CoinMetro 21st September Notes
AmaZix Team
IN THE NEWS
- Kevin and stable coins don’t mix.
- Even post-thinking cap thinking, there are few-to-no use cases, other than liquidity.
- We already have a stable coin, and a mechanism with how it’s used: Ripple.
#2. Goldman Sachs postponed/canceled crypto exchange drama is a clear case of price manipulation?
- Not so much a clear case
- They only stated that the crypto desk was delayed.
- Could it be “Fake News?”
- Nothing good or bad to say about this, to be honest.
- The point is that it’s another on-ramp.
- ADRs (a way for someone in the US to buy into a foreign stock listed on a US market) are annoying.
- The great thing is how they’ve been creative in working around regulations.
#4. ICO funding on a 16-month low
- Great- there was too much reckless money going into ICO, and it mitigates any accusations of money laundering.
- Newbies are skittish to enter now, perhaps after encountering big losses.
#5. BitGo Receives Regulatory Approval to Custody Crypto Assets
- Custody was the first step into bringing institutional money, but regulations are needed first.
- Nothing changed, but Bitgo got creative and were able to do it.
- Without frameworks, big institutional money won’t be coming in.
- The majority of large transactions are happening in Dark Pools.
#6. Crypto Exchange Zaif Hacked In $60 Million Bitcoin Theft
- That’s a lot of money to have in a hot wallet.
- Protocols, protocols, protocols. Most breaches happen due to social engineering.
- People make security around crypto sound very complex, but it need not be.
- Don't leave 6,000 BTC in a hot wallet.
#7. Pay for Play: Why Exchange’s Token Listing Fees are Bad for the Industry
- "Forget about why they're bad for the industry, they're just bad- period."
- There's really no justification as to why they're doing it.
- People will stop paying those fees as new exchanges come to market.
- No mature market will allow things like this.
#8. Mt.Gox Creditor: Payouts May “Completely Crash The Market”
- Consider this a very large ICO that went through a lot of the majors, and yes some people will dump.
- People who think we're in an intermediate low- and think that the market will improve, may not sell.
- Most sales are probably being done via dark pools.
#9. Binance to Start Closed Beta Testing of New Crypto-Fiat Exchange in Singapore
- CoinMetro is looking at 50+ fiat on/off ramps.
- CoinMetro is looking for a more holistic approach to crypto and wants to be a one-stop-shop.
- It's good that Binance is doing this, but they need to get their regulation game on point.
REDDIT QUESTIONS
CoinMetro Website Feedback
- The dev team has quite a lot of experience, for example, the team has experience building clustered applications.
- The platform is being built to scale.
- Bots have been stress testing both the internal CoinMetro software and stress testing liquidity providers as well.
- AWS servers are being used for now, and after launch physical rack space for the trading engine and the team will be building node clusters.
Panic Sell Ethereum?
- Wouldn’t panic sell.
- USD levels to look for are around $150USD/ETH.
Will the PAM account migrate and be investable via XCM?
- The answer is yes, but the time frame is still in the air.
Partnerships
- We already have on-ramps for credit cards with many fiat currencies.
- As far as wire and SEPA transfers, we have licenses for the EU/EEA and a slightly more expensive on-ramp for USD.
- We have confirmed gateways already.
- We’re in high-level talks with large providers.
What is the status of the debit card?
- We now have 4 or 5 options.
- Some providers that were iffy on crypto have now become crypto friendly thanks to CoinMetro's meetings.
- We now have many more options due to this change of heart from some of the providers the team has spoken to previously.
We are we in regards to institutional participation in crypto?
- Basically at 0.
- There are a few players with their toes in the water, but regulation is the hurdle.
- “Forget the Winklevoss Bros. tokenizing the moon, or some other PR stunt.”
Will crypto go the way of tulip mania and completely disappear?
- It won’t disappear, but the market as we see it, may.
- The internet bubble burst, but it still exists, and it’s bigger than it has ever been.
- Regulation is key, and it’s always hard for someone to be the first to step in.
Status of CoinMetro?
- We’re still hiring, and optimizing our team
- “I take full ownership for the delay, but we are committed to delivering a quality product”.
- “Doing things right is critically important, and if it upsets a few people, so be it.”
