Navigating the Future with IoTeX 2.0, W3bstream, and Community Empowerment: AMA Recap

We're excited to share insights from the recent AMA with the IoTeX Co-Founders Raullen Chai, Qevan Guo and Jing Sun. In a live chat on Telegram, the founders answered some of the community’s burning questions – but what else does IoTeX have in store for the upcoming year? Catch up on the full AMA on Telegram here.

TLDR; Raullen, Qevan and Jing are hyped about IoTeX 2.0 – the strategic vision for 2024. The platform is gearing up to become a hub for DePIN projects, aiming to address liquidity challenges and streamline the tech stack. The roadmap includes driving adoption through branding unification and revamped tokenomics, enhancing device integration with the DeviceConnect SDK, DeFi improvements, expanding R3al World events, and more. The founders also answered questions about preventing rug pulls, MachineFi NFTs and VITA tokens, the relationship with ARM,  the ecosystem fund, and staking.

IoTeX 2.0 and the DePIN Revolution

What are your top priorities in the year 2024? What is the next big milestone for IoTeX?

Raullen, co-founder and CEO, unveiled plans for IoTeX 2.0, positioning the platform as a modularized hub for DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) projects. This initiative aims to address liquidity issues and the complex tech stack faced by DePIN projects. The roadmap for 2023-2025 will be defined by IoTeX 2.0, promising groundbreaking solutions.

“In addition, we are expanding the IoTeX brand through our R3AL World event series which we plan to bring to every continent next year. Most important one is to cultivate a strong and diverse community through decentralized governance as well as partnering with other communities.”

Driving Adoption and Growth

What is the plan to increase and boost IoTeX adoption and draw more people and builders to the ecosystem for the coming year as we are looking forward to a bull market?

Jing, co-founder and Head of Investment, outlined multi-level plans for adoption and growth. The focus includes branding unification, a new website, and IoTeX 2.0 with revamped tokenomics.

“The goal is to drive the adoption of DePIN projects to build on the IoTeX platform with W3bstream and IoTeX chain, to provide the best experience for DePIN users to discover and participate in DePIN projects, and to serve DePIN investors to mine, stake, earn and trade DePIN assets on IoTeX Platforms.”

DeviceConnect SDK for Enhanced IoT Integration

Do you plan to launch any other new R3al device like Ucam or Pebble? What are your plans how to increase the number of devices connected to IoTeX network?

Qevan, co-founder and Head of Ecosystem, shared insights into the IoTeX DeviceConnect SDK, designed to facilitate seamless connections between IoT and Web2 companies and the IoTeX network. It will encompass a range of essential technical kits, including cryptographic tools, DIDs (Decentralized Identifiers), and more, to equip developers with the necessary resources for this integration.

“We believe that this SDK will play a pivotal role in advancing the capabilities and possibilities of IoT and Web2 companies within the Web3 ecosystem, and we look forward to sharing more details in the near future."

Regulatory Challenges and Community Involvement

Beside market unpredictability which could affect a lot of other plans, what do you consider as your greatest/threatening challenge(s)? How do you intend to take care of them? And how would you like the community to help?

Addressing regulatory challenges, Raullen emphasized the importance of community involvement. As the cryptocurrency industry faces increased regulation, IoTeX aims to maintain decentralization and confidentiality. The community's active participation in technology feedback, governance proposals, and advocacy is crucial for IoTeX's mission.

“IoTeX has always embraced the ethos of decentralization and confidentiality, aiming to avoid centralization and the associated regulatory risks.”

Communicating Value Proposition to Non-Crypto Users

In the pursuit of widespread project adoption, recognizing the significance of non-crypto users is paramount. Implementing a strategic approach to attract this demographic is crucial for overall success. How does the project plan to communicate its value proposition to a non-crypto audience effectively?

Raullen highlighted the significance of passive income through DePIN activities for mass adoption. IoTeX communicates its value proposition to everyday users through partnerships with projects like Drop Wireless, HealthBlocks, and enviroBLOQ, showcasing the real-world impact of DePIN.

“Not everyone has thousands of dollars of disposable income to play around in DeFi, but most people have a car, wearable, home, and other smart devices that they can contribute unused resources to DePINs and realize the power of bottom-up decentralization.”

Revamping Tokenomics for Long-Term Value

What is the strategy to revamp the tokenomics of IoTeX and attract investment and new holders?

