Transcript of AMA with CEO of PointPay – Vladimir Kardapoltsev, August 29th 2024
Dear PointPay Family,
PointPay CEO Vladimir Kardapoltsev participated in a traditional AMA session on August 29th, 2024. He shared the latest news about PointPay, made several announcements, and discussed a lot of events within the platform!
Below is a summary of the AMA held on the 29th of August, 2024.
AMA Transcript
Vladimir (CEO): Hello, PointPay family. Welcome to our traditional AMA session. As you know, it’s the last Thursday of the month, and I’m joined today by Diana.
Hello, Diana.
Diana (Host): Hello, everyone. Let's hear the latest news and announcements from Vlad.
Vladimir (CEO): Thank you, Diana. Let's get started.
August is typically a quieter month, with many people, including our partners, taking holidays. However, we’ve kept the momentum going, working diligently throughout the month. Personally, I’ve been in the office all August, and I haven’t taken a holiday in the three years since I joined the company. Despite the ongoing market downturn, we’ve made significant strides in platform development, the creation of new products, and overall preparation for the next anticipated crypto boom.
Even though the current market situation isn’t ideal, with cryptocurrencies experiencing a downturn, our team has been actively engaged in improving our platform. We’ve focused on revamping our products, thoroughly testing our ecosystem, and implementing various UX and UI enhancements. These changes, while subtle, are crucial to maintaining a smooth and user-friendly experience on our platform.
In addition to these improvements, we’ve expanded our platform’s offerings by listing several new tokens. Recent additions include Cartesi (CTSI) and Euro Tether (EURT). We’ve also listed RSS3 and other tokens that enhance the diversity and functionality of our platform. If you’re interested in learning more about our recent listings, I recommend checking out our monthly listing digest. The next edition is scheduled for release this Saturday and will provide comprehensive details on all the coins we’ve added.
Now, let’s discuss some of the competitions and events we’ve organized for our community. Earlier this month, we held the Olympic Game trading competition, timed to coincide with the Olympic Games in Paris. The event featured a $100,000 prize pool and attracted considerable interest, with participants competing for gold, silver, and bronze prizes. On a personal note, I enjoyed watching several Olympic events, including the Turkish shooting competition, synchronized swimming, and basketball.
Another event we hosted was the Butterfly Games. I have to admit, I’m not entirely sure why it was named that, as the reasoning behind it didn’t stick with me. However, the competition was successful, and our community responded positively. We also held a meme competition in honor of International Cat Day, which turned out to be particularly engaging. Participants showcased their creativity through various entries, some of which were even displayed on walls. Despite some controversies—mainly due to the disqualification of participants who were not registered on our platform—the competition was a success and brought many new users to our platform. The enthusiasm from our community during these events was palpable, and we may consider hosting similar competitions in the future.
Let’s move on. Our involvement in global events remains strong. Recently, we attended Chain Fusion in Bali and participated in Blockchain Week. We have several more events lined up for the near future. In September, we’ll be present at Token 2049 in Singapore, which is shaping up to be an exciting opportunity for us. Additionally, we plan to attend another event in Korea, though I can’t recall the exact name at the moment. Last year, I was supposed to attend Token 2049, but prior commitments prevented me from going. This year, however, our team will be there, and I’m optimistic that it will be a fruitful experience.
In terms of platform enhancements, we’ve made several updates that you may have noticed. For instance, the classic and advanced exchange options are no longer visible on our website. Don’t worry—they haven’t disappeared; they’ve just been relocated. After conducting market research and testing, we realized that not many users were utilizing the classic exchange. As a result, we decided to focus on the advanced terminal, streamlining the user experience.
We’ve also been making continuous improvements to our website and mobile app. This includes redesigning several pages, enhancing the onboarding process, and improving the login experience. Our goal is to make the platform as user-friendly as possible, and we’re committed to ongoing improvements in this area.
Another significant update is the completion of the development phase for our Learn and Earn platform. Although the platform is fully developed, it hasn’t been released yet. We’re currently in the process of filling it with content. Once launched, users will be able to watch educational videos, answer quizzes, and receive rewards—such as token incentives—from PointPay or external partners. For example, you might watch a video on setting up a PointPay account, answer a few questions, and earn some PXPs. This initiative wasn’t initially requested by our community, but it was strongly encouraged by our partners, who have offered substantial support for its development. We expect to tie this platform into the overall onboarding experience, and it should be live before the next AMA session.
So, let’s talk about marketing a little bit. As many of you are aware, the crypto market has been down recently, which has impacted various aspects of the industry. One notable event was the arrest of Pavel Durov, which, while not drastically affecting the market, did cause some fluctuations. Despite these challenges, we’re optimistic that the market will bounce back, especially as people return to work in September.
