ICX crypto is the native cryptocurrency of Icon, a blockchain protocol that facilitates the interoperability of digital tokens and smart contracts across multiple blockchains. ICON is a South Korean-based blockchain project that includes the cryptocurrency ICX. The ICON network facilitates the connection and interaction of various other blockchain software programs through its blockchain network.
ICON is a project that aims to enable interactions across different blockchains and otherwise decentralized networks. This allows the network to connect isolated blockchain communities and facilitates the sharing of resources between them.
ICON’s initial phase was launched using an ERC-20 token called ICX to bootstrap the network’s development. ICX token holders were able to exchange their ERC-20 ICX tokens for native ICX in mid-2018, leading to the launch of the ICON mainnet. This led to the economy and governance of the ICON blockchain being powered by native ICX.
ICX Crypto: What Is It Used For?
ICX is used for a variety of purposes, including the governance of ICON blockchains and collateral for DeFi products. ICX’s most popular use cases will be discussed in this section.
Governance
ICON’s on-chain governance model allows ICX holders to stake and delegate their ICX to validators. For daily ICX rewards, you stake your ICX in exchange for a lock-up in your wallet. Taking advantage of these rewards requires delegating the staked ICX to a validator.
Stakeholders receive an annual reward rate of approximately 6-8% as a reward for participating in ICON’s governance. There is a fluctuation in this number depending on how much ICX is currently staked. Staked networks with a 100% reward rate will have a reward rate of 3.06%, while staked networks with only a 1% reward rate will have a reward rate of 306.46%.
Transaction Fees
All applications built on the ICON blockchain use the ICX token as their currency. ICON can also be used to pay for ICON transaction fees as well as send or receive payments. With ICX, ICON’s DeFi protocols such as Balanced, OMM, Optimus, and others can also be operated, while enterprise products like Zzeung and broof use the token as a gas token.
ICON’s broof and Zzeung products are both enterprise blockchain products that operate in a decentralized manner through the ICON public chain. With Zzeung, users can store their verified identities on the blockchain, where they are immune to tampering and forgery. It operates on the ICON public chain. The Zzeung application can then be used by enterprises to verify the identity of their users for a variety of purposes.
ICX transaction metadata is embedded with broof’s private key, and the certificate is linked directly to the enterprise. Consequently, universities are able to issue certificates that can be viewed and timestamped tamper-proof.
P2P Currency
Peer-to-peer currencies like ICX enable users to transact value without permission, without borders, and without custody. Because ICX markets are highly liquid, peer-to-peer transactions can take place relatively quickly and seamlessly. As well, ICON’s premier NFT marketplace, Craft, accepts ICX as a currency within its dApps.
How to Earn Yield on ICX
On the ICON network, native staking and DeFi are the two primary ways to earn yield.
Native Staking
As part of ICON’s governance protocol, native staking of the ICX token is the best way for risk-averse users to earn a yield on their ICX token.
ICX can be delegated to a validator node of a user’s choosing using one of the available ICON wallets (examined further below). As well as ensuring the ICON blockchain is active at all times, validators make governance decisions within the ICON governance protocol.
Delegated ICX holders receive a reward rate of approximately 6-7% per year in ICX as a reward for participating in this process. ICON wallets are available for claiming rewards immediately upon distribution. Rewards are distributed every 24 hours. As ICX is delegated more, the reward rate fluctuates.
The governance contract locks ICX once it is delegated. Tokens are usually received within a week of an unstake request. A large number of tokens unlocking at once would create a network vulnerability, so this unlocking period is in place to avoid that.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
With its decentralized finance protocols, ICON just like other blockchain networks allows users to earn additional returns on their assets with varying levels of risk and reward. There are countless combinations of strategies available for ICX holders, but below are a few examples of how they can generate some additional returns by taking on some additional risk.
Balanced
Balanced users can log in using their ICX wallets, for example. Depositing ICX will result in users earning native staking rewards without needing to lock their tokens. This allows them to continue earning native staking rewards without locking up. A collateralized stablecoin can be minted from that sICX by depositing it as collateral. In the ICON ecosystem, the user can now use the bnUSD that they have minted and borrowed with their collateral. It is simply a matter of returning the bnUSD they have minted when they wish to withdraw their collateral.
Additionally, users are able to deposit their ICX into a liquidity pool of sICX/ICX. Their ICX is gradually converted into sICX in this way. Providing liquidity will earn them a slice of trading fees and a BALN token, Balanced’s governance token.
Omm
ICX holders don’t just have the option of decentralized finance when it comes to balanced. In addition, you can use an application called Open Money Market, also called OMM. Money is traded on an open market, exactly as it sounds!
If supply and demand dynamics of a market dictate whether users should receive or pay interest on ICX (or other ICON-based tokens), then users can choose to lend or borrow ICX. Aside from earning $OMM, the governance token of OMM, users can also earn $OMM by participating in either activity.
Optimus
A new DeFi protocol, Optimus, is also available. This protocol interacts with other ICON DeFi applications to execute yield strategies that are tailored to the user’s preferences and risk tolerance, which is why it is referred to as a “yield optimizer”. It allows users to deposit their ICX, choose a strategy, and “set it and forget it.”.
How to Buy ICX
AMM-style DEX Balanced, which is based on ICON, offers ICX purchases to users who prefer decentralized exchanges. A collateralized stablecoin also minted through Balanced, bnUSD, can be purchased with IUSDC and IUSDT (USDC and USDT wrapped with Orbit Bridge).
As well as centralized exchanges, ICX is available on a variety of exchanges that offer highly liquid markets against USD, KRW, USDT, BTC, and ETH. Please find below a list of exchanges that offer ICX markets
- Binance
- Binance US
- Kraken
- Bithumb
- Upbit
- Kucoin
How to Store ICX crypto
ICX can be stored in three wallets and interacted with via the ICON network using the following wallets:
Hana
ICON’s validator node, ReliantNode, developed the Hana wallet as a Chrome extension. With Hana, you can connect to multiple blockchains including Ethereum, ICON, Polkadot, Kusama, and Moonbeam like MetaMask. Additionally, Hana is compatible with the Ledger hardware wallet and boasts a seamless user interface.
ICONex
ICONex, which is available as both a Chrome extension and a wallet, was developed by the ICON Foundation. Similarly to Hana, ICONex supports multiple chains, but only between ICON and Ethereum. For more advanced users, ICONex also offers P-Rep bonding and custom smart contract calls. Ledger hardware wallets are also compatible with ICONex.
MyIconWallet
The ICON wallet (available on iOS and Android) has been developed by ReliantNode to give users access to the ICON dApps, to keep up-to-date with what the validators are working on, to stake for rewards, and to transfer assets.
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