Jing addressed concerns about tokenomics, emphasizing the focus on VALUE over price. Jing shared IoTeX’s strategy for enhancing value that revolves around three key pillars:

1. DePIN Category Growth: IoTeX concentrates on the DePIN category, anticipating a market expansion from 2.2 trillion to 10 trillion dollars by merging with AI and RWA markets. This positions IoTeX as a foundational layer, with the category's growth driving overall network value.
2. Tokenomics Revamp for Incentives: IoTeX is redesigning its tokenomics to attract attention and encourage participation from DePIN builders and the broader community. The goal is to create a system that motivates stakeholders to actively contribute through education, earning, mining, staking, and trading.
3. Value Sharing with Ecosystem Contributors: Emphasizing community collaboration, IoTeX seeks to align its token model with the value generated by holders, validators, builders, and social marketers. This ensures fair distribution of value, with the overall network value increasing as DePIN adoption grows.

“When category adoption grows, the total network value grows, and the value for holders grows!”

Liquid Staking and Future Plans

IoTeX now has its first liquid staking dapp. Can you give an update on when long term buckets held by OGs will be eligible for liquid staking, either by allowing them to create NFT buckets, or allowing for early unstaking in order to create new NFT buckets?

Qevan discussed the long-term plan to support the conversion of native staking buckets into NFT buckets. Currently, NFT staking buckets have limitations in terms of duration and staking amount, posing challenges for immediate implementation of the conversion. IoTeX is actively exploring ways to expand options for NFT staking buckets to facilitate conversions. Highlighting that NFT staking buckets are a recent addition, the platform emphasizes the need for time to validate their usage, gather user feedback, and ensure secure implementation.

“The current staked IOTX using NFT bucket are 43,486,300 IOTX. It is a great start!”

Real-World Problems Solved by DePIN

Can you provide specific examples of real-world problems that the project aims to solve for individuals outside the crypto community?

Raullen shared some of the global problems he believes DePIN can make a huge impact in:

• Urban Traffic Transformation: Revolutionizing urban mobility through intelligent transport networks, DePIN seeks to reduce congestion, lower emissions, and promote smart urban planning.
• Climate Change Combatant: DePIN contributes to the fight against climate change by optimizing transportation, enabling precise environmental monitoring, and transparent resource allocation.
• Green Energy Revolution: DePIN fosters a new era in green energy, allowing for decentralized and sustainable energy infrastructures, akin to Tesla's vision of global energy networks.
• Eradicating Poverty: DePIN proposes a fresh approach to combat global poverty by enabling micro-entrepreneurship, transparent aid distribution, and providing decentralized educational resources for underserved communities worldwide.

“In general, crypto today, whether it's projects, developers, or users, tends to focus too much on Finance. DePIN, as a subclass of crypto, is the true hope for crypto to have a positive and real impact on the world in the medium-to-long term!”

Competitive Edge and Collaboration

What are IoTeX’s competitive advantages?

In response to questions about competition with projects like peaq, Raullen emphasized collaboration with serious and legitimate builders. IoTeX's focus on DePIN, combined with its partnerships with industry giants like Samsung, Google, and ARM, distinguishes it in the Web3 landscape.

In acknowledging that platforms like Polygon and Solana are larger than IoTeX, the IoTeX team emphasizes a collaborative rather than competitive approach. “We are not competing with them but co-build DePIN together with them but with more focus.” Raullen breaks it down:

Integration with Larger Platforms:

• IoTeX has integrated W3bstream with Polygon, Solana, Arbitrum, and Optimism to empower DePIN builders on these platforms.
• W3bstream utilizes IoTeX L1 as the settlement layer and $IOTX as the staking asset.
• Notably, the success of DePIN projects on Polygon and Solana is attributed in part to W3bstream, which contributes to IoTeX's success metrics.

Focus on DePIN:

• IoTeX maintains a concentrated focus on DePIN, distinguishing itself from the general-purpose nature of larger L1/L2 platforms.
• Specific initiatives include depinscan.io, the DePIN explorer designed for DePIN miners, builders, and investors.
• The bridging of bluechip DePIN assets to the IoTeX chain and their placement on the mimo DEX for trading is highlighted.
• Future plans include liquidity mining and collaboration on Proof of Concepts (PoCs) with DIMO, Helium, and GEODNET to enhance DePIN verification using W3bstream.

The Future of IoTeX: Global Expansion and R3al World Events

What are your plans for R3al World events?

