ICON, the blockchain company whose ultimate goal is to “hyperconnect” the world with fast, decentralized data transactions, are on a roll this quarter. They’ve had exciting announcements one after another, and it’s gearing up to be a very eventful second half of 2018 as well.
theloop Rebranding
One of ICON’s high-profile partners, a technology company called theloop, is rebranding itself as ICONLOOP. This is huge, as it’s a clear sign of a strong, sustained confidence in ICON, and a determination to continue their partnership into the long term. This will strengthen ICON’s position in the Korean market, and as they expand globally.
CEO of ICONLOOP J.H. Kim states:
The rebranding makes a lot of sense as we are now finally ready to push the ICON project here in Korea. Our team is fully committed to contributing to the ICON project and servicing the ICON Foundation.
The teams of both companies are excited to move forward, and the second half of 2018 is sure to yield great results!
ICX Repurchase Program
While the ICON Foundation are primarily concerned with developing their platform and strengthening partnerships, they understand that they also have a responsibility to their community as well. This is why the ICON Foundation Council has greenlighted, by a unanimous vote, their repurchase program of up to $5 million worth of the ICX token.
The purpose of these open-market or privately negotiated repurchases of tokens is to keep price high by decreasing supply and thus increasing demand. Although the ICON team expect a more substantial increase in token value in the long term, following their new developments and expansion into new markets, they also want to enact a more immediate benefit in thanks to their community.
As ICON Foundation Council Member Min Kim explains it in the announcement on their blog:
ICX repurchase program is a great way to give back to our community as well as reinforce confidence in our own project. In these times of uncertainty, we want to make it clear that our interests are fully aligned with our community for the long term.
Open Source Release Schedule
For the next 2 months, the ICON team will be releasing by a set schedule various source codes and documents to their GitHub. Among other features, this will provide dapps with the coding to run token sales with ICX and write up smart contracts.
Among others, these releases will include the ICONex desktop wallet for the Chrome browser plugin, which allows for:
- Creation, import/export, and deletion of both ICON and ETH wallets
- Transfer of both ICX and ETH
- Exchange of ETH ICX token for ICON ICX
- Support for Ledger Nano S
ICONex wallets for Android and iOS will also be available, with essentially the same features, including the ability for third parties to develop ICON wallets, and smart contract capabilities.
Other releases include a Java-based SDK v3, a Python-based CLI tool, and Python-based SDK v2 and v3. All of these will interact with the ICON network.
There will also be a Python-based SCORE development and emulation tool that will facilitate:
- SCORE download and execution emulation, plus deployment and execution linked with ICON network
- ICX transfer emulation, and transfer linked with ICON network
- Network connection between ICON network and private ICON
Also available will be an ICON Core service, a module that will support ICON main functions, and will be connected to the blockchain core. Capabilities it will feature include:
- Being linked with loopchain
- SCORE download and execution
- ICX transfer processing
- Step processing
In addition to this, there will be access to loopchain, a blockchain engine that:
- Supports LFT-based consensus algorithm
- Is linked with ICON Service
- Has Tx prevalidate, validate, voting, and commit
There is also a collection of miscellaneous resources to access as well, including IIP/IRC standard protocol of the ICON network, AWS marketplace registration, and various yellow papers. For more details on the services that are scheduled for release to the GitHub, read ICON’s full announcement here.
ICON Developers Portal Beta Launch
On August 11, ICON made the announcement on their blog that their Developers Portal beta is live. It can be accessed here.
The purpose of this portal is to help grow the support community for dapp developers, and provide a space for synergy and positive rapport to flourish. This in turn should help boost the ICON ecosystem as a whole, as the portal will encourage brainstorming, sharing of ideas and resources, communication, and other cooperative efforts between the ICON team and community.
Currently, the Developers Portal will offer ICONex and ICON SDK for Java, with T-Bears and IISS Yellow Paper to be made available in the future.
The portal is managed by ICON partner De:Nexo, an ecosystem builder that has been invaluable in their contribution of marketing support, roadmap management, and overall consulting to the ICON team.
Conclusion
This is clearly a very key time in ICON’s growth trajectory, as they invite their community to have greater access to the building blocks of the ICON ecosystem. And the community has responded with enthusiasm, which is a good sign for future cooperative efforts.
Stay informed on latest developments in the ICON network by following their blog, Twitter, and Reddit.