Regarding our marketing efforts, we had originally planned to launch a significant campaign, with numerous key opinion leaders (KOLs) already on board. However, we decided to hold off due to the unfavorable market conditions. Launching a campaign in a down market wouldn’t be effective, so we’re waiting for the right moment. Everything is ready on our end; we’re simply waiting for the market to recover. When the time is right, the marketing campaign will coincide with the release of our Telegram app and the launch of our blockchain. These efforts will be part of a broader strategy to establish ourselves as the first and only Telegram exchange, positioning us with a unique selling proposition (USP) in the market.
In conclusion for all we’ve talking through, while August has been a quieter month in some respects, it has also been productive. We’ve made significant progress on multiple fronts, and we’re well-prepared for the future. As we look ahead, our focus remains on delivering value to our users, improving our platform, and strategically positioning PointPay for the next market upturn.
Vladimir (CEO): That's all for now! Let's proceed to the questions.
Diana (Host): Why did PointPay's ranking drop on CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap?
Vladimir (CEO): That's a great question and one that we've been asked a lot recently. The drop in our ranking is related to the expiration of our security audit. Both CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko introduced new, stricter security audit parameters, which our previous audit didn’t fully comply with. We weren’t notified about these changes in advance, so when our audit expired, it automatically renewed under the old parameters, which no longer met the new standards.
We're currently working on obtaining a new audit that aligns with these updated requirements. The process should be completed by September 10th, and once it is, we’ll submit it to both platforms for review. While it’s disappointing to see our ranking drop, we’re confident that once the new audit is approved, we’ll regain our position, and possibly even improve it, as other platforms may face similar challenges.
Diana (Host): Are there any limits on waiting for favorable market conditions before starting a marketing campaign?
Vladimir (CEO): Absolutely. We’re carefully monitoring the market to choose the right moment to launch our marketing campaign. We’ve already got a solid plan in place and have spoken to about 70 KOLs who are on board. But launching a campaign in a down market doesn’t make sense—it’s just not the right environment.
We were close to starting the campaign about three weeks ago when we saw some signs of market recovery, but then things took a turn for the worse. So, we decided to wait it out. Patience is key here. We’re fully prepared with everything ready to go—our platform, our KOLs, the tokens, and the upcoming releases of our onboarding platform, mainnet, and Telegram app. When the market begins to recover, we’ll be ready to ride that wave and maximize our impact.
Diana (Host): When can we expect new partnerships on the Token Booster Launchpad?
Vladimir (CEO): The concept of Launchpads, especially for ICOs, has become somewhat outdated. The market has shifted, and most projects are now focusing on secondary listings rather than initial offerings. While we developed our Launchpad a few years ago, the landscape has changed significantly since then. That said, we’re more focused on our Token Booster, which is designed for the secondary listing market and airdrop distributions.
We haven’t had many notable projects approach us for a Launchpad listing recently, but if the right opportunity comes along, we’re ready to support it. In the meantime, we’re still scouting for opportunities with the Token Booster, and I believe that once our marketing campaign kicks off and we achieve a higher position among exchanges, the Token Booster will become a very popular feature on our platform.
Diana (Host): What assets does your exchange focus on, and which ones are most popular among traders?
Vladimir (CEO): We primarily focus on assets that are trending in the crypto market. We consider factors like overall trading volume and the number of wallet holders when deciding which coins to add. Our analyst reviews these metrics each month and makes recommendations based on what’s popular and what aligns with our business strategy.
Sometimes, we collaborate with our sales department to see if there’s potential for co-marketing activities with the projects we list. Most often, we list assets that have high trading volumes or significant market interest. Currently, we have around 120 to 125 coins on our platform, and we aim to reach about 150 to 200 by the end of the year, depending on market conditions. We’re careful to avoid listing coins that don’t trade well because they can drag down our overall ranking on platforms like CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko.
Diana (Host): Many crypto projects sponsor articles on popular crypto sites to increase awareness. Is that something PointPay plans to do?
Vladimir (CEO): Yes, we’ve done sponsored articles before, but I’ll be honest—they don’t always bring the conversions we’re looking for. We’ve had articles on platforms like Forbes and Yahoo Finance, and we even had an unpaid one on Cointelegraph that featured an interview about me and the war, which was a nice piece of organic PR.
However, these articles can be quite expensive—sometimes $5,000 or more for a brief mention—and they don’t always translate into significant user engagement. So, while we might do a few more in conjunction with major events like the release of our Telegram app or our mainnet, we’ve found that organic mentions and more targeted marketing efforts are often more effective.
Diana (Host): Are there any plans to add futures trading, and if so, will it be integrated into the existing interfaces or introduced as a separate page?
Vladimir (CEO): If we do add futures trading, it will most likely be introduced as a separate page. The interface for futures trading, while similar to regular trading, has enough differences—like additional buttons and options—that it makes sense to keep it separate. Plus, users would need to create a separate wallet for futures trading.
