we hosted an amazing AMA with IKONIC on the 15th of February
And here we will put some of the best questions:
Q1) Can you please introduce yourself as well as IKONIC ?
I’m Sebastian, the CEO of IKONIC. Over 2 years as CEO for a Crypto exchange, 2 years CEO for a Blockchain Enterprise Solution provider, one of the initiators of an NFT native platforms launched in early 2019 and for the past 7 months with IKONIC, just to cover the Crypto experience. Our multicultural team comprise of experts in Technology, Product, Marketing, Project Management, Crypto, Blockchain, VC and Esports. IKONIC is a dedicated NFT Marketplace for esports, as a core concept. Collectibles are a 100+ years old concept for traditional sports, like Basketball, Baseball, Football, etc , but very new for esports and it makes more sense in a video format, rather than static. If is to compare with the traditional sports where the focus is on an individual athlete or team, in esports the focus is on the moments. Collectibles for esports that create additional perpetual revenue stream through royalties system embedded in the Smart Contract, create real value for outstanding moments. Of course, IKONIC aims to go beyond the limits of the NFT Marketplace and I will give more details at the right time.
Q2) What are the advantages of Your project ?
There are a number of advantages that IKONIC has at this moment: 1. We create an extra revenue stream for all the gaming/esports moments creators through the Royalties embedded in the Smart Contract, which means an NFT created will generate revenue for the creator everytime is sold on the IKONIC Marketplace. 2. UI/UX was fundamental from the beginning, so we created an extremely easy to use platform, which will allow even the non-crypto users to be able to go through the whole process with just a few clicks. We will release a demo video soon, to support my statement. 3. Focus on gaming and esports, both traditional and blockchain, will allow new and old gamers to come together and benefit from both. There are other advantages, as well, but these are some of the most important and will be available from the official launch
Q3) please tell us about the goal you want to achieve in this year.
Our plans for 2022 are extremely ambitious. Immediate plans include finishing the testing cycle on our platform along with all the features that we managed to develop so far and it will be available at launch on multiple chains (Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and Polygon). The UI/UX was our focus from the beginning and I can say that our team did a fantastic job so far. Very soon we will launch a demo video from our actual platform, so everyone can see what we managed to create so far! The next step would be, of course, the TGE/IDO. We are already finalising the details and we will make an official announcement soon. But, what I can tell you is that you will not have to wait too long for that moment! As for medium and long term plans, they include gamification of the platform, which means that IKONIC is going to be more than just an NFT Marketplace, it will be a place where people will have a lot of tasks to fullfil, which, of course, will be rewarded, mini-games and other activities related to it, that will make the the experience enjoyable and entertaining, as well as challenging and rewarding. Metaverse is a word that we hear more and more currently and it is something we are exploring as well. It is more a matter of how and when, then if, when it comes to it. More details to come, of course. As you can see, IKONIC doesn’t stop at the NFT Marketplace, but goes beyond it.
Q4) Every project has a story behind their name, Can you tell us more about the story behind this? Who are the team behind this project? can tell us their background?
The idea originated early 2021 and it was inspired, in a way, by NBA TopShot. Video NFTs are the way of promoting absolutely outstanding moments and collections out of them. Esports deserves collectibles and that is how IKONIC came to life. Why IKONIC? Because we consider that the moments the deserve to become part of the legacy need to be extraordinary, legendary, unique or, in another word, iconic. And since the Blockchain technology allows us to create and preserve these moments, just made sense for us to create this project.
The team behind the project, beside myself, consist of professional with vaste experience in the field, from Product Manager, CTO, CMO, to business development, together with a fantastic group of advisors, important figures in Blockchain and not only, that allows us to provide the best strategy and insight for such a big project. But one key element that brings all of this together is our passion for games, either at a professional level or just an amateur one. Most of us, at one moment in life, was a gamer, created memorable gameplays, won or lost at the last shot/hit. The passion is what gives life, more than anything else.
Q5) NFT is one of the hottest and most sought-after topics in the blockchain space right now. Can you share your opinion on NFT with us? Do you think NFT will disrupt the current financial system? What is Your project’s approach to the NFT sector?
