CoinMetro 17th August 2018 AMA Notes

VIDEO ARCHIVE OF THE AMA (YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK)

IN THE NEWS

#1. Decentralized Crypto exchanges can solve fake volumes and malpractices

• The article talks about wash trading, and says that these DEXs will be able to stop wash trading, and that’s generally true. 
• There’s no centralized point of trading, so you’re going to have two separate counterparties trading with one another. 
• It’s still possible, but not quite as rampant.
• CEXs usually bring things to the table that may be better initially, (e.g. tech). 

#2. Major crypto exchange KuCoin Hong Kong offices are empty

• Kind of funny, but not surprising in any way. 
• KuCoin pays dividends and is an unregistered security. 
• ESMA may not allow businesses to operate if there isn’t a substantial presence in the country where they have offices. 

#3. US Sets Up Crypto Exchange Information Sharing Program

• No surprise here, the US likes data. 
• They like to know what everyone is doing. 
• This tells you where regulation is headed.

#4. Binance LCX Launches Fiat-to-Crypto Exchange in Liechtenstein

• 👏, 👏, 👏.
• Binance made the right move, because regulation is not their strong suit.
• The fact that they’re going regional instead of global, is a good thing.  

#5. Ripple Picks Three Crypto Exchanges for International XRP Payments

• The three exchanges mentioned have had Ripple in their exchange. (Bittrex, Coin PH, and Bitso)
• We’re in the talks with Ripple for trading in the Euro market.
• CM is looking for the Euro Market. 

#6. More than half top crypto currencies have no function, study shows

• Shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone!
• The majority of ICOs don’t do anything.

“If success were easy, everyone would be successful.” - Kevin Murcko, CEO, CoinMetro

#7. Could Bitcoin fall to $4,000 in the coming weeks?

• Yes, it could! I don’t expect it to go that low.
• All Technical Analysis is based on lagging price analysis.
• “It’s like getting punched in the face and saying, ‘I got punched in the face’.”
• Kevin thinks that Ethereum and Bitcoin may have found their “true price”. 
• Bitcoin’s value is the cost of mining it. As the cost of mining Bitcoin goes up, the price of BTC should go up as well. 

#8. Huge opportunity for everyone in crypto, it’s called KYC/AML

• Decent article. 
• Kevin’s been saying from the start: “We have to be compliant”
• If you’re providing an exchange of currencies, and you’re charging a commission, that’s a financial service. 
• Once we get the insurance industry comfortable with crypto, it’ll be a huge step towards adoption. 

#9. Bitcoin ETF fans might find satisfaction in Sweden

• No, they won’t. 
• ETFs by themselves won’t create some giant catalyst that pushes us to $1MM per Bitcoin. 
• An ETF coming out of Sweden, is not huge news. We’d need a high liquidity scenario like the UK or the US coming onboard.  
• Bring it on Sweden!

REDDIT QUESTIONS

(There were quite a few interruptions on this AMA, so not all questions are listed here. Please refer to the video archive for the full experience. - Ed.)

Vesting Period

• Decisions won’t be made until we see how the market reacts initially.
• If we decide to alter the vesting periods, it wouldn’t be done in a way that would be able to affect the underlying price. We don’t want to give benefits to a just a few small sector of XCM holders. 

Can USA clients trade with fiat at the time of exchange launch?

• I could answer that question today, and tomorrow, that answer could be wrong.
• In order to hold, we need eMoney licensing, which will come from the E.U. initially.
• Kevin doesn’t like stable coins. 
• However, there are solutions on how we can get around the eMoney barrier. 
• It’s possible, but not probable. 
• The goal is to get US access as fast as possible, but to do it in a compliant manner.

Flash Sales: Will anyone buy XCM in this bear market?

• That depends, of course. 
• There are people who want to buy XCM, we get e-mails, and other messages on a daily basis from people who want to buy XCM.

Reaching out to other coins

• We’re approaching many projects and we’re ensuring that they can participate in the CoinMetro ecosystem without putting it at risk (from a regulation standpoint).
• This means being careful that utility tokens can’t later become securities, for example, unless the proper regulatory guidelines are implemented.

Broker Hedging 

• Kevin comments on B-Booking. 
• FX Pig has never done B-Booking, and never will.

What’s stalling mass adoption?

• Simplification is a key factor. 
• Wallet IDs are still very onerous.
• “How do I buy crypto with dollars/euros/pounds/yen/etc…?” 
• Regulation is another huge piece. It creates frameworks for onboarding. 
• Volatility is only there because we haven’t seen mass adoption. Once this happens, volatility dies. 

COINMETRO DEV UPDATES

• Trade View is going to 2nd static mockup
• Intermediate Update is now in development to go out to beta testers
• Android App has new streaming elements in the top bar
• CoinMetro Smart Project is in our design phase for Android and iOS (this will have some additional add-on services that are only available in the mobile app)
• iOS update was sent for approval with improvements for web view.

LIVE QUESTIONS

How did you value XCM at 0.12 EUR?

• We created a tiered value structure that got us to a point where the tokenomics made sense from a perspective of how much money we needed to raise, the amount of infrastructure we needed to build, and the perceived value of that infrastructure once it was built. 

Will CoinMetro be trading against the AUD at some point in the future?

• We need to have liquidity in AUD in order to provide it.
• It’s not on the roadmap for the Q3 targets.
• As we build up an Australian client-base, we’ll be able to release some type of trading. 

Marketing Strategy

• Regional/Local Marketing in Estonia for branding and awareness benefits. 
• Going over the SEO strategy, which includes more organic content.
• Crypto Academy continues development, which is a big catalyst for marketing.
• Social Media strategies are being developed.
• The team is aiming for a wholistic media approach.
• Remember, we’re offering makers 50% commission rebates, we’re also offering ambassador programs and year end bonuses.

Are you afraid the crypto era is over?

• Nope!
• Take it from Buffet: “When fear grabs a market, it’s the best time to buy.” 
• When your grandmother tells you to buy Bitcoin, you should sell it. 
• Even after the internet bubble burst, the internet survived and it is now the backbone of many economies.
• This is the next big technological leap in that space.

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Well, that's it for this week's AMA with CoinMetro Founder Kevin Murcko! Please join us next week on CoinMetro's Facebook at 2PM GMT for another round and make sure you submit your questions to the CoinMetro Subreddit!

As always, we're available to answer any questions you may have on our Telegram Group 24/7.