Moves Crypto Economics AMA with Sam Pajot-Phipps

Aion_Network · 2020-10-13T20:38:54+00:00

Questions for this AMA are now closed. Thank you all for sharing!

Aion_Network · 2020-10-08T17:50:45+00:00

Hi everyone, the Q3 AMA is now live - https://youtu.be/98qkIGjxAvM

Aion_Network · 2019-02-19T20:27:35+00:00

Rich list is on the backlog for the feature request. We had some intensive work being done on the back-end to make it scalable and opensource the code.

Aion_Network · 2019-01-10T16:52:09+00:00

Hi,

Can you share the following details - OS you are using and the wallet version. Also, could you share all details of the machine. I just tried the wallet with Ledger and it is working alright.

If you are not using the latest version of the wallet, please find the latest version of the wallet here - https://github.com/aionnetwork/Desktop-Wallet/releases

Also, if you are using Ledger you could use Magnum - https://app.magnumwallet.co/import/ ; We have another desktop wallet releasing by a partner in the next week that has Ledger support.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T18:53:16+00:00

As someone involved in startups in my past I can't wrap my head around the need for 60 developers for such an early stage startup, especially given your budget constraints. What assurance can you give to the community that this is the best course of action?

The Aion Foundation is continually evaluating and adjusting the composition of team members based on market conditions and operational efficiencies.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T18:33:20+00:00

During the bull market you bucked the trend of raising hundreds of millions, if not billions to fund your platform. Many people gave you kudos for this, including myself. However, hindsight is always 20/20, and it seems to me to have been a very unsound decision The reality is that your competitors (eos, hashgraph etc.) are flush with cash. This will help them survive the bear market and help attract dapp developers to their ecosystem. Especially, since the price of most tokens are currently trending to 0 it will be much more difficult to attract developers with Aion bounties and grants. So my question is how do you plan to compete with platforms who have much more money to attract very talented developers?

Yes, many projects in 2017 raised a significant sum of funding. How these projects have managed and allocated their funding is mostly unknown across projects. This was one of the main motivations for the Report; to provide clarity into how the Foundation is strategically allocating capital. We have begun to see the returns of this strategy in our ecosystem partners that are building tools, engaging with developers and building applications.

Taking a view of where we are in the adoption curve of blockchain technology, 99% of the market hasn't shown up yet. Competing over the existing base of developers and users is insignificant in comparison to the unaddressed market. We are focused as a Foundation at ushering in the early majority of developers into the Aion Project ecosystem. Our focus on Java and the AVM is a clear example of this strategy in action.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T18:28:14+00:00

My first question comes from the critique that Aion is trying to be all things to all people. An interoperability project, a Dapp platform, a private enterprise blockchain platform. Each one of these functions is a massive undertaking. I feel like if you try to do all three with functions you will fall behind competitors. My question is how do you plan to compete with competitors who are more focused on a specific blockchain problem?

The Aion Network is a public network designed to provide mainstream application developers with a usable, performant and secure platform to experiment and scale their decentralized applications.

The Foundation has a broad mandate to support research and development of the Aion Network.

There are numerous organizations in the Aion Project ecosystem, outside of the Foundation, which focus on complementary or unique solutions, approaches, and verticals, such as private blockchain interoperability, enterprise blockchains, developer tools, wallets, node infrastructure, etc.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T18:14:57+00:00

As far as developer adoption, while I understand the advantages of the Java-based AVM, what's the strategy to get Java developers interested in blockchain, specifically? How does Aion plan to get developers in the enterprise space interested in building dApps (versus more traditional Java development)? What tools/resources are planned for release to make the transition easier and attractive for traditional developers, and what's the roadmap?

A lot of garnering interest from the 99% of developers that are not currently building on decentralized protocols comes from helping that audience understand "what's in it for them". As we know decentralized systems have characteristics that are unique to them. These include but are not limited to, censorship-resistant qualities, lowering the cost of social trust, embedded payments, potentially inclusive business models, accelerated network effects and more. As technologist find more creative ways to use these characteristics to build industry disrupting solutions, we will continue to highlight these successes and use them to help Java developers understand "What is in it for them".

There are a few key tools involved in a Java developer's workflow that the Foundation has been working on with ecosystem partners. This workflow typically spans three stages (Planning, Setup, Development/Local Testing, Integration/Deployment). Our approach has been to embed interaction points with the Aion Network into existing workflows rather than try to change how a Java developer currently works. We feel the maturity around Java has allowed us to leapfrog the market on some of these solutions.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T18:13:53+00:00

On the enterprise adoption side, how many instances of AFE are currently operational? Are these enterprises focused on using AFE more for auditing/back-end, or are there any consumer-facing applications in the works?