I have to share something with you: when I first came in contact with NFTs early 2018, more than 4 years ago, I saw the potential immediately. Art, music, movies, jewellery, just to start with, to evolve to collectibles and gaming. And I would say that is just scratching the surface of what NFT will be in our lives in 5-10 years from now. NFTs will disrupt all the sectors, from aviation (ticketing) to intellectual property, from gaming to financial system. Why the financial system when, NFT is NON-fungible? Because NFTs has a few aspects that will add and/or create value through the Blockchain technology behind it, the security, the immutability, the potential of creating complex financial instruments and many more. Specifically for IKONIC, NFTs in general and video NFTs in particular, have the property of creating outstanding collections, reward the creators through the royalty system implemented, in-game items, etc. NFTs are the future and, regardless of many eyebrows raised regarding its value, there is undeniable value and it is just a matter of the right approach and implementation as a proof of that, rather than attacking the concept itself. NFTs are here to stay, I have absolutely no doubt about it
And here we will put best questions from our members and IKONIC fans:
Q1) What are the most highlighted feature in your platform that can make it stand out in the market? Does ikonic is open for begginers or only for crypto experts? How would you welcome non-crypto natives to explore in your platform? Thank you
Great question, thank you. As highlighted features, I would say UI/UX is going to be fundamental, along with the NFT offering with Royalty structure, a decentralised platform that allows anyone the mint and share their outstanding moments (you can become a rising star on our platform). IKONIC is definitely open for everyone and that is why we focused so much on a the UI/UX part. We understand how difficult can be for a lot of people who are not familiar with the Blockchain/crypto characteristics. We all been there and we know the challenges. But it shouldn’t be a problem, to start with. So IKONIC Platform is definitely for everyone!
Q2) Speaking of “Creators”, can a Creator design an NFT to pay royalties for life or even generate an entirely new revenue stream through the sale of sublicense rights? Can you explain further the advantages of being a Creator?
Excellent question, no doubt. Let me explain a bit the concept of creator on IKONIC. A lot of gamers and even esport players are creating truly outstanding moments. It can happen at any time, being a regular online game, an early stage small tournament or in a final of a big tournament. But we all know that only the moments captured in a big tournament are moments most of us know about. The rest, are lost, right? Not anymore. Anyone can create amazing moments. As creator, you can take these moments (upload a video), trim the video for the particular vital moment, mint it and place it on IKONIC marketplace. Once this is done, you already set a revenue stream for lifetime, inside IKONIC Platform: beside the initial price of the NFT, everytime the NFT is resold on the market (we are even considering expanding the royalty options), you will earn the royalty percentage you established when you originally minted the NFT. Yes, royalties in IKONIC Marketplace are lifetime. There is no expiry date. Furthermore, beside the royalties, there will be more benefits of being a creator: can be featured on the marketplace, creator reward pools, competitions, just to name the most important ones.
Q3) How does generate profit/revenue to maintain your company and what is the revenue model? how that can it make profit equally profitable for investors and your company? and could you explain to us What mechanisms do you have for the security to prevent hacks?
Initially, the revenue is generated by the NFTs on IKONIC Marketplace. Every transaction will incur a fee. The structure will be available very soon, on our website. Our Tokenomics and business model revolve around constantly adding more features and products such as gamification and Metaverse, just to name the most important, that will generate extra income through various channels. The Staking model will be beneficial and attractive both for the staker and IKONIC, due to APYs attached and the TVL model we are aiming for, which will increase the value of the token, therefore, making it attractive for long-term investors and for the company as well and allowing us to be able to add more products in the future. As for the security, beside the audit provided by a top company, we have in place a number of security layers, which will be revealed at the right time, to prevent fraud, hacks, a reward system for the community for red-flagging activities, inappropriate NFTs, etc. Security is extremely important and we are looking to engage, as future plan, a White Hat 3rd party company to continuously test our platform and help us fix any vulnerabilities.
Q4) Many projects were unstable for a short period of time, as I observed. They began with hard effort and careful attention, but after a few months, they stopped paying attention to this endeavour. Then it came to an end. How does IKONIC intend to stay in business?
