What is cryptocurrency ICON and how does it work?

What is ICON (ICX)?

ICON launched in 2017, created and developed by a company based in South Korea. It was created with the idea of developing a new model of digital economy where applications could run on the ICON infrastructure and become a part of the decentralized economy created by ICON and its automated protocol. These applications would represent economy participants and could create their own cryptocurrencies, while nodes controlled by computational power could choose which application to support. All these applications are independent, but they are still interconnected and can mutually communicate. The centerpiece of all operations and economies hosted on the ICON Network is the Icon Republic, which is where ICX tokens are minted. Icon Foundation, the company behind the ICON project, aims to “hyperconnect the world,” which is an ambitious project as ICON keeps updating the roadmap and upgrading the ecosystem. The ultimate goal of the project is to build the largest decentralized network that will interconnect various smart contracts, decentralized applications, and economies, while enhancing interoperability.

How Does ICON Work?

Unlike Bitcoin, and many other altcoins that came afterward, ICON doesn’t rely on the process of mining to reach consensus and create new blocks within the network. Instead, ICON network relies on the delegated Proof of Contribution consensus algorithm to choose the nodes that should add new blocks to the blockchain. DPoC is a variant of Delegated Proof of Stake, which is considered to be more efficient and democratic than the original Proof of Stake protocol.

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DPoS enables network participants, i.e. nodes, to vote and elect which delegate should be the next to validate a block. Delegates are chosen by depositing tokens into a voting pool for the particular delegate. The ICON Network consists of five main components that ensure the network’s operations are in order. These components are the Icon Republic, Icon Communities, Community Representatives, Community Nodes, and Citizen Nodes. ICON network is powered by Loopchain, which is a high-performance enterprise blockchain with smart contract features. Loopchain ensures the functionality of integrated messaging between different economies and applications through the use of the Loop Fault Tolerance algorithm. ICON has its own IRC-16 token standard, first proposed in 2019, which enables network participants to issue securities and tokenized assets.

Who Are the Founders of ICON? History of ICON

The ICON project was founded in 2017 by Min Kim, who previously founded e-commerce company IVELA Global and served as an advisor to Asian fintech DAYLI Financial Group. The promotion and development of the project is supported by the ICON Foundation. In 2017, ICON held an initial coin offering and raised 150,000 ETH, which was equivalent to about $43 million at the time. The token sale included half the total supply of ICX. The ICON Foundation, which is in charge of all operations and developments regarding the ICON Network, its economy, and its token ICX, launched the official network in January 2018, and the ICO investors received their ICX tokens in June that year. ICON continues to develop while the ICON Foundation keeps updating their roadmap to match new plans for the ambitious project that might become one of the biggest decentralized economies on a global scale.

What Makes ICON Unique?

ICON offers a nearly unique opportunity to build applications and interconnect with other dApps and economies within a public blockchain and a decentralized architecture that employs an efficient protocol, Delegated Proof of Stake. ICON technology has various use cases within the decentralized economy model, so network users can, for example, store medical records, insurance records, and other important data at a high security level. ICON users can also create their own tokens and cryptocurrencies as national currencies for their individual economy built and established on the ICON network. ICX also enables fast transactions and prompt validations thanks to the employment of Delegated Proof of Contribution, which is another point of uniqueness in the technical roadmap of ICON (ICX).

What Gives ICON Value?

There are numerous factors that can affect the market value of ICX. ICON, as well as other cryptocurrencies, is subject to frequent price changes due to the high volatility in the market. One of the crucial factors that may influence the value of ICON is its total supply. The ICX supply can potentially be inflationary or deflationary depending on the number of transaction fees in a block. More important factors that give ICON value are its technical capacity, utility, and technology. ICON Network enables ICX staking and rewards, while enabling interoperability between dApps and economies created on the platform. ICX can also be rewarded to network participants, including representatives. The intrinsic value of ICON as a blockchain project is determined by the efficiency of the network and its technology. As ICON is expanding and continuing to develop, the project may attract institutional investors and more users.

How Many ICON (ICX) Coins Are There in Circulation?

ICX currently has a circulating supply of and a total supply of . New ICX are minted to pay staking rewards but the emission rate changes dynamically according to the number of transaction fees in a block, with any excess transaction fees being burned. This means that if the ICON Network transaction volume is large enough, ICX could become deflationary.  The number of coins in circulation multiplied by the current market price of ICX equals the total market cap. The total market cap determines the rank of ICX in comparison with its crypto peers and determines its market share.