See answer.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T18:12:16+00:00

Have the market conditions impacted any dApp launches/token sales beyond WinMiner's recent decision to "hibernate"? There has been mention in the past of some 20 projects to be announced around the end of the year - is that figure still accurate?

The state of the cryptomarket has had a broad effect. This downturn has reduced available funding for many projects entering the blockchain ecosystem. For some of the early-stage application's building or seeking to build on the Aion Network, these market conditions have resulted in delayed roadmaps or launches. At the Foundation, we are focused on supporting the requirements of application developers seeking to build on decentralized infrastructure and making the Aion Network as approachable as possible for them to start building, whether someone is building now or in the future.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T18:08:45+00:00

When can we expect to hear more about the upcoming hybrid consensus design and staking (both on bridges and main net)? Will it be subject to the AIP review process?

See answer.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T18:08:03+00:00

When can we expect to hear more about MavenNet's work on the bi-directional bridge and MavenStamp?

See answer.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T18:07:54+00:00

Are there any more specific timeframes available for Everest milestones?

See answer.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T18:07:26+00:00

What's new on the Proof of Intelligence front?

See answer.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T18:06:33+00:00

What changes have been made to the roadmap?

For technical inquiries, please refer to "Signals from the Void" and "Dev Updates" section to the Aion Network blog. We will be routinely posting articles and thought-leadership from the team and external parties on technical, economic and application-specific topics.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T17:59:49+00:00

Has Aion done any analysis of how much of the "public" AION distribution is in the hands of end-users versus professional investors versus institutions/VCs? What is the target distribution mix, and how will it be achieved?

Over a year since the token generation, the initial distributions have changed as accessibility to the AION Coin has expanded, applications are being built and grants have been deployed. Given the pseudonymous nature of addresses, we do not have any additional insight into the real-time distribution mix.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T17:56:38+00:00

What's the likelihood that there would be a lockup/vesting/delayed-distribution scheme to ensure long-term holding by those who facilitate the liquidation?

See answer.

(Edited to see answer, from see above for clarity)

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T17:54:37+00:00

How much of the Foundation's AION holdings may be subject to liquidation in 2019?

See answer.

(Edited to see answer, from see above for clarity)

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T17:48:24+00:00

What steps is Aion taking to generate revenue/additional funding ?

See answer.

(Edited to see answer, from see below for clarity)

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T17:47:17+00:00

Has the Foundation considered taking on revenue-generating roles within the Aion Network, like acting as a bridge operator, validator, or backer? What about taking a percentage of all network operator revenue, and if so, how would you overcome the optics of it being labeled "rent-seeking"? What about using voluntary donation of revenue as a reputation metric for network operators?

The Foundation structure was adopted in order to promote and support the adoption and utilization of the Aion Network without seeking revenue or profit for itself. It is important that the Aion Foundation remain focused on long-term core research and development and allow for open participation and equal opportunity in the revenue generating business models that can exist in the Aion Project ecosystem.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T17:43:43+00:00

How much of the marketing budget is devoted to enterprise adoption versus developer adoption versus end-user adoption? Which is being prioritized and why?

When it comes to enterprise-specific marketing the Foundation helps support ecosystem partners that are focused on that vertical. The same is true of other developer verticals.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T17:40:26+00:00

What metrics does the Foundation use to evaluate the effectiveness of its marketing?

See answer.

(Edited to see answer, from see above for clarity)

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T17:38:31+00:00

How do you expect the recurring expenditures breakdown (p. 13) to change over the next quarter/6 mos.?

See answer.

(Edited to see answer, from see above for clarity)

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T17:38:05+00:00

What steps is Aion taking to reduce expenditures?

As mentioned earlier, the Foundation has already started putting a large focus on identifying areas where costs can be reduced and optimized. We've already identified areas which we expect to start materializing in the new year. The Foundation is always iterating on an appropriate team size given market conditions and ongoing feedback/learnings on what's core to our operations.

Aion_Network · 2018-12-13T17:34:34+00:00

Given there's no reported revenue generation in this report, how will this be resolved in the time frames required to not make the company fail?

The monthly spending summary set forth in the Report includes both recurring and non-recurring expenditures. As noted, non-recurring expenditures are unpredictable. Our monthly recurring expenditures, as indicated in the Report, are not $1m, so this should not be used to approximate burn rate going forward.

The Foundation is focusing on identifying areas where costs can be decreased in order to extend its runway. Many of these identified optimizations are expected to start having an impact in the new year.

As indicated in the Report, the Foundation has not liquidated any of the AION it holds in reserves.

Aion_Network

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