Yes, that is true, unfortunately, for quite a number of projects and it does create insecurity for some investors. We put a lot of effort, so far, to create a really great Platform and implement a lot of features from the launch (which doesn’t happen often, when a lot of project are raising money on a concept and only after launch they start building it). But for us, this is just the tip of the iceberg. We are planning to add value by constantly bringing new partners in the project that will add value (esports players and teams, streamers, etc). I mentioned already about the gamification of the project which will keep the users busy with different tasks and get various rewards, we are planning the structure of a Metaverse, which will open a whole new world for the creators, fans and even for 3rd party users and companies, new revenue streams for all the parties involved (not only IKONIC) and all these will give you a general idea of what IKONIC is planning to do to stay in business and continuously add value.
Q5) As an investor, why would we rather choose to invest with $IKONIC ? What are the plans ahead to increase the value of $IKONIC in the market & to attract many people to trade & buy $IKONIC ? Any benefits for holding $IKONIC for long?
Good question, indeed. The way we designed the Tokenomics of IKONIC, our plans, our vesting schedules are showing one direction: long-term investment. IKONIC is not for speculators, that is for sure. Eliminating toxic people that like to play “pump and dump” games is one way of insuring the lifelife of a project and we did everything in our power to protect our investors and users from it. There are multiple reasons to invest with IKONIC: first esports and gaming dedicated marketplace, outstanding UI/UX which will allow both experts and beginners to be creators and/or buyers, the staking model that will increase the TVL and, therefore, reduce the selling pressure on the token, gamification and Metaverse that will open extra revenue channels and add value to the project and, subsequently, to the token. Creator reward pools to add extra incentive for NFT creators. We are also planning to create a reward program for the users that are flagging inappropriate content, suspicious activities on our platform. Just to sum up, every passing month and quarter will bring more features on existing products and/or new products, which will continuously add value to IKONIC Project and to its token.
Q6) How will you attract new investors and convince who are new to crypto to buy your tokens? What will be the benefit for long term holder?
I think, as investors, the most important is to see the current and future value of the project. The staking program will insure DeFi APY rewards and other perks, gamification, Metaverse as added value, partnerships, the ecosystem and the vesting schedule in our Tokenomics are just a few of the reasons this project is built for long-term investment.
Q7) Sir Is your project a community only for English speaking an countries or for users not of other languages?
No, the project will have local communities as well, once the main community is big enough. We will start having weekly tweets in localised languages in the most important gaming and esports markets. We are a global project and we strive to provide support and channels in respective languages.
Q8) Partnership is one of the most important aspects of project success. So, is IKONIC planning to collaborate on a major program in the near future?
Yes, I agree. Master Ventures is our incubator and partner, helping our project from day one. We already have a number of partners and we are planning joint efforts to promote IKONIC. But, nevertheless, a strong project needs to add more and more partners. We will structure a Partnership Program for the future and we are working hard on signing valuable partnerships with esports players and teams, to continuously add value to IKONIC.
Q9) What are you doing to show the world that IKONIC isn’t just a useless blockchain solution to a problem that doesn’t exist? How is the community in IKONIC team eyes?
Nobody thinks IKONIC is useless. I think I already mentioned the lack of collectibles in esports industry is a gap that needs to be filled and it will add value on a long-term. Considering that collectibles exist for over 100 years and they continue to evolve with the new technologies (e.g. NBA TopShot), the collectibles for esports will continue to evolve with the industry, and the future looks very bright, I must say!
Q10) As we know, the community’s passion for gaming is a powerful force. Do you intend to make the community an important milestone in the history of the development of iKONIC? If so, what are your plans for the iKONIC community in the future?
Yes, I 100% agree with the fact that the community is the most powerful force. And we designed the platform with the users (community) in mind. The community will be involved in many ways in the future development of IKONIC.
Beside the reward program that I already mentioned for red-flag activities, we have plans to make the community one of the biggest decision makers for future features and products of IKONIC. The governance is not yet ironed out, but we it is definitely in our plans and the main reason to do so is that a strong and powerful community will always drive a great project to new highs. The community is going to be the backbone of IKONIC FUTURE!
And this was the end of our AMA with IKONIC.
If you have any other questions you can ask here:
ℹ️ℹ️ Useful links ℹ️ℹ️
Website :- https://www.ikonic.gg/
Twitter :- https://twitter.com/official_ikonic
Medium :- https://medium.com/ikonic-hq
Discord :- https://discord.gg/FPckz79SUy
YouTube :- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg5Ws23RjNuUNc-Sth_gCQ
Twitch :- https://www.twitch.tv/ikonic_official