Skrumble Network (SKM) AMA with Wolf Crypto — Part One
We held an AMA with Skrumble Network (SKM) in our public Telegram channel on the 18th of April 2018.
Skrumble is a secure, communication-centric blockchain, decentralized communication application and a communication layer for developers to add into any application. With no middle entity or centralized server host in between to censor, block or manipulate any data, Skrumble Network enables open, global private communication and transactions that are truly community owned and operated.
The Skrumble Network public token sale is expected to start on April 28th. You can whitelist for the ICO here.
You can also visit the Skrumble Telegram channel for further details.
Here’s what Skrumble Co-founder Eric Lifson, VP of Corporate Development Christine Guo & Marketing Coordinators Shelby Pearce & Lissy Lissondro had to say in the AMA.*
*This AMA has been edited for clarity.
WC (Wolf Crypto Telegram Member)
Welcome to another edition of Wolf Crypto AMA, this time with Skrumble Network.
Welcome Eric!
EL
Hello everyone! I’m going to invite a few of my team members, in case you guys are an unruly bunch 😀 We are happy to chat and tell you all about Skrumble Network.
I am happy to welcome Lissy, Christine and Shelby from our team.
TEAM & TEAM GOALS
WC
Great — I will start with, what is Skrumble’s main mission, as in, what you trying to achieve?
LL
With Skrumble Network, we’re currently in the process of building a completely decentralized social media communication application. Incorporating the traditional messaging, audio and video calling for peer-to-peer and groups, it will also include the ability to send cryptocurrencies in-app, and more.
It is Skrumble Network’s mission to innovate methods of communication and create opportunities for people to connect globally on the most secure networks possible, which is why we’ll also be building our very own blockchain that is uniquely optimized for communication connections and transactions and cannot be blocked by any firewall.
WC
Can you tell us something more about the team and Skrumble Technologies? It’s not just you working from a garage, right?
SP
While the Skrumble Network project is new, the team behind it is not! Skrumble Technologies Inc has been around for a few years now! We launched in 2014, are based out of Toronto, Canada and have a team of over 40 people!
Definitely not just in a garage 😉
THE SKRUMBLE NETWORK
WC
Why is blockchain technology needed to implement this idea? Could you not do it without blockchain?
CG
That is a good questions. We need the authentication on the blockchain. In addition to authentication, the blockchain will carry any financial data derived during the sessions. For example; any in conversation payment or transfers. As well, all of the information to establish the peer to peer connection and the encryption of that data is carried on the blockchain. (please see the our whitepaper — Skrumble Blockchain description).
Skrumble Network does not use centralized servers. All communication happen peer to peer. There are no IP addresses or URLs to block.
EL
We will be unblockable by firewalls due to our architecture. We have over 70k preorders for our beta because people don’t want to be blocked. Telegram is blocked in China, Iran and many other countries. Telegram is now being banned in Russia.
We just did a world tour road show and we spoke with many people are scared to have their info hacked. Moreover, they are tired of being blocked.
SP
Skrumble Network is beyond valuable because we are helping to solve the security and data ownership crisis. By building our very own blockchain that is uniquely optimized for communication and a decentralized social media application, we won’t be able to be blocked by firewalls, assure user anonymity and ensure data and content privacy. This is seriously going to huge!
WC
What is user controlled storage and can you tell us more about this feature?
CG
Storage will be offered to users in two ways. The first is on device — this is where data is stored on the user’s device through a direct download. The second is through a proprietary, patented distributed scheme. This allows for data files to be stored in multiple locations. These data files are split using a proprietary algorithm and are encoded using the session key and encryption key that are generated for the user and the given session.
WC
The benefits of decentralization come at a cost of speed in most cases. Specifically in Ethereum’s case, time between blocks can be over 20s. What’s your approach on keeping messages flowing quickly, how do you plan to manage that balance of decentralization versus performance?
EL
Great question. We have a hybrid approach that leverages the authentication and ID management on the block chain. We then go into a patented SSL layer and a rich media communication layer.
WC
Regarding voice and video, is video conferencing possible for business use? And for B2B, will there be some sort of business package style deals?
CG
Well, we are targeting C2C at the beginning. But once it comes to SDK/API layer, it can be applied to other chains. It is not limited to C2C use but also business use.
LL
Yes, it will be peer-to-peer and group calling. You will be able to use it for all of your communication needs! 😉
WC
How much of the previous company product is being implemented into SKM?
SP
We are utilizing our teams experience building Skrumble Technologies Inc enterprise software. However, Skrumble Network will be completely different. The only similarity between products will be the key features (messaging, audio and video calling).
COMPETITORS
WC
Can you tell us more about the project? Haven’t heard about you guys. Who are your closest competitors?
LL
We have seen various competitors like Mainframe, Line, Wechat, Telegram and many more, and the first differentiator we always highlight is the decentralized aspect of our network as well as the focus for communication.
We are the first communication network and DApp that is coming out to the market, in which we give users the right to own their own data and communicate freely without bans or censorship, or data stored in a centralized server.
We have been compared to Orchid Protocol and Substratum because of our decentralized aspect but they’re just for information allocation and decentralized VPN services, there is still no peer-to-peer communication aspect in any of the current serious blockchain projects.
WC
How are you different from probably the most hyped upcoming ICO, Mainframe?
LL
Mainframe is based on XMPP which is purely text based and does not allow for real time video call and calls and is mostly B2B. My partner Christine will send you more technical details!
CG
Skrumble vs. Mainframe — from a technical perspective:
Mainframe has deployed a decentralized topology much like Skrumble. It ends there — the Mainframe project is built upon a protocol called XMPP. This is an established protocol that has been around for many years. It was used by both Google and Cisco (Jabber) for their chat applications. Both these companies have subsequently dropped this protocol because it does not lend itself well to real-time voice and video.
