It has been a rough few days for cryptocurrency as sentiment went south and prices tumbled all over. Several coins endured a price massacre, but a few have been showing signs of defiance and could break out of the red zone sooner than later. One of these coins is the fast-rising ICON (ICX).

Even as the market swayed under pressure, ICON investors have had a reason to smile, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before the rollercoaster ends and an uptrend takes shape. Most of the optimism has to do with the upcoming Mainnet token swap. However, there are other reasons that make ICON worth checking out as a would-be investor.

Token swap and Binance support is a boost

ICON just received a massive boost from Binance as it prepares to complete the Mainnet token swap. As one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, events surrounding Binance always have an impact on digital assets. So, for it to announce support for the ICX ERC-20 migration and swap is a big move for the token.

As witnessed when the announcement was made, ICX prices surged despite the bearish atmosphere. ICON, like the rest of the cryptocurrency market, has endured a largely disappointing 2018. It has dropped nearly 80% of its value since January when it reached its all-time high price.

However, in a show of just what could be in store, its value rose by over 9% against USD, taking the market by surprise. It could have been different were it during a bull run, but it could yet prepare the coin for just that should sentiment take a turn north.

Binance is the largest contributor of ICX trading volumes with 78% dominance spread in three pairs of ICX/BTC, ICX/USDT, and ICX/ETH. The exchange will halt all deposits and withdrawals of ICX on June 20, 2018, to facilitate the swap.

More importantly for the token, other major exchanges have also indicated their willingness to support the move. They include exchanges with major volume generation for the token in Bithumb, Upbit, Huobi, and OKEx.

ICON’S token swap is a very big component of the platform’s objectives. If it goes on smoothly, users will be able to hold tokens in a project that promises to bring blockchains together, a route towards massive development and possibly huge growth over the next two quarters of 2018.

Strategic Partnerships

In the last few weeks, many investors have watched as the market falters over price declines. However, those at ICX had a reason to smile and it could pay off big time in Q3 and Q4. It’s because the team has been able to secure a number of partnerships and signed MoUs with not less than five partners.

Strategic partnerships are one of the top aims as projects seek to gain global adoption. it’s one of those ways through which a coin can enhance demand and aid value addition. This is often achieved via putting the coin’s ecosystem into practical use to determine its viable use and capabilities. From here, adoption awaits.

ICON has excelled in this aspect over the last few weeks. It has established partnerships with firms and companies in different markets. Such highly thought of partners include Carboneum. It is viewed as a strategic partnership that will spearhead the crypto’s technological developments.

Furthermore, it could expose the coin to about 4.8 million users, a potential route to adoption.

There’s a mouth-watering deal with Deloitte, which will see the global giant build and run dApps on the crypto’s blockchain. Another great partnership is with Line (a social networking platform). it has the potential to expose ICX to nearly 200 million users.

These partnerships will all help propel the ICON ecosystem into the limelight, and as more dApps come on board, the coin’s usability leads to increased demand and value surges.

Finally

ICON is currently one of the most attractive projects, especially with regard to its interoperability. The team wants to eventually connect all the top cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Qtum (QTUM). It’s an objective that could make this project grow to very high levels.

The ICX token currently trades at $2.19 and has a market cap of $849 million. With its relatively low price versus expected growth potential, it’s an attractive proposition.