Jing revealed plans for the expansion of R3al World events, aiming to make it a global event brand. The success of past events in various cities has paved the way for an extensive event calendar in 2024, fostering community connections and providing real-world insights.

“This year, R3al World events went to over 6 cities in Denver, Austin, Tokyo, HK, Paris and Singapore, attracting over 3000 attendees, 500 investors, 60 Demo projects joining us IRL. We will encourage and incentivize our local community leader to organize events in your cities.”

Collaboration with ARM and Future Business Partnerships

What is the nature of loTeX's relation with ARM? A research partner only or a potential business partner in the future?

Qevan shed light on IoTeX's rich history of collaboration with ARM and hinted at potential future business partnerships. While specifics couldn't be shared at this moment, the commitment to transparency and timely announcements was emphasized.

“Arm and IoTeX share a rich history of collaboration. We have jointly ventured into the realms of cutting-edge technologies, including confidential computing and device security. These collaborative efforts have not only propelled innovation but have also cultivated a profound understanding and appreciation for the synergistic strengths of both companies. Given this history, Arm stands as a strong and natural candidate for potential future business partnerships with IoTeX.”

Financial Situation and Future Funding

What happened to the ecosystem fund? Are you going to need more fund raising?

Jing tackled questions on IoTeX’s funding. The $100 million ecosystem fund, originally 8% of the total IOTX supply, has reduced in value due to market fluctuations. Despite this, it remains strong and has invested in 20+ projects, focusing on areas like DePIN, AI, RWA, and Web3 infrastructure. Future plans include Launchpad/Accelerator programs and DePIN demo days in early 2024, engaging with various launchpad/VC DAOs to involve the IoTeX community.

Concerning IoTeX's financial situation, Jing assures that current funds are sufficient for IoTeX 2.0. Short-term plans involve relying on VC funding and the allocated development fund. Long-term vision includes a self-sustainable model with revenue-sharing among contributors, validators, holders, and the core team. Various revenue streams, like gas fees and protocol token fees, are explored. The focus is on growing integration projects and providing utility, with confidence that a robust user base will drive the business model.

“Although it may be not as visible to the community, the ecosystem fund is alive and well. We'll try to share more of the investments made in the future, but for example we've put funding into great DePIN/crypto projects like GEODNET recently!”

Vita Token and MachineFi NFTs

ls there a plan for Vitality (VITA)? What are the plans for MachineFi NFTs? What are the benefits of owning them?

Qevan provided insights into the VITA token, emphasizing its community-centric nature and inviting active participation from the IoTeX community in shaping its evolution.

Qevan also shared exciting plans for MachineFi NFTs, offering benefits such as early access to developments and gas-free transactions. NFT holders will play a crucial role in shaping the future of the MachineFi and DePIN ecosystem.

Security Measures and Community Trust

Is there any way the network can improve the security and trust in the ecosystem projects?

In response to concerns about scams or rug pulls, Qevan outlined measures such as education, community engagement, and auditing reports to enhance security and trust within the IoTeX ecosystem.

“While we strive to foster a vibrant and innovative environment, it's crucial to clarify that IoTeX, as a platform, does not oversee the internal operations of these independent projects. Our role is to provide a robust and secure infrastructure for decentralized applications.”

Vampire Attack Scheme and The Marshall Plan

What are you planing to bring more capital and users to IOTX chain? The W3bstream ecosystem is developing well, is there a "vampire attack" scheme to incentive the DePIN project to migrate to the IoTeX chain?

Raullen acknowledged the need for improvement in the DeFi arena and discussed "The Marshall Plan," an internal initiative to incentivize DePIN projects to migrate to the IoTeX chain. This plan, soon to be detailed in an IIP, aims to establish a transparent and autonomous incentive mechanism for builders and investors in the form of a vote-escrow DAO.

“We are also aggressively bringing over bluechip DePIN assets into IoTeX and help them get listed on MIMO, getting enough liquidity and exposing them to the community. Assuming both fronts go well, we will see something magically happen in Q1/Q2 next year in terms of the sprouting of DeFi/TVL here.”

As IoTeX looks ahead to a bullish 2024, the team is geared up to face challenges, foster innovation, and build a stronger and more inclusive ecosystem. The commitment to community involvement, transparency, and impactful solutions remains at the core of IoTeX's vision.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates, and let's continue building the future of Web3 together!