Korean Project ICON Introduces New Token Standard (And More!)

As the market starts showing signs of recovery, with several cryptocurrencies ‘popping off’ and registering percentage gains in the double digits, the ICON Foundation has come forth with three announcements of its own.

ICON Tokens for Real World Assets

IRC16, a newly-formed token standard for ICON’s blockchain network, is designed to allow for the transparent issuance of tokenized assets and securities. Moreover, it supports the tokenization of physical assets via a modular architecture for built-in compliance for legal regulations related to asset ownership and transactions. Tokenization of real-world assets has been a hot topic in the second half of 2018, with several projects working on conducting security token offerings (STOs). Tokenization leads to an easier division of ownership for physical assets into smaller units, which is expected to improve liquidity for high-value assets and expand the investor pool. As all transactions that guarantee the settlement of asset trading between sellers and buyers are executed on the blockchain via smart-contracts, the processing time and fees are minimized.

ICON has released its own token specifications for 3rd-party market players interested in developing and commercializing blockchain-based assets and securities. #IRC16 https://t.co/ngi1w8m6tF

— ICON (@helloiconworld) March 8, 2019

The IRC16 standard fulfills four functions.

1. First and foremost, it checks whether or not token users have passed the necessary KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) procedures.
2. The second control point is related to compliance with regulations for a specific asset.
3. A third module ensures that all relevant legal documents are being recorded and stored.
4. The final module allows for token customization by issuers.

Bug Bounty & Development Incentives

At the same time, The ICON Foundation has also made public a bug bounty program for its blockchain. ICON’s mainnet launched in June 2018, having previously formatted its token to the ERC-20 standard. With the blockchain now online, ICON has already had a private bug bounty on popular platform HackerOne since November 2018 — and will now open it up to the public in a bid to improve its codebase.

ICON Accelerator Program

Last (but not least), ICON has also unveiled a partnership with Deblock — which will manage an accelerator program in Tokyo for ICON-related projects. Similar programs, dubbed ICX Stations, have already been implemented in locations across the globe — including Seoul, San Francisco, Singapore, and Tokyo. Selected projects will receive technical and fundraising support, while ICON will also offer seed investment to specific teams. Objectively speaking, these are positive announcements from the ICON team that could spark additional interest in the project and its coin. What do you make of ICON’s updates? Let us know in the comments below! 

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