Transcript of AMA with CEO of PointPay – Vladimir Kardapoltsev, June 27th 2024

Dear PointPay Family,

PointPay CEO Vladimir Kardapoltsev participated in a traditional AMA session on June 27th, 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 27th of June, 2024.

AMA Transcript

Vladimir (CEO): Hello, PointPay Family. Welcome to our traditional AMA session. This time, we will focus on the bi-annual report, highlighting our accomplishments over the past six months.

Joining me is Diana.

Diana (Host): Hello, everyone. Let's hear the latest news and announcements from Vlad.

Vladimir (CEO): Thank you, Diana. Let's get started.

Today, we will discuss our achievements over the past month and review the bi-annual report, which will be published tomorrow morning (Friday 28th June). Now, let's begin with the new cryptocurrencies available on our platform.

We have been adding new assets to our platform almost daily over the past few weeks to fulfill our promise of offering more cryptocurrencies and to stay competitive. Over the past month, we have added 17 tokens, with more coming this week. The 17 tokens we have added so far are:

Biconomy (BICO)
Axelar (AXL)
NFPrompt (NFP)
Phoenix (PHB)
Frankencoin (ZCHF)
API3 (API3)
Portal (PORTAL)
Frontier (FRONT)
Renzo (REZ)
Unifi Protocol DAO (UNFI)
Tensor (TNSR)
BinaryX (BNX)
Book of Meme (BOME)
PEOPLE
io.net (IO)
Ethena (ENA)
Omni Network (OMNI) – to be listed on Friday!

And from that list, I would like to highlight the Frankencoin stablecoin pegged to the Swiss Franc. While numerous stablecoins are linked to the US Dollar, such as USDT and USDC, and there is one pegged to the Euro, the Swiss Franc has not yet been represented. Given its significance in global trading, we believe adding Frankencoin to our platform is a strategic enhancement. Frankencoin's stability makes it an excellent choice for those trading stablecoins or those in jurisdictions where acquiring stablecoins is challenging. With Frankencoin, you can trade at a 1:1 ratio with the Swiss Franc. This addition is not only a brilliant choice for currency traders but also an exciting update to our platform. Additionally, Frankencoin has been incorporated as one of our payment methods.

Moving on. We have significantly expanded our USDC trading pairs, adding 25 new pairs to our platform this month. Most of these were introduced on Tuesday, and you can find the detailed list in our recent post. These pairs are pegged or paired with USDC, enhancing our trading offerings.

We are thrilled to announce that we have surpassed the milestone of 200 trading pairs on our exchange. As of now, we have 234 trading pairs, exceeding our initial promise. This rapid achievement showcases our dedication to meeting and surpassing our goals. Our platform aims to cater to all trading needs, similar to major competitors like Binance, Kucoin, and OKX. Maintaining liquidity for each trading pair is costly, so we focus on pairs that provide value and active trading. Although we have fewer pairs than some competitors, our number is appropriate for our scale. Maintaining less active pairs would be financially impractical. Looking ahead, we anticipate surpassing the 250 trading pairs mark next month, continuing our trend of exceeding promises and delivering exceptional service to our users.

Let's move forward to the trading competitions held this month. The June trading competition, which is concluding soon, has a top prize of $10,000 and ends on June 28th. You can still participate by trading USDT pairs. The $10,000 prize pool will be shared among the top five leaders on the leaderboard.

We know many of you enjoy these trading competitions. For instance, the PXP trading competition was one of our most popular, with millions of PXP traded. Thank you for your enthusiastic participation.

The June competition was initially thought to be something akin to a "euros trading competition." Despite the name, participation has been robust. If you haven’t joined yet, there’s still time to compete for a share of the prize pool. Last time, one participant secured fifth place with minimal effort due to having substantial assets on our platform. Joining is simple and can be rewarding.

Your participation not only offers you the chance to win but also helps us engage with our community.

In other news, we listed a new asset, Dreyfus, last month, which has seen incredible interest from our community. Due to its popularity, we've introduced a new staking option with a 14% return. If you haven't staked your Dreyfus yet, now is a great time to do so. Thank you for your continued support.

Let's move on to our bi-annual report. This is a practice we started when I joined the company three years ago. Since then, we've consistently released these reports every six months. This initiative is one of the innovations I brought to the company to help gauge our progress over the last half-year. Unlike regular companies, our reports don't include financial figures but focus on our achievements and milestones. The past six months have been remarkable, and we've accomplished a lot.

The report will be available Friday afternoon. It outlines what we have achieved since January. Major developments include blockchain advancements and the token swap. These are significant milestones for us. Let me give you a preview of the report, which you'll be able to see tomorrow. If you watch the AMA later, you can follow along with the published report.

First, we completed the token swap this year. We transitioned our contract from Ethereum to Avalanche, and the swap ratio was 8.28 old tokens to 1 new token. This process, conducted over several months on our platform, was also automated on Widebit and Btrue. Our support and development teams dedicated a couple of months to organize and execute this swap, and we successfully swapped tokens for about 90-95% of our users. Although some swap applications are still coming in, we plan to continue this process until the end of the year, with no final decision on an end date yet.

The token swap has been a significant achievement. The community's support was invaluable, and I thank you all for participating. Avalanche is a brilliant network, and we will release more features and updates related to it.