- We're looking at the long-term health of CoinMetro and ensure that it is built to last.
Looking back at the ICO, what would you do differently?
- Perhaps more flash sale-esque campaign.
- "The main thing that would change is re-tool the way we marketed the product."
Trade View Module, will there be a visual input like dragging SLTP values on the chart like cTrader?
- ChartIQ which is the library CM uses does support those features.
What are your thoughts on the NY Attorney General's report on crypto exchanges?
- If you're a crypto exchange and accepting clients in NY, you are in violation of their regulations.
- It overreached in a few things, but they're not wrong.
- Kevin gives them thumbs up for doing their job.
What guard rails or other policies will CoinMetro implement to ensure fairness for retail traders trading against professionals?
- Price discovery!
Marketing Update
- CM has hired a very experience marketing team that occupies about half the second floor.
- It includes SEO, copywriting, content management, e-mail marketing, organic and paid search, and PR companies that work in the U.K. and Estonia.
- It takes on traditional and non-traditional methods, as well as search.
Americans and the Beta, along with XCM trading.
- Americans will have access to the paper-trading component of the beta, like all other users.
- KYC is on hold until we have the completed PPM in the US for accredited investors, and at that time we will also release the solution for non-accredited investors, which will become active once live trading is enabled.
- The PPM is in the final stages for drafting for submission.
- XCM will be tradeable sometime between the end of Q3 and the end of Q4.
AMA Questions
Are you going to show daily/weekly/monthly burn rates on the dashboard?
- Yes, on the transparency page on the front-end, and it will evolve quite dramatically once we launch. It'll have all types of different things.
Official Launch Date?
- 24th September 2018 Official Beta Launch (Paper Trading)
- Live trading expected for end of Q4.
- Simplex will be out first, then Trade, timings depend on feedback. If there are no more issues, things will start to be pushed live.
Will the debit card launch this year or Q1 next year? Will we be able to design how it looks ourselves?
- It won't be possible, at least initially. There will, however, be more than 1 card design.
- The team will have more updates most likely in mid-October.
Will there be a paper trading mode on the trading view (after beta ends), for newbs to practice/test trading strategies?
- Yes. The plan is to have paper trading on all 3 platforms (Simplex, Trade, Exchange).
- If they so choose, once new users go through the CoinMetro Academy, they'll have the option to live trade.
Will there be API support for algo trading?
- Yes. FIX API (not REST). Trading needs standardized access, having own API doesn't help.
You talked about expanding revenue streams and services beyond what was initially promised in the roadmap. What kind of services are these that you have in mind, can you expand on that?
- The idea is to offer multi-asset trading, remittances, fiat wallets, credit cards, the ability to pay bills, payments to third parties, banking and crypto and trading services, as well as merchant services and perhaps P2P services.
- Think about what you can do with your bank, crypto and FX, combine and those into one.
When can we expect a decision on whether or not there will be another flash sale?
- Given the current pricing, if the team remains where they are, there will almost 100% be another flash sale. The question is how to do it. Flash sales were very beneficial because they were new and created buzz. They won't create buzz anymore, so the question then becomes how to create buzz?
- The idea would be combining the token with a bond. You buy at 12 cents, after a period of time expires, and value decreases, you'll be entitled to payments.
- It gives an underlying yield, and gives access to a guaranteed rate of return.
I've heard that you said that you don't expect the exchange on its own to make big profits. How are the other ways that are going to profit the company profit XCM holders as well?
- When you look at a business model like Revolut, their main income source is debit cards. They know they have a fixed amount of money that they'll make. Building a debit card model like Revolut is one way to approach it.
- TAM and ETCF can also have performance and management fees.
- Fee structures can also be built into merchant fees.
Where is the advantage for flash sale/ICO buyers. People who bought now, do speculate much less on company success. There should be a revenue for old ones.
Initial buyers have advantages:
- Entitled to discounts.
- Bought at lower prices.
- Bought when ETH/BTC were higher.
- Bond tokens (only for current holders)
- The new plan would only be for the new flash sale participants.
How long is the vesting period now for guys who bought at 3-5 ct?
- Hasn't changed, it's still 6 months.
Interesting topics worth a listen
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That sums up this week's AMA with CoinMetro Founder Kevin Murcko! Please join us again 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.