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Other Technical Data

The structure of the ICON Network consists of five different components as mentioned before: ICON Republic, ICON Communities, Community Representative, Community Nodes, and Citizen Nodes. ICON Republic is a system of nodes that connects different communities and functions as a communication channel between them. ICON Communities can operate within their own ecosystems and rules that define the economy of that community, and are defined as a network of nodes with the same governance system. Community Representatives, also known as C-Reps, are rewarded with ICX tokens for their participation in the network’s governance system. Representatives are elected nodes from each community that exists on the network. These nodes can communicate with ICON Republic. Community Nodes are the basis of infrastructure of each hosted Community in charge of governance and maintenance of the blockchain. Lastly, Citizen Nodes support transactions between the communities and ICON Republic.

How is The ICON Network Secured?

ICON Network is secured through the use of the Delegated Proof of Contribution protocol that uses Loopchain with a Loop Fault Tolerance algorithm. Loopchain works by assigning nodes to blocks with group transactions, further distributing those blocks to other nodes. Next in the line of command are validation nodes that check the validity of blocks and confirm the generation of new blocks. Loopchain uses a mechanism known as Spinning, which reduces the number of steps needed to generate new blocks and validate block data and transactions within blocks.

How to Use ICON?

ICON can be used by businesses, institutions, and non-profit organizations to create interconnected applications that act as economies based on blockchain and decentralization. Network users can create their own tokens and cryptocurrencies, and communicate with other communities as well. ICX, the native token of the ICON ecosystem, can be staked by network participants in elections and voting on nodes and delegates, i.e. Representatives, and is also used as a reward for the participation of Representatives in the network’s governance. ICON tokens can also be traded in the crypto market, while traders can make a profit based on the difference between the buying and selling price.

How to Choose an ICON Wallet?

There are several types of wallets where you can keep your ICON (ICX) in a secure manner and with maximum accessibility. Hardware wallets such as Nano Ledger S are usually a popular choice for ICX holders with greater balances. They provide the most secure option but tend to be more expensive and require more technical know-how. ICON holders can also use the official ICON wallet known as ICONex, launched in 2019. ICONex is a Chrome extension wallet but there are also versions for web, iOS, and Android called MyIconWallet. ICON can be safely and securely stored in MyEtherWallet as well, which is a popular choice for many crypto holders that have balances for multiple ERC-20 tokens. Online or web wallets are free and easy to use but can be less secure than hardware or software alternatives. As you are likely trusting the platform to manage your ICX, you should select a reputable service with a track record in security and custody. As such, they are most suited for holding smaller amounts of cryptocurrencies or for those making more frequent trades.

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Kriptomat offers a secure storage solution, allowing you to both store and trade your ICX tokens without hassle. Storing your ICX with Kriptomat provides you with enterprise-grade security and user-friendly functionality. Buying and selling ICX, or trading it for any other cryptocurrency, is done in mere moments when you choose our secure platform as your storage solution.

ICON Proof of Stake

Icon network uses a Delegated Proof of Contribution consensus, which is a variation of Delegated Proof of Stake. DPoS is more efficient when compared with the traditional Proof of Stake mechanism as it employs a reduced number of steps for validation and security with the use of Loopchain.

Conclusion

ICON continues to develop in accordance with its roadmap on its journey to hyperconnecting the world. It is creating one of the biggest networks that facilitates a network of communities based on blockchain technology. ICX could make an interesting investment for institutional investors who can see the potential in the decentralized interconnected economy of autonomous interoperable communities. As the ICON ecosystem grows and develops, ICX has a greater chance of becoming a more popular asset together with the ICON Network. Join the crypto revolution and get started on your ICON journey today.

ICON FAQ

How to Buy ICON?

If you’ve been wondering how to buy ICON, you will be thrilled to know that you can easily buy your ICX any time through Kriptomat with a range of payment methods available.

How to Sell ICON?

If you already own ICX and hold it in a Kriptomat exchange wallet, you can easily sell it by navigating the interface and choosing your desired payment option.

ICON Price

ICON price can change radically from one moment to the next, due to the volatility in the cryptocurrency market and a multitude of specific factors that may cause the price to change. You can check the live ICON price on Kriptomat. As well as traditional factors such as market sentiment, the flow of cryptocurrency on exchanges, and the economy in general, the price of ICX is also affected by the transaction volume on the ICON Network and therefore the number of projects building on it. The current ICX price is EUR. The 24-hour trading volume of ICX is EUR. ICX is currently ranked of all cryptocurrencies by total market cap, with a market cap of EUR. It has a circulating supply of and a max supply of .

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