what is icon icx 
icon is a platform that is intended to facilitate the interactions of independent blockchains also referred to as communities within the icon platform a community is defined as a network of nodes that follow a single governance system a node is a computer that connects to a cryptocurrency network cryptocurrency networks such as bitcoin and ethereum are considered communities but banks businesses hospitals schools and governments could also participate as communities within this ecosystem icon is supported through a cryptocurrency token icx the icon project was founded in 2017 by the icon foundation an organization based in south korea 1the goal of the icon project is to facilitate a platform where entities from a diverse range of industries financial security insurance healthcare educational and commerce can interact and transact on a single network understanding icon icx an initial coin offering ico in september 2017 for icon s cryptocurrency icx raised roughly 43 million this sale included 50 of icon s token supply the project officially launched its blockchain in january 2018 and participants in the ico received their icx cryptocurrency in june 2018 in 2019 icon released its own token standard irc16 which allows users to use the icon software as infrastructure to create their own tokenized assets and securities 2 these tokenized assets and securities are digital tokens or coins that represent equity ownership units with tokenized equity a business can raise capital by issuing its shares in the form of digital assets this is how icon describes its goal to establish a digital nation wherein different economic actors can issue and control their own forms of value under rule systems they select according to its website the aim of project icon is to hyperconnect the world by building one of the largest decentralized networks in the world 3 the icon project took inspiration for their project from the way that real world economies are structured businesses nonprofit organizations and government institutions all leverage a common medium of exchange a national currency while still remaining distinct but interoperable economic actors 2 the blockchain technology and accompanying cryptocurrency token called icx allow participants in a decentralized system to converge at a central point creating an interconnected blockchain network a blockchain is a type of database it differs from a typical database in the way that it stores data data is stored in blocks in chronological order as new data comes in it is entered into a new block once the block is filled with data that block is chained onto the previous block while blockchains are most commonly associated with cryptocurrencies there are additional areas where this technology can be applied because different types of information can be stored on a blockchain while the most common use so far has been as a ledger for transactions any exchange of information can be added to a blockchain transactions involving securities currencies business contracts deeds loans intellectual property and personal identification could be tokenized every blockchain is managed by a specific network for this reason in the past connecting different blockchains was not considered a possibility the icon project is an attempt at such a connection unlike other centralized payment systems which require businesses to adhere to their own policies and guidelines icon allows individual communities to retain control of their own policies in this way icon seeks to reduce potential barriers to adoption goals of iconicon aims to create a greater network composed of individuals networks that is powered by cryptocurrencies blockchains that participate in the icon project can exchange currencies using the platform s decentralized exchange dex the dex sets currency reserves for each blockchain community so that the communities can exchange value in real time exchange rates are set for these transactions using an a i analysis model and the native icx coin is used as an intermediary currency for the exchange the icon project consists of five major components the icon republic icon communities community representatives c rep community nodes c nodes and citizen nodes icon communities are a network of nodes within a single governance system they can operate with their own governance structures numbers of nodes and characteristics communities can also vary in their approaches to decision making for example while bitcoin takes a consensus driven approach other communities such as financial institutions may follow a hierarchical approach community nodes are the infrastructure for each community they maintain a community s blockchain community representatives are nodes that are elected from within each community and are trusted to interact with the icon republic through the community representative each community s blockchain is linked to the icon republic community representatives receive icx for their work the icon republic is the governing structure of the network it is also the decision committee for the blockchain s operations icon republic governance is determined by the votes of community representatives a helpful analogy is to imagine the icon republic as the united states and to imagine each icon community as a separate state the actions of the icon republic do not determine the governance of the separate communities themselves however the icon republic does govern the process by which new icx cryptocurrency is minted citizen nodes are participants in the blockchain that do not have voting rights but can make transactions within a community with other communities and with the icon republic the icon republic s blockchain is referred to as the nexus the technology that powers the nexus is an algorithm called a loopchain the loopchain connects communities that are part of the icon republic these communities when grouped together they are referred to as a consortium determine a common set of rules that allow the different blockchains to effectively work together the set of rules governing how the independent blockchains interact with the icon republic s blockchain the nexus is called the blockchain transmission protocol btp finally as with ethereum anyone can use icon to build decentralized applications called dapps through the blockchain s public channel additionally after these applications are listed on icon s dapp store anyone with a citizen node can download and use them criticisms of iconwhile icon has ambitious plans for connecting different communities it faces many challenges in accomplishing this goal first many investors are used to traditional centralized cryptocurrency exchanges while it is true that these traditional centralized exchanges do not fit with the decentralized ideology of cryptocurrencies in 2021 these exchanges are still an integral part of the cryptocurrency market many investors only purchase cryptocurrencies that they can buy through their favorite exchanges this could create problems for icx given the goals of icon many exchanges might not want to offer icx to their customers high levels of competition increase the risk that a particular cryptocurrency will fail to catch on like other cryptocurrencies icon faces stiff competition from other cryptocurrencies 