ICON | New Hub for Blockchain Network?
By Daman Rao | Crescent City Capital Market Analyst Intern
ICON (ICX)
Market Analysis
What is ICON?
ICON is striving to create a decentralized network of interconnected networks, all powered by cryptocurrencies. Their ultimate aim is to establish a virtual nation where various economic entities can generate and manage their own forms of value, operating under rule systems of their choosing. This concept draws inspiration from the structure of real-world economies, where businesses, nonprofits, and public institutions utilize a common national currency as a means of value exchange, yet maintain their individual identities while remaining capable of interoperability.
To put it differently, ICON envisions that computer applications can use its software as a foundational infrastructure to establish their own currencies and economic ecosystems. Computers running this software, referred to as nodes, can then opt to support specific economies within the ICON ecosystem based on their interests.
At the heart of ICON blockchain’s operations lies the ICON Republic, which governs the process of generating new ICX cryptocurrency with each block. Despite the ambitious nature of this endeavor, the ICON team has made substantial progress over the years.
How does it work?
The Icon blockchain employs a delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus algorithm to determine which nodes can add new blocks efficiently. This method, shared with other major cryptocurrencies like Tron and EOS, prioritizes speed in achieving network consensus over competitive mining.
The ICON blockchain relies on Loop Chain, which is an algorithm facilitating communication among ICON republic nodes. Loopchain employs the Loop Fault Tolerance algorithm, similar to DPos, to group transactions into blocks, add them to the blockchain, and distribute them to other network nodes. Validation nodes confirm block creation, verify block integrity, and validate block data.
What sets ICON apart from traditional DPoS, which is the blockchains is the streamlining of the verification and consensus process. LFT introduces a technique called “Spinning” which simplifies the selection of block creators and validator nodes.
Recent Updates
ICON as of November 2nd is trading at $.21 with a 24-hr trading volume of $8,543,392. The total circulating supply is 971 million tokens
As of recently ICON has been down 3.36% in the last day, up 5.21% in the last 7 days and overall up 27.10% in the last month.
If we were to look at the spike right in the start of the launch of the token back in January 2018. ICON hit its all time high at $12.64 on January 8th, 2018. This was during the announcement of the launch of the ICON Mainnet which was to be launched near the end of January 2018. This announcement could potentially be one of the reasons for ICX reaching its ATH.
Looking at the movement of ICON it continuously bottomed out from late 2018 to early 2021. The decline could be related to the crypto market crash in 2018, where late March 2018 Facebook, Google, and Twitter ban advertisements for initial coin offerings(ICO) and token sales. On 15 November 2018, Bitcoin’s market capitalization fell below $100 billion for the first time since October 2017 and the price of Bitcoin fell to $5,500. This affected the market as a whole and could’ve been a big reason behind the decline and stagnant price of ICON.
There can also be seen a sudden rise on January 4th 2021 where the tokens trading volume increases more than double and peaks at $2.81 on April 2nd. This is after the announcement that the firm will be testing a new digital driver’s license system, which could be the driving factor behind the increase in price.
As of recently ICON has committed to making new developments in the space, including the announcement of the implementation of Archway into its network. Archway is an incentivized smart contract platform that rewards developers for building on the network with baked-in incentives and rewards. As mentioned before, new developments by ICON led to small spikes in the price, which could potentially mean another increase in price in the upcoming weeks.
Summary
ICON initially presented their vision in a white paper in 2017 and later delved deeper into their technology in a 2019 yellow paper. As of 2020, the ICON team consistently provides updated road maps via Medium to keep the community informed about their progress. ICON has launched ICON 2.0, featuring an improved blockchain engine, Java smart contract support, BTP interoperability technology, and revised tokenomics. They’re also integrating with prominent blockchains, expecting network effects and increased adoption. ICON aims to lead in interoperability technology and cross-chain applications by pursuing more BTP integrations, supporting innovative use cases, and enhancing their core BTP product. With the price currently at its lowest, ICON is continuing to make further developments in the blockchain space, such as the Archway implementation and promise of further testing and development to the ICON ecosystem. With these announcements ICON is definitely to keep an eye out for in the coming months.
Disclaimer: Please note that the contents of this article are not financial or investing advice. The information provided in this article is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as offering trading or investing recommendations. Please conduct your own due diligence before making any investment decisions.
References:
https://www.kraken.com/learn/what-is-icon-icx
https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/icon/
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/02/bitcoin-dominance-of-cryptocurrency-market-lowest-level-ever.html