Jumping into ICON (ICX) is blockchain more valuable than cryptocurrency

ICON (ICX); a South Korean project, demonstrates that blockchain could be more valuable than cryptocurrency.

ICON is potentially disruptive because it claims dozens of companies are working with its commercial blockchain solutions. For instance, ICON claims it is working with 26 Korean security firms in the Korea Financial Blockchain Consortium.”

Impressively, ICON launched CHAIN ID a blockchain security solution for clearing and settlement of financial instruments in 2017. In addition, ICON claims to be working with a consortium of insurers on an automated insurance platform using its claiming service loopchain. Thus, ICON is building a system to settle insurance claims through the blockchain.

Plus, ICON is developing a pre-paid digital payments system for banks. Moreover, there is a plan for a Precision Healthcare Information System or P-HIS for hospitals. Interestingly, ICON plans inter-hospital data exchanges that could monetize patient data.

ICON (ICX) plans a cryptocurrency for Vending Machines

Strangely, ICON’s most valuable piece of technology involves the humble vending machine. ICON is developing U-Coin; a cryptocurrency that vending machines on South Korean university campuses can accept.

Surprisingly, vending machines are a big and lucrative business. In fact, 100 million Americans use one of seven vending machines in the United States every day, The Balance of Life estimates. Importantly, American vending machines are a $30 billion a year industry of 13,500 companies that employ 700,000 people, The Balance of Life estimates.

Hence, cryptocurrency vending machines could be a big business. I think there will be a huge demand for cryptocurrency vending machines in countries that lack stable currencies. In addition, cryptocurrency and decentralized applications (DApps) could be perfect accounting tools for the vending industry.

For example, a vending machine in Venezuela that accepts stablecoins; like Tether (USDT) and the DAI (DAI). In detail, a Stablecoin is a cryptocurrency backed by a widely accepted fiat currency like the US Dollar.

Note: U-Coin has no nothing to do with Ucoin (U) an Ethereum Request for Comment (ERC) token for the banking industry.

What is ICON (ICX)?

Like Ethereum (ETH), EOS (EOS), and Bancor (BNT) ICON is actually a developer of blockchain financial services technologies. Thus the real purpose of ICON is to commercialize the blockchain not to promote a cryptocurrency.

Importantly, ICON claims to have made serious progress towards that goal with its loopchain technology. A loopchain is a custom-tailored independent blockchain network designed and built for a specific purpose.

For example, an insurance loopchain will only connect insurers and agents. Meanwhile, a banking loopchain could only connect a bank and its customers.

Like the Ethereum Foundation, the organization behind ICON, the ICON Foundation operates as a nonprofit foundation. However, I think the ICON Foundation looks more like a fintech company.

What Value does ICON (ICX) have?

Thus the real value at ICON is the technology it is developing – not the ICN cryptocurrency.

Under those circumstances, ICON; like Tether and Bancor, could develop into a fintech company. Hence, it will make its money by selling financial services solutions.

Correspondingly, PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) cofounder Luke Nosek admits PayPal began as an effort to develop a global digital currency, Cointelegraph reports. The digital currency efforts apparently failed, but they led to the creation of a valuable fintech solution – a digital wallet.

Additionally, that wallet is a huge success. For example, PayPal’s payment volume hit $164 billion in 4^th Quarter 2018, The Business Insider estimates. In addition, PayPal’s payment volume grew at a rate of 32% between 4^th Quarter 2017 and 4^th Quarter 2018.

Is Blockchain more valuable than Cryptocurrency?

Therefore, the real money blockchain solutions make could be from fintech solutions. For instance, Ripple (XRP) could make money by charging people every time they send a cross-border payment or remittance through its networks.

Thus, blockchain platforms like PundiX, Plutus, UpToken, STEEM, and Tether are likely to be acquired by financial services companies or banks at some point. PayPal, Ant Financial, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), American Express (NYSE: AXP), and Tencent Holdings are likely buyers of blockchain platforms.

Specifically, one of those companies might buy a blockchain company like Plutus and shut down its cryptocurrency. This could occur because Plutus’s Tap & Pay app is potentially more valuable than the Pluton (PLU) token.

Intriguingly, Tap & Pay allow users to make cryptocurrency purchases at brick and mortar stores. Other probable uses for Tap & Pay, include vending machines, automatic teller machines (ATMs), smartphone apps, and transit systems.

Thus, ICON could make more money by selling or licensing the U-Coin vending machine solution than from the ICX token. Obviously, two huge potential customers for U-Coin are Coca-Cola and Pepsi; which owns the Frito Lay snack foods.

Is ICON (ICX) a Good Cryptocurrency?

Mr. Market has faith in ICON (ICX) as a cryptocurrency; despite these concerns. For example, Coinmarketcap ranked ICX as the 46^th most valuable cryptocurrency on 5 February 2019.

Specifically, ICON had a Market Capitalization of $89.293 million and a Coin Price of 18.9¢ on that day. In addition, ICX achieved a 24-Hour Market Volume of $3.736 million on February 5, 2019.

There was a Circulating Supply of 473.407 million ICX and a total supply of 800.640 million ICX. Interestingly, ICON (ICX) is vulnerable to inflation because there is no Maximum Supply of ICX.

To clarify a Maximum Supply is a limit on the number of altcoins they will mine. The thinking behind, a Maximum Supply is that it can keep values high and prevent cryptocurrency inflation.

What is the Value of the ICON (ICN) Cryptocurrency?

In addition, there are very basic limitations to the ICN cryptocurrency. Most importantly, it is apparently not convertible to popular blockchain technologies like Ethereum (ETH) and EOS (EOS). Hence, it might not be possible to easily convert ICN into other altcoins.

Moreover, the ICON website says little about scalability, DApps, or transaction speed. Thus, ICON’s utility as a payment solution is questionable.

In the final analysis, ICON could be a good fintech company but its value as a cryptocurrency is unknown. I would advise speculators to avoid ICON until somebody shows proof that ICN is being used for commercial transactions.