WC
Do you consider Status (SNT) a competitor, and whats the difference? (now that we know how you differ from Mainframe)
LL
WC
How big is the potential market for Skrumble?
CG
At the beginning, we will focus on the crypto market, where needs the secure communication. The communication/social media market is huge — Think about Facebook or WeChat and the entire crypto market. Secure communication is important.
WC
Thanks Christine, I guess that leads right into the above Telegram question (How will you compete with such giants? TG just raised $1.7b)
EL
This is truly community owned by the community and spread out by multiple nodes. The data is stored and split up using our patented technology. Therefore, unlike Telegram, if a server node was ever compromised, the file is incomprehensible. Your data is truly safe!
PARTNERSHIPS & EXCHANGES
WC
I see LBank is a partner of yours. Recently APEX launched on LBank and it was a disaster. There is a lot of fake volume on there. I hope you don’t have plans to list the token there!
CG
Lbank is one of the options. But we have a few other offers for exchanges. We plan to launch two exchanges at the beginning and add more later. We will definitely take your option regarding Lbank into our consideration.
WC
Considering you have the CEO of Jaxx as a advisor will you be integrating their wallet or will Jaxx be creating a new wallet for Skrumble?
SP
Eric is going to be meeting with Anthony on April 25th for a strategic brainstorming session! More to come on exciting partnership news after that!
WC
Wow nice, your advisors are top draw!
WC
Can you please tell us more about your current partnerships, and how and where your system is used?
EL
We have great partnerships already in place including Jaxx, Decentral, ins chain and Aion. We also have large strategic partnerships with our Chinese investor groups that can turn on millions of users very quickly.
Some of them are top influencers in the space.
WC
What’s your connection with Alex Tapscott?
https://twitter.com/skrumblehq/status/984884838262910976
LL
He’s a friend and fan of our project, and we are having on-going discussions. 😉
ROADMAP, BETA & FUTURE GROWTH
WC
How long do you think it will take to reach a user base and connection such as Telegram, WeChat etc?
EL
We already have 70k beta pre orders, around 47k on our Telegram group. We have significant partnerships around the world. Especially through our investors in China. We expect to have 2 Million users by September and 10 million users by Q1 next year.
WC
I see on your roadmap/timeline, that you are planning an android / iOS release this summer.
Do you anticipate any push back from app marketplaces considering that your app may be contentious due to its ability to transgress government censorship / borders?
EL
Due to our decentralized architecture we actually can’t be stopped. Even if we were taken off the App Store. We have a few innovative ways to get it into people’s hands beyond traditional app stores (which we’ll also do).
- We can launch into a unique web RTC (real time communication) session. This is with no centralized server and it acts a completely p2p connection with only those who have the secret key able to access and put the data together.
- We’ll be featured in dApp stores such as Decentral.
- We have a relationship with one of the top dev communities in China. They have an innovative way to provide our app using QR codes that can be passed to anyone as a link vs having to download it in an App Store. So it could pass to millions without having to go to an App Store.
SP
We are launching our beta version 1 April 28th! This video includes a sneak peak of the beta app.
CG
Please see our SKM project timeline.
TOKEN UTILITY
WC
If understand your whitepaper correctly, the tokens only use is to stake it for features, will that be tier wise or more feature wise? It will not be used as part of the blockchain (for example masternodes)?
LL
It is a utility token with the ability to -
1. Build on our secure, communication centric chain.
2. Using our DApp to unlock certain features such as file storage and sending large files, special stickers and live events with celebrities.
3. We will have an SDK that can integrate with other blockchains and enable decentralized communication.
WC
Does this mean you will have masternodes?
EL
We will launch with a closed network of trusted miners. from there we will open it up to the community. That will happen when we reach critical mass to add untrusted nodes to the network. That is how we will ensure very fast consensus.
ICO & TOKEN SUPPLY
WC
When is the ICO?
EL
The ICO expected for April 28.
WC
Is it correct that your hardcap is around 9M USD?
CG
The hard cap is 20,000 ETH. Based on the current price of ETH, it is around 9–10m USD.
WC
How much of the total token supply will be in circulation once the tokens hit the market?
CG
The total supply is 1.5 billion. the circulation part is: private & public sale, around 30%; angel investors, about 5%; marketing and others — about 5%. At the beginning, the circulation part is about 40% of the total supply.
SP
Check out our token economics!
WC
How long are dev and team tokens locked?
CG
The team portion will be locked up for 9 months. After 9 months, the token will be distributed over 10 month period at 10% per month.
WC
When is the token distribution?
CG
The initial distribution of the tokens will be 3 days before listing.
WC
Are you collecting investments right now, or is the whitelist only open right now?
EL
We are almost fully sold out. Only small strategic allocations right now.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
WC
Thanks so much Skrumble team, that was freaken awesome. You nailed it. The information was super valuable.
Great team, and great project, best of luck guys!
EL
Thank you guys so much! Great questions!
CG
Please check our webstie: www.skrumble.network for more information.
SP
Join our Telegram group to ask more questions and get updates and news about Skrumble Network: https://t.me/skrumble
Skrumble Network Resources
Website: https://skrumble.network
Telegram: https://t.me/skrumble
Medium: https://medium.com/@skrumblenetwork
Whitepaper: https://skrumble.network/whitepapers
Wolf Crypto Resources
Public Group: https://t.me/WolfCryptoPub
News Channel: https://t.me/WolfCryptoAnnounce
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WolfCryptoGroup
