is wrong, it actually should have been increased to encourage more up-take, not decreased.
A: We would send details instructions to migrate the nodes from beta to mainnet, We will also send instructions if you would like to change your ISP/Server/VPS post 1st September. Please understand we are looking at all stakeholders making profits from holding in the long term. We are deploying a reward reduction program for the project's long-term sustainability. As for node operators, We expect the reduction in rewards will cause a substantial reduction in circulating supply, enhancing the value of tokens. Already, the price for new nodes is set to be 40K+. This itself is a great appreciation for existing node operators
14. Will a restaking option for rewards be implemented as well?
A: No for now.
15. How can we unstake our nodes, and in how much time can we get out staking tokens back?
A. The notice period for unstaking is 1 week. You need to follow the process mentioned in the link below. Tokens are normally credited in 1 week's time after the cooling-off period is completed.
16. A 25k node will earn 5300 SRX per year and decreasing, it would take over 8 years to be able to use rewards for staking in a new node. Not to mention lower staked nodes obviously. That restaking option should be taken into consideration since the focus will be on the staked amount with that new model.
A: Staking is currently not on the horizon, But we will surely evaluate it in the future.
17. The main question has its place here and now, cause many asked where to find a suitable VPS. Not to mention it’s cost that isn’t to be expected below $20. We have an issue here, right? Saying we’ll have the possibility to migrate doesn’t bring solutions but concerns. I seriously think the least of all is to stick to the original tokenomic and raise the minimum stake from time to time if network growth/inflation gets out of hand. As long as nodes don’t earn an x5 or more return on a cost basis, we shouldn’t even mention rewards cut. That would imply a fast network growth hence legit inflation concerns. Right now we’re under 3000 while Ponzis ran to past 300k nodes before the top. With StorX the main factor for inflation isn’t rewards but active nodes. As you can see inflation is gonna be lower by next week, so prices will surge, right? Please don’t keep us waiting with distant AMAs, and suggest at least one server option you know of since you think rewards should be cut for mainnet.
A: For sharing the name of the VPS, as per our policy, to promote maximum decentralization on the network, we do not want to quote or promote any specific service providers or service locations. But be assured that multiple ISPs in Europe and the US provide VPS around these price points.
We are confident about the project's long-term future. There is immense interest among our clients and existing/new investors, which makes us believe that, barring short-term visibility, the SRX token price can only go up in the long term, and the project will be profitable for all node operators. We are here for the long term.
18. I am planning to change my VPS for a higher spec. I am staking 25000 SRX now. Do I need to unstake and restake at 40000 SRX if I sign up for a new VPS? Or can I continue to stake at 25000 SRX?
A: If you plan to keep the node running under the mainnet, You can change the service provider or the storage node. We would share with you step by step guidelines to ensure that this process is completed smoothly, We have also enabled an option form for node operators to fill up the details so that we could send you more customized information for migration. You can upgrade your hardware or service provider without un-staking.
19. I have already canceled my VPS, set to take effect at the end of this month… so is it possible to move my nodes to a new VPS provider before the mainnet before September? the only way I’d keep my node running is if I could still make a profit, but I’m not losing money running a node.
A: We request you to migrate your nodes in mainnet without looking at profitability based on current SRX price. In the long term, we are confident of making it a value-enhancing project for all.
20. If a node turns inactive after September 1st due to server specs not meeting new requirements, will it be able to upgrade and turn back active, while keeping the same (low) staked amount? Or does that server migration have to occur before September 1st?
A: The node holders (both active and inactive) will have a stipulated period of time to upgrade their nodes to the mainnet. The exact timelines will be provided to you shortly.
21. Cutting to 300 within such a short time of announcing is terrible, let alone the 5% annual reduction (which is really unclear) and lower rewards over the next few years, starting at 600. Have you even done the math for node runners?
The timing of this decision is so disappointing; why not wait until a proper mainnet launch and see how the project responds? This sours the launch significantly. Over 60% slash in node rewards. For once, please listen to your node community and don’t make such a drastic reduction.
A: Right from our inception, our focus has been to enhance the value of our stakeholders and, subsequently, the growth of the overall ecosystem. With the reduction in the number of tokens minted, gradually reducing them over a period of time in phased timelines, the value of each token minted should rise. With fewer tokens produced, The value of the existing node operators and tokens in their custody is expected to increase gradually. This will create an immense value proposition for all our existing node operators who have diligently maintained their nodes. The idea is to create a self-sustainable ecosystem.
22. In the article discussing the “StorX Node Rewards Improvement Plan” (https://medium.com/storx-network/storx-node-rewards-improvement-plan-aligning-for-future- growth-82f1d8756888) it states the “Proposed Program for StorX Rewards” is “Based on input from the StorX Community”. Many community members, myself included, appear at a loss as to where this input from the community was, or when it occurred. As many concerns from the community node runners have been raised about whether the proposed reward structure has been properly thought out and considered, it would be extremely useful to be able to view the input from the StorX Community referred to in the article given this is being used as the basis for the proposed reward structure changes. If we are able to read this community input and the discussion around it, it might help understand how this proposed reward restructure was arrived at. Does this community input exist? if so, where can we find it (can you provide us with links to this community input and discussions on it please)?
A: When we talk about the community members, it refers to Our Node Operators, Our token holders, Our investors, Our Partners, and our Customers alike. We have participated in many events over the last 1 year. For example, we were active in GiteX 2023 Dubai, Blockchain Week 2023, Token 2049 Dubai, Consensus 2023 and Consensus 2024 in Texas, CloudFest 2024, and WeAreDevelopers 2024 in Germany. We meet at least 150–200 visitors daily at this event. In such an event, we interact with top node operators, investors, and clients who are genuinely interested in being part of this project. Based on such feedback, we decided to develop this reward plan. The community can check our project ranking on coinmarketcap, and one can see that the Market has given thumbs up to our initiatives till now. Our Rank is today 720 from above 3000+ 2 years back, and we are confident to take this rank even higher, below 500 in 2025 and possibly below 200 in 2026. All members should consider this project for long-term wealth creation, not based on the current SRX price and monthly reward.
We have consolidated and addressed the repeated questions to ensure that this AMA covers many concerns. We hope this session has clarified your doubts regarding the upcoming changes. Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us at support@storx.io. Your feedback is crucial to us, and we’re here to support you every step of the way.
About StorX:
StorX is a decentralized cloud storage network that empowers users to store their data securely in the cloud. Each file uploaded on StorX is split and encrypted into multiple fragments to autonomous storage nodes operated by individual operators worldwide. Designed as a collection of independent storage networks, no particular operator has complete access to your data. StorX is faster than legacy centralized storage providers and allows users to save substantial costs compared to a centralized cloud. StorX enables users with spare storage capacity to lease space and earn great returns in SRX tokens.
$SRX is listed on multiple-tier exchanges like HitBTC, Liquid, LCX, Coinstore, Bitmart and Bitrue. To know more about StorX Network, Visit https://storx.tech
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