Thank you for joining our February Q&A Session on Reddit. Like every month, we enjoyed answering your questions. This time we answered questions regarding ICN utility, our upcoming Big Four audit, the fiat ramp-up, and more. Read below for our answers to the twenty top upvoted questions.

When will we get a clear use of the ICN token on the platform?

by Bumerang007

We will publicly specify two usages for ICN in mid-March, which we will announce in a blog post. Implementation will follow soon after.

Will ICONOMI consider burning ICN (as part of the repayment program) directly from the treasury’s ICN, at the price the treasury acquired it at (if that price is less than market price)?

by jesusthatsgreat

No, the repayment program will continue to be conducted based on the original design. We may choose to allocate treasury ICN for burning, but we will not do so at less than market price.

What is your explanation/theory for why the token is trading at less than book value? How does a tokenised firm that is in high growth market and currently profitable with growing revenue streams and new revenue streams planned to achieve this?

by LordRillen

We believe the reason the ICN token is trading at less than book value is our delivery-first approach. We prefer to focus on delivering an excellent product, not on superficial hype. As the crypto market matures, a growing proportion of those involved will seek easier alternative ways to manage their digital assets, and our platform will be ready for this massive influx when it arrives, which should translate into a more appropriate valuation of the ICN token. Many token holders have already recognized the potential of ICN as a long-term value play.

When can we expect transparency tools from Iconomi regarding the ICN tokens?

by Gnossienli

The most important aspects of transparency are reporting spending, earnings, and available assets, and we provide these statistics in each of our Quarterly Reports. In this sense, we are already more transparent than a large percentage of blockchain companies.

That said, improving transparency is an ongoing process, and we are constantly considering ways to improve. However, there are some things, such as employee salaries, that we will not disclose publicly to protect the privacy of our team.

Will traders have options to get out (in fiat) of the market this year and if yes when?

by Cryptsix

As mentioned in our “ICONOMI in 2018” blog post, “possibilities for risk reduction” are an important part of our plans for 2018. The exact form these risk reduction options will take has not yet been finalized, but both fiat and stable coins are being considered.

Did ICONOMI team have any particular ICN use-case in mind? Is this #icnhodlers channel?

by kr1stjans

The #icnhodlers channel is not the usage mentioned in our blog post. We will announce the first two usages in mid-March.

Are there any other plans for Iconomi to do anything to add more value to token holders?

by Astrocat15

We will be announcing two ICN usages in mid-March, and we have a number of other ideas for ICN usages that may be implemented down the line. The options you mention have been discussed and could potentially be implemented in the future.

Is Columbus Capital, not having any financial incentives towards the success of CCP or BLX the best pick for managing these assets?

by stephen2512

We strongly believe the current team at Columbus Capital is the best for the job, but this is a valid point. We have considered financial incentives, and performance bonuses may be a good idea down the line, but right now we are very satisfied with Columbus Capital’s performance and do not have any immediate plans in this area.

What specifically are you doing to help tokenized ICN assets get listed on more external exchanges and how do you plan to improve this moving forward?

by stephen2512

You’re right, an API is vital to helping tokenized DAAs achieve adoption by exchanges. As mentioned in “ICONOMI in 2018,” we will be implementing a trading API this year, which will be released in two phases: 1. live DAA data for net asset value, assets under management, number of tokens, etc. to ease integration into various platforms (such as CoinMarketCap and Blockfolio); 2. The trading API itself, which can be used in the manner you mentioned in your question to provide liquidity for tokenized DAAs and accelerate tokenized DAA adoption by exchanges.

My question is will ICONOMI consider creating a board of directors, appointed by the shareholders in 2018?

by stephen2512

Creating a board of directors is possible, though not something under intensive discussion at the moment. There are certainly some potential advantages, such as having a more direct line of communication between the community and the elected board. If we decide to move in this direction, we will communicate any updates to the community.

