What is the primary difference between NEXT.exchange and other cryptocurrency exchanges, what do you mean by hybrid exchange?

So, to start its important to mention that in today’s market there are primarily centralized and decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges. For the most part, centralized exchanges function on a centralized database. This opens up a lot of room for human mischief. Decentralized exchanges, user funds are self held, self-managed, self-controlled. But Dex exchanges are typically limited in the type of assets that they can cater to.

At NEXT, we have our own Blockchain. Decentralized up until the wallet, the matching engine is centralized, meanwhile, transactions are to be recorded on our Blockchain. This is important for transparency and for future regulation. We also have cold-storage on board. So assets on NEXT are basically super secure and in a vault.

When will the launch of the exchange happen?

According to our technical director this is a matter of a few weeks. Please understand that this is a complicated matter, not something that is rushed, especially given several constraints, monetary and manpower, among others. It is not the only component which we have built.

Which list of tokens can we expect at the launch?

We will start off with base cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, Ethereum, NEXT, and some other assets which we are close to, for example Digibyte. After giving things a go, we will then expand our offering, with select projects from the top one hundred and of course more. We already have listing agents that will be involved with us and a rather big list of projects of interest. For the most part, ranking and market cap do not matter. Typically, the bigger the community, the better for us.

Can anyone run a Masternode?

Anyone can launch a Masternode on NEXT.chain

How important is the Masternode network for the platform?

In terms of the overall ecosystem that we are building given its current state. Masternodes increase our transactional throughput, network stability and security.

How important is the Blockchain for the platform at all?

It is very important, we will use it to provide a transparent record of on-exchange transactions. It can also be used to create new assets, and to swap over potential listings on top of our chain, similar to what Binance is doing with their Blockchain. However, this is not a requirement for projects, though we will push it in some instances.

It is important to note that our Blockchain is decentralized and currently holds over 125 Nodes. Collateral per node: 25,000 NEXT, soft lock, seniority bonus. More information on NEXT Masternodes may be found here.

Are there features we will see in NEXT.exchange that are not announced?

Yes, we are discussing things with our advisors and community. Some of them are quite clever, but we can’t just openly disclose what features and what ideas were working on because of competitive risk. Think of, pairings, portfolio allocations, Alternative currency value decoupling from Bitcoin.

What is the most original approach of an exchange you see in the market now?

Original is a strange word to use here. As we observe the market while we are building our exchange. What I like most are exchanges that really look out for the fund security of their users and up their security game. Some marketing approaches are interesting, Kraken for example.

How will you guys decide on what cryptocurrencies will be listed?

We will be looking at several criteria for this. Community size, community activity, project prospect, use case, are they really solving something, are they changing the world. Not really keen on listing total shitcoins.

Will the platform be compatible with smartphones?

At the start, via mobile browser, yep. We will of course work on releasing iPhone and Android applications. Mobile on-the-go trading is super important.

How did Coinads help NEXT at the start of the IEO?

As most of our community knows, we engaged with the Coinads/8bit marketing organization to help us promote the NEXT IEO and the upcoming NEXT.exchange launch. We were in discussion with them for quite some time before starting the contract, and initially, CoinAds and 8bit presented themselves quite well. We were quite interested in working with them, especially because we’ve heard from a few sources some very interesting things regarding them and we liked their communication with us at the start and there was quite a bit of professionalism to it. They were boasting an extremely large network that they were going to bring in and help us promote everything and such.

But there were a couple of strange instances after we signed the contract, which we really did not like, and the network which they advertised to us proved to be not true. It was very low quality, fake accounts, fake groups, and so forth. There was a lot of deception on their behalf and we sent them a legal letter voicing our complaints after a formal discussion. We had to terminate the agreement prematurely because it was a disaster with them. In our legal letter we requested feedback within 5 days otherwise we are free to go public with this information. They lied about their network, didn’t demonstrate, you know, really any type of care to us as clients. Basically, when things came to digging deeper and deeper as we started working with them it became clear to us that their whole network was pretty much a fallacy. Formalizing my complaints to their CEO and to their team I was met with a strange amount of backlash and there was just no room for any type of discourse. In fact, their CEO, Bruce Kurtz, actually blocked me on communication channels. I mean if we’re talking about making payments to them, they will gladly accept it, they will tell us any story and so forth but when it came to saying “hey look you guys you sent me a report in this report you’re lying, here you’re misleading me with time-work-done, where are the advisory hours, why is it like this?” I was met with a nonsense answer: Gleb, yes I hear you and there’s nothing I can say to change your point of view at this point.”

Of course, we had a contract and there are certain NDA’s and things like this, but the performance was so profoundly ridiculously unpleasant that we ended up sending them a legal letter saying, hey you know let’s take care of this we have an outstanding balance with you guys we’d like that to be returned because it wasn’t spent. In that legal letter, we gave a time frame like please respond to this otherwise we have the freedom to go public with this information.

Our legal letter was received and it was not responded to, and here I am telling you about the situation as a whole, and indeed we were expecting to get quite a big bang from CoinAds in terms of the IEO but it didn’t work out as we initially planned. The interesting thing here is that our bad dealings with CoinAds actually led us to meet people from a company which is already quite established in the space, it’s quite large, it’s quite reputable, we’ve spoken with their representative already and there may be grounds for some type of you know partnership or alliance here. That will become more clear after this whole Coronavirus situation actually because these new potential alliances are going to be formed with people from the East.

