The countdown has begun for smart contracts protocol ICON's June 20 token swap.
On Wednesday, investors will swap their ethereum-based ICX tokens, used for project fundraising, for coins on a live version of the ICON blockchain, effectively exchanging all existing tokens in an elaborate code migration. Launched in 2017, ICON aims to connect independent blockchain communities, each with their own governance proposals, to each other via ICON Republic, a larger governing network with a blockchain based on a new protocol called loopchain.
ICON sold 50 percent of its ICX token supply in a pre-sale last September, raising 150,000 ETH worth around $42,750,000 at the time. The project launched its blockchain in January this year, and according to CoinMarketCap, ICON's token has a collective market capitalization of about $800 million.
The token swap will be implemented at an exchange rate of 1:1 (1 ethereum ICX token for 1 mainnet ICX coin) via the ICONex wallet from June to September 25, as well as through supporting exchanges. Users will have until Wednesday to transfer their tokens to Binance and Upbit, and until Thursday for Bithumb - the only three exchanges supporting the swap, according to ICON.
In the event that, instead of using the ICONex wallet, token holders wish to have an exchange carry out the migration process, ICON has advised users to have approximately 0.002 ETH in their ICX-ethereum wallet in order to pay for the transaction. As for users who want to transfer their ethereum-based ICX tokens in ICONex to exchanges, they will need to check if they have sufficient ETH balances for GAS, as ethereum tokens need GAS to make the transactions.
Once ethereum tokens are swapped for mainnet coins they will be burnt, with those that don't make the swap being locked once the swap period ends. This is to prevent further use of the tokens. ICON has not yet indicated how token holders can track the progress of the token migration.
It hasn't all been smooth sailing in the run-up to the swap, however.
There has been some confusion within the community as to when the token migration was set to occur. Unlike other projects, such as EOS, ICON opted to conduct its token swap after its mainnet launch. The project said at the time of the launch that it planned to delay the swap, projected for March in the project's roadmap, until after it released its native wallet.
However, by early April, the project had yet to announce the date of the swap, and later apologized for what it called a "lack of communication leading to confusion throughout the community," in an update on its Medium page.
Additionally, the project encountered some technical difficulties. On June 16, a bug was discovered in ICON's smart contract, allowing any user except the smart contract creator to disable token transfers. Although developers resolved the issue the same day, that didn't stop users from faulting the project for its coding oversight in this instance.
Like other projects, ICON has also expressed concerns over potential scams. Yesterday the ICON Foundation warned users of potential scammers impersonating the project during the swap, such as actors requesting ICX to be sent to individual wallets rather than the ICONex wallet and supporting exchanges.
In addition to releasing its mainnet and preparing for the token swap, ICON recently announced partnerships with the Deloitte Startup Advisory Group and social media platform Line Plus, adding to their list of enterprise partners which include Samsung, Wanchain, Hyundai and Aion.
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