ICON (blockchain platform)

Last updated
ICX
Denominations
CodeICX
Development
Original authorMin Kim
Initial releaseJanuary 2018
Development statusActive
Developer(s)ICON Foundation, ICONLOOP
Ledger
Timestamping scheme Delegated proof-of-stake
Block time2 seconds
Block explorer https://tracker.icon.community/
Website
Website https://icon.foundation

ICON is a decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality. ICX is the native cryptocurrency of the platform.

Contents

History

ICON was founded in 2017 by Min Kim of the Switzerland-based ICON Foundation. [1] [2] According to the official ICON white paper, the purpose for ICON was to introduce a new era of decentralization and hyper connect Korea. [3]

ICON's initial coin offering (ICO) in September 2017 raised 150,000 ETH (approximately US$43 million at the time). [4]

At the time of launch, ICON was supported by various public and private organizations, including the Seoul Metropolitan Government in South Korea, and the Line Corporation in Japan. [5]

Applications

Decentralized finance

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a use case of ICON. [6] It offers traditional financial instruments in a decentralized architecture, outside of companies' and governments' control, such as money market funds which let users earn interest. [7] Decentralized finance applications can be accessed through a Web3-enabled browser extension or application, which allows users to directly interact with the ICON blockchain through a website. [8] Many of these decentralized applications (also known as dapps) can connect and work together to create complex financial services. [9]

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)

ICON allows for the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). [10] Since tokens of this type are unique, they have been used to represent such things as collectibles, digital art, sports memorabilia, virtual real estate, and items within games. [11] Land, buildings, and avatars in blockchain-based virtual worlds can also be bought and sold as NFTs. [12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hong, Min-ki (2019-06-12). "[실리콘밸리 한인 기업 열전] 현실생활에 사용되는 블록체인 세계화 아이콘 재단 창업자 민 킴". The Korea Times (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  2. ↑ "ICON". Investopedia. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  3. ↑ Ramirez, Elaine. "Could This Blockchain In Korea Be The First To Connect An Entire Country?". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  4. ↑ "What is Icon? (ICX): The Beginner's Guide". Kraken. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  5. ↑ Ji-young, Sohn (2018-05-15). "Line Plus forms new JV 'Unchain' with blockchain platform Icon". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  6. ↑ Kim, Min (2021-12-04). "ICON (ICX): A Deep Dive Into Its Enterprise Use Cases". Gemini. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  7. ↑ Kauflin, Jeff. "Why Everyone In Crypto Is Talking About DeFi". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  8. ↑ "How to invest in cryptocurrency: A beginner's guide to Omm". Omm blog. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  9. ↑ Kharif, Olga (2021-12-01). "Why 'DeFi' Utopia Would Be Finance Without Financiers: QuickTake". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  10. ↑ "Focus on NFTs and interoperability pushes Icon (ICX) higher". Crypto Rating. 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  11. ↑ Browne, Ryan (2021-02-25). "Crypto collectibles are selling for thousands — and celebrities like Mark Cuban are cashing in". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  12. ↑ Howcroft, Elizabeth (2021-04-19). "The 'metaverse' bet: crypto-rich investors snap up virtual real estate". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.