We are excited to announce that we are working towards full multi-chain support for our token. Currently, our token is supported on Ethereum and a few other blockchains. We are developing new contract versions to expand this multi-chain support. Our previous ERC-20 token, which was quite dated, is being replaced with a modern token compatible with multiple cryptocurrencies and blockchains. Although full multi-chain support is forthcoming, we are pleased with our current progress.

We have updated the smart contract and changed the network for the new PXP token. Key updates include a reduced supply and future multi-chain support. Further announcements on multi-chain support will follow soon.

We successfully facilitated an automatic token swap on WhiteBit and Bitrue. Additionally, we listed PXP on the PointPay platform, fulfilling a long-standing promise. The majority of PXP trades now occur on our platform. Thank you for your trust and support.

In April, we achieved a tier one listing on MEXC, which was well-received. We are exploring a secondary tier one listing, but its economic viability is uncertain. The market landscape has shifted since our ICO days, and tier one listings no longer guarantee token success or liquidity.

While the MEXC listing increased our token's visibility, it had mixed effects on the price due to a large airdrop. Although the price recovered after a month, the impact was less than anticipated. We will continue to monitor our token's performance across four exchanges: WhiteBit, Bitrue, MEXC, and our own. Decisions regarding additional listings will be made based on overall business strategy and token performance.

This year, we announced the development of our own blockchain and have been actively working on it. The testnet is fully functional, allowing users to experiment with our faucet and build applications. This significant effort occupied the latter half of last year and the start of this year. We anticipate releasing the mainnet in the second half of this year. The mainnet is in the final stages of development, ensuring it is perfect, scalable, and seamless for users. Typically, projects take about a year to transition from testnet to mainnet, but we expect a shorter time frame. Developers are encouraged to test our testnet, request PXP tokens, and engage with our development environment, which is fully operational. We are also seeking projects to develop on our EVM-compatible blockchain, which should be accessible to most developers.

Additionally, we updated our user levels, reducing them from nine or ten to five, coinciding with the token swap. Initially, there was a brief overlap between the old and new systems, but we transitioned once 50% of users swapped their tokens. The new system is simpler and easier to understand.

We also introduced the PointPay Token Booster, an airdrop platform for the PointPay Launchpad. While this platform is ready, we have not yet secured projects for secondary listings. Our sales team is diligently working to attract projects for this feature.

We are also excited to announce our strategic repositioning as the first Telegram exchange. We are developing our own Telegram app, recognizing the platform's growing significance. Telegram is becoming a key player in the market, with numerous projects thriving on it, including their recent successful dating platform. Despite its popularity, no cryptocurrency projects have yet entered this space.

Our goal is to be pioneers in this community. Telegram is a major hub for the crypto community, alongside Discord, and we believe it is the perfect platform to engage with our audience. Given the current restrictions imposed by Apple, which limit access to certain services in various countries, Telegram offers an inclusive alternative. For instance, Kucoin users in the UK face restrictions on Apple devices but not on other platforms.

We aim to leverage this opportunity by becoming the first Telegram exchange, offering a unique selling proposition (USP) that will set us apart. Early entry into this market could give us a significant first-mover advantage, allowing us to capture a substantial share if we execute our marketing and strategy effectively.

Historically, first movers in the crypto space, like Binance during the NFT boom, have successfully dominated markets despite later entrants with better resources. This advantage is crucial in the crypto and development sectors, where being first can lead to market leadership.

Our vision is to differentiate PointPay through this pioneering move. The potential market on Telegram, with nearly a billion users, is immense. We are confident that being the first Telegram crypto exchange app will allow us to capture this vast audience. Additionally, Telegram's association with the crypto project Ton aligns perfectly with our goals.

The development of our Telegram app is progressing smoothly and is not overly complex compared to our previous projects. We have dedicated all necessary resources to this initiative, and we expect the app to be available within the next few months, potentially as soon as the end of next month, depending on the outcome of our testing phase.

As you can see, our platform has been diligently integrating the latest innovations. The release of our blockchain, alongside the launch of the first crypto exchange Telegram app, will significantly elevate our position in the crypto sphere. Many current projects lack true innovation and offer minimal differentiation in their services. However, our upcoming releases will distinguish us and propel us to new heights.

Larger companies often face prolonged development times due to bureaucratic processes. In contrast, our startup culture enables us to innovate and bring products to market much faster. This agility is crucial for what I see as a renaissance period for PointPay. I am genuinely thrilled about our future.

The blockchain release is imminent, currently in the final testing stages, and the Telegram app is 90% complete. I've reviewed the MVP on the dev servers, and it's impressive. We are making the final touches, and I believe these two launches, along with a potential future listing, will significantly enhance our market position.

Most crypto exchanges are very similar, offering little to set them apart. Our strategy provides a first-mover advantage in a space already familiar to crypto enthusiasts, like Telegram. This gives us a unique edge to capture our desired market. With our innovative app and strategic positioning, I am confident we will soon be among the top ten in the industry.

As I mentioned before, this year, we achieved 235 trading pairs, an impressive milestone. Additionally, we introduced more staking options on our platform. We also hosted exciting trading competitions, notably the PXP trading competition, which saw millions of PXP traded and was highly successful.

Our participation in several conferences has been noteworthy. We attended conferences in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Dubai. I shared a vlog about the Dubai conference, which included an unexpected and challenging experience navigating through a flood to reach my hotel. At Token 2049 in Dubai, we secured a listing on MEXC and other exchanges, marking significant