We’re now done with CoinAds and we’re going to be doing a lot of marketing in-house and we reactivated some previous connections that we had which have worked with reputable projects and are generally more in tune with the way we like to do business. I’m pretty happy now with where we stand in terms of our marketing plans and how we’re going to continue in this regard

Now that the IEO is finished, and wasn’t so great, what’s up?

Well, the IEO was never a do-or-die type of thing. There were certain business opportunities on the line which could have been acquired with the IEO, scaling as well. However, some things didn’t align quite the way we wanted to. Nonetheless, we have an exchange that isalmost ready, a blockchain, the functionality of which is rich and holds a considerable network value and support, crowdfunding launchpad, a team, and most importantly of all a community.

We have had calls with EU and Canada based VC’s. A few large private investors are interested in supporting us. I met with an ex-Minister of Economics of a post-soviet country while I was visiting the United States recently to discuss potential business opportunities. I look forward to our next upcoming meeting.

Is NEXT connected with other cryptocurrency teams?

We have warm relationships with several teams in the industry.

Will the team sell any of their NEXT after the IEO?

Yes of course. However, it is never in our interest to go mayhem and market dump. We are mindful of market perceptions.

Will there be more exchanges NEXT will be traded on?

Of course, so to start NEXT will be traded on our own exchange with multiple pairings, P2PB2B. Also working on other platforms. We want to grow, listings are necessary. Though, we will be quite picky about this. P2PB2B was a strategic choice. We understand that some users are not happy with P2PB2B.

Do you have projects awaiting entry to NEXT.genesis?

Yes, we do. I have communicated with some organizations that are interested. Interestingly enough, there are a few teams that wanted to break into the market with their digital asset, real-world businesses with cashflow. However, they did not due to the market nosedive after the Bullrun in late 2017/early 2018. I have been maintaining contact with them.

Which are the primary things you focus on when it comes to building the company?

Right now the lion’s share of resources are going towards developments and supporting product development. Hiring the right people who are trustworthy and reliable that’s also a very big task. Handling regulations as well.

What is for you the most important aspect of blockchain and crypto?

For myself personally it is immutability and the elimination of middlemen. There can be various kinds of middlemen as you know. Many of which are just toxic. They occupy positions that are not really in need of occupation as the technology continues to develop and proves itself in front of the masses.

Are you a trader yourself?

I am, as a matter of fact, the majority of the team does some trading. We have lived through the market cycles.

Which parts of the company do you see need the most improvement?

At the moment, more development power is needed.

What are your marketing strategies and plans? Is it difficult to market without NEXT.exchange being up?

I won’t be going into all of our marketing strategies because albeit we are small, of course, there are competitors watching. You will see a mix of press, influencer marketing, community outreach, trading events, meetups, and event attendance. Speaking of events, Shagen and I, possibly some other crew members will attend Blockchain Life in Moscow this April, it is Russias biggest cryptocurrency and Blockchain event

Do you have market makers in your plans for when the exchange opens?

We have plans for liquidity providers and are in discussion with them. Of course, we would like to hook them up to NEXT.exchange. One who we have spoken to is actually quite massive. Quite massive.

What has held back launching the platform so long?

Mostly development bottleneck.

Will NEXT utility always stay the same? What about the 100 NEXT requirement to gain access to certain aspects?

We will always continue our work on expanding the utility provided by NEXT. Regarding the 100 NEXT requirement, that remains to be determined, we are working on that.

Describe NEXT in one phrase or one Tweet?

Underdog.

What makes people buy crypto?

Most people buy it right now for speculation. When Bitcoin goes back above over 20k you will see the headlines again, “Man took out a loan, sold car, kidney, wife to buy bitcoin”.

Will you eat your dick when NEXT hits $100?

No dick eating for me. But I will throw a party!

What’s the next trend in crypto?

NFT, Privacy coin renaissance, education of the masses regarding the use of cryptocurrencies and Blockchain, improved ease of use.

- Bitcoin is a store of value?

Can be. But it’s quite volatile.

- Crypto is the future of money?

I would say digital currency, immutable, decentralized, counterfeit-proof is the future of money. Evolution moves forward whether we like it or not. And of course there is technological evolution, monetary evolution. Cryptocurrency is a combination of technology and money. You know in the United States, a very long time ago, 300 years ago, you had the New York pound, Pennsylvania pound, Georgia pound and so on. Cryptocurrency will continue to evolve and be adopted as a form of payment.

- Bitcoin will never break ATH

It will. The percent of the overall global population which owns Bitcoin is not so large. Can’t FUD something forever. Well, some can, but it won’t work. Bitcoin has a large uphill battle. It is the opponent of the main product of government entities, fiat currencies. It’s dangerous because it is decentralized.

- Decentralized web-based on blockchain?

Possible. Skycoin I think is trying to do this. I’m open to recommendations for projects that can be an alternative societal backbone.

- Bitcoin is an investment?

Yeah, definitely.

- Altcoins is an investment?

Yes.

- Is trading good for passive income?

I wouldn’t call it passive income. More like active income.

- Will Ethereum will be replaced

Replaced, I don’t know if that is the right way to put it. Replaced. People like to use this a lot especially in crypto, they want their bag, to kill the other bag. We have our own Blockchain, so I can’t just be like, Ethereum is always going to be number one always. I think our mission in this field is a bit different.

- If you met Satoshi Nakamoto, what’s the first thing you would say?

Thank you.