The cryptocurrency market has exploded rather quickly. There are over 1500 cryptocurrencies in the world as of June 2018, with dozens coming up every month. While many of them may be ERC20 tokens, there is a significant number that runs on their own blockchains with their own technology, leading to walled ecosystems that do not communicate with each other.
In such a scenario, there is a clear need for a product that bridges the gaps between all such technologies and makes them more accessible and usable to consumers. Enter ICX, brought to you by ICON.
ICON is a decentralized network more than a blockchain, built with an aim to connect multiple blockchains across the world and bring some consistency to the industry. This solves the large compatibility issues that all the current variety of blockchains bring. Its token is called ICX. ICON claims it is on a mission to “Hyperconnect the World” by “building one of the largest decentralized networks in the world.”
ICON has been in the development stage for about two years since 2016. It was launched by Korean Fintech company - the Dayli Financial Group. The Dayli Financial Group also owns the Korean exchange Coinone. While it operates out of South Korea, its controlling entity - the ICON foundation is headquartered in Switzerland.
ICON runs its own decentralized exchange (DEX), which allows users to settle and exchange currencies in real time globally. This has large applications across a variety of sectors - especially banking and finance.
ICX was originally an ERC20 token. Therefore, an Ethereum-compatible wallet was all you needed to store the ICON token. Popular Ethereum wallets include the Ledger Nano S, My Ether Wallet, and more. In 2018, the ICON team launched its own wallet for the token - called the ICONex. ICONex claims faster transactions, more secure payments, and liquid exchange across multiple cryptocurrencies. To download ICONex, head over to the ICON foundation’s website.
ICONex also features ‘ICONick’ - a ‘wallet ID’ implemented throughout the ICON network, which allows users to create their own unique nickname in place of the typically long wallet address associated with most other cryptocurrencies. This allows for easy recall and usage.
ICX is a smart contracts platform, allowing varying blockchains to share value via its decentralized exchange, or DEX. This can be thought of as a specific implementation of Ethereum’s smart contracts feature. The advantage here is that with its own mainnet, a host of new features can be implemented that would not have been feasible on the Ethereum blockchain.
As of May 2018, ICX - the ICON cryptocurrency - has a market cap of approximately $1.2 billion dollars, compared to $140 billion of the market leader Bitcoin. Ethereum, which was the network the ICX coin ran on prior to moving to its own wallet, has a market cap of $68 billion in comparison.
There are a total of 400,230,000 ICX coins in circulation, whose individual price has ranged wildly from $0.4 at the time of launch to over $10 within 2 months of launch.
Date |
Open |
High |
Low |
Close |
Volume |
Market Cap |
May 01, 2018 |
4.34 |
4.43 |
4.01 |
4.41 |
66,976,200 |
1,679,080,000 |
Apr 01, 2018 |
2.21 |
2.23 |
1.9 |
2.06 |
46,232,600 |
854,976,000 |
Mar 01, 2018 |
3.55 |
3.86 |
3.5 |
3.81 |
20,427,300 |
1,369,150,000 |
February 01, 2018 |
7.72 |
7.75 |
5.43 |
6.09 |
128,136,000 |
2,942,890,000 |
Jan 01, 2018 |
5.35 |
6.43 |
4.98 |
6.16 |
103,225,000 |
2,017,570,000 |
Dec 01, 2017 |
1.35 |
1.65 |
1.26 |
1.46 |
97,184 |
- |
Also Read: Complete Analysis of ICON | Live ICON (ICX) Price Charts & Predictions
ICON’s ICO concluded in October 2017, post which it witnessed listings on major exchanges. Since then, the cryptocurrency has risen to attain the 23rd ranking in terms of market cap globally. The price rose from $0.4 in October to a high of more than $10 in January. However, after the market wide dip post-January 2018, its price has settled to hover around the $3-4 mark.
If ICON is successful, expect a truly ‘hyperconnected world’ and true acceptance of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries with the rest of the world and its traditional industries.
ICON is supported and backed by major financial institutions, such as:
PANTERA Capital - an investment firm focused exclusively on ventures, tokens, and projects related to blockchain tech, cryptocurrency, and crypto assets.
Kenetic Capital - a Hong Kong-based investor in online and offline blockchain communities since 2014. Fosters growth of innovative blockchain business models.
Token-as-a-Service - a last-generation tokenized closed-end fund actively contributing to the development of the blockchain ecosystem.
Coinsilium Provides seed capital to developers of blockchain technology and fintech businesses. Coinsilium engages in partnerships with industry leaders in the smart contract and token space.
CRYPTO BAZAR - one of the largest blockchain communities in Russian-speaking countries (top blockchain developers, largest events, industry media network, venture crypto fund investing in ICOs)
ICON also remains unaffected by the regulation controversies in South Korea, where it operates, as it is originally based out of Switzerland.