Will you do a better job at communicating these types of deviations in the future?

by stephen2512

Yes. We will be releasing Weekly Updates beginning tomorrow to keep the community informed on a more regular and timely basis, and any deviations from previous communications will be published in these updates. Regular development updates will also be published in the near future. This increased frequency and variety of communication will ensure these gaps in communication are permanently closed.

How well does the Icnhodler/deposits page track the real deposit amount?

by phLe7fI

We strongly appreciate jesusthatsgreat’s work on the ICN Hodler website. However, ICN Holder does not pull data directly from ICONOMI, and we do not verify the accuracy of any data hosted on third-party websites.

What is the progress with Big Four audit?

by goblinnilgob

We have signed a contract with a Big Four firm and are currently implementing the platform features necessary to enable the audit to begin. We expect the audit to take place within approximately two to three months.

Fiat Ramp-Up — We predict that it will be operational by the start of Q2 at the latest. Does things go by the plan?

by goblinnilgob

Yes, the progress of the fiat ramp-up is proceeding as expected, as mentioned in our recent Monthly Update. We expect it to be ready at least for large deposits by Q2. Once the fiat ramp-up is in place, we will be one of a relatively small handful of blockchain companies featuring this option. We will communicate any news in our Weekly Updates.

Is the “100,000 users depositing $ 1M a day” current information, or is it an article whose interview was done in January?

by JMelchor

The interview was conducted in January. The numbers given in the interview were an on-the-spot estimation to give a sense of the state of platform use at the time. We currently have over 56,000 users, who in January deposited over $1M on eight separate days, with a high of $2.7M on January 15.

Here is a simple question, why would I hold ICN and not any other token/crypto right now?

by ChaosWAO

With our focus on delivering the best possible product and minimal engagement in the hype cycle common in the blockchain space today, ICN is a long-term prospect. If you believe in the team and the platform and you believe that the demand for digital asset management will continue to grow — gradually now but, we believe, at an explosive rate as the market evolves and matures — ICN may be a good choice. Additionally, the platform is already generating cash flow.

I understand ICN will be used by DAA managers to pay creation fees, rebalancing fees, etc. Since that is one tiny fraction of the user base, have you made any progress on adding ICN utility for DAA investors?

by GeorgeMoroz

We will be announcing the first two ICN usages in mid-March, as mentioned in our answer to a previous question.

Seeing the user number in perspective i really have a feeling iconomi.net is lagging behind. What does the team think is the reason for this?

by phLe7fI

ICONOMI is at the vanguard of a niche market in a technology still relatively in its infancy. Close to 0% of blockchain assets are currently under professional management, but this number will grow substantially as the market matures, likely to 50% or more. As the massive influx of new entrants into the crypto market during the last quarter of 2017 tires of managing their own assets — signing up for and verifying accounts on multiple exchanges, dealing with security issues, etc. — they will look for more hands-off ways to participate in the crypto market, and our platform will be ready to provide them this option.

While we are happy to see the entrance of so many new investors in the crypto-economy that has led to the explosive growth of exchanges, it is also important to recognize that ICONOMI is a new kind of technical service, not an exchange, and cannot be usefully compared to exchanges or their growth statistics.

Is it possible to post your 2018 roadmap on the website where anyone can see what is in the planning, the progress and what we can expect from it when ready, as platform users and ICN investors?

by Mazzorro

Our 2018 roadmap was published at the end of last year. As mentioned in our Q4 Financial Report, creating a more informative website is one of our communications focuses for Q1 and Q2 2018. We will also be releasing Weekly Updates beginning tomorrow, Friday, February 23, and in the near future we plan to begin a regular series of development updates in the style of Augur.

Please convince me and everyone else why we shouldn’t sell our ICN tokens.

by tamhenk

See our answer to another question above for an overview of our views on this subject. In short: we are a long-term-oriented company building a robust, scalable platform to fulfill a growing need: professional, convenient management of users’ digital assets. The market for this service will only continue to increase as the crypto market grows.

What kind of positions have you hired people for lately?

by vesqmm

We have been hiring primarily for the DAA manager and development departments, and also have new team members in our legal and support departments, as well as a new office manager. Here are our newest team members saying hi!