We’ve already done some preliminary development on futures and margin trading, but these features aren’t the most popular with the general user base. While they do generate higher trading volumes and commission revenue, most users prefer a simpler interface. We’re considering rolling out futures and margin trading later on, possibly by the end of the year or in the first quarter of next year, depending on market conditions. But for now, we’re focused on other priorities like the Telegram app and the blockchain release.
Diana (Host): What are your thoughts on the current state of the market, and how does it align with your expectations?
Vladimir (CEO): The market downturn has, of course, affected PXP, just as it has the entire crypto market. Everything in this industry is interconnected, so when the market drops, we drop too. However, when the market bounces back, we expect to return to our previous positions, which is a positive sign.
I believe PointPay is one of the most undervalued companies in the crypto world right now, considering the number of users we have and our future plans. We're currently valued at around $2 million, which I think is far below where we should be. With the upcoming releases of the Telegram app, our blockchain, and other features, I expect our token's value to increase significantly. This is the best time to buy PXP, as it's the cheapest it's ever been, and I’m confident that the value will skyrocket once our new products are live and our marketing campaign is in full swing.
Diana (Host): Are there any plans for activities beyond trading competitions and contests? Is there anything new coming up?
Vladimir (CEO): Right now, trading competitions are one of our main focuses because they’re very effective. They not only bring in new users but also generate significant revenue through trading commissions. We’ve found that these competitions, like the Olympic Games trading competition and the PXP trading competition, are very successful in both attracting participants and breaking even or even making a profit.
We plan to hold one competition per month, which we believe is a good balance—enough to keep users engaged without causing fatigue. In addition to these, we’re also planning partnership-related activities that will kick off with our marketing campaign. Meme competitions have also been popular, so we might see more of those as well. But if anyone in the community has ideas for new types of activities, I’m always open to suggestions. You can reach out to me directly on Telegram at CEO PointPay.
Diana (Host): What results do you expect from the marketing campaign? Do you have any specific targets in mind?
Vladimir (CEO): Yes, we definitely have targets—these are more projections based on likely outcomes and market conditions. Our plan is to more than double our user base, aiming for over a million active users on our platform. Currently, we have a little over half a million, so this is a significant increase. We’re also aiming to re-engage our existing community and grow our presence on social media, particularly on Telegram and Twitter.
For Telegram, we’re hoping to increase our subscribers from 35,000 to around 100,000 or even 150,000. We also want to see the value of PXP double, or ideally triple, from where it is now. Overall, the goal is to relaunch our platform in a way that positions us in the top 20 exchanges, and hopefully, even in the top 10. If we achieve these targets, it will be a clear sign that our marketing campaign has been successful.
Diana (Host): When will new staking options be available? There are only two right now, and that doesn't seem like enough.
Vladimir (CEO): We do have plans to add more staking options, but most of these are on hold until the market conditions improve and the marketing campaign launches. Right now, with the market being down, we have to be cautious and focus on risk management. That’s why we’re currently limiting staking options. However, by the end of the year, we expect to add more assets, staking options, and trading pairs to our platform.
It’s important to remember that staking involves a degree of risk, and with the current state of the market, we’re prioritizing stability. But as the market picks up, we’ll definitely be adding more options, and we’re always open to collaborating with projects that want to list their tokens on our platform and offer staking opportunities.
Diana (Host): Well, I guess that was the last question for today. Thank you very much for all of your answers.
Vladimir (CEO): Thank you, Diana, for collecting the questions and for being here with me tonight. It’s been a productive summer for PointPay, and while this AMA session may be slightly shorter than usual, we’ve covered a lot of ground. We’ve been hard at work refining our app, launching the Learn and Earn campaign, and preparing for what’s ahead.
Looking forward, I’m optimistic about what’s to come. If the market picks up in September, as we anticipate, you can expect to see the launch of our marketing campaign, the release of the Telegram app, and our blockchain’s mainnet. However, if the market remains sluggish, these launches might be pushed to October. Either way, we’re fully prepared, and everything is in place.
Remember, we have the best plans, and we’re confident that these developments will set us apart from our competitors. Our first-mover advantage with the Telegram app and our blockchain will be key in differentiating us in the crowded crypto space. These innovations are going to propel us to new heights, and I’m excited about the journey ahead.
Before I wrap up, I’d like to remind everyone that we’re nearing the conclusion of the token swap, likely by November. If you haven’t swapped your tokens yet, please do so as soon as possible. We’re close to full participation, which is fantastic. Also, don’t be concerned about the recent drop in our ratings; it’s a temporary issue related to the cybersecurity audit, which we’re already addressing.
Finally, thank you all for your continued support. If you’re going to be in Singapore, don’t hesitate to come by and say hello. I look forward to seeing where we stand by the time of our next AMA session. Have a wonderful day, a fantastic weekend, and I’ll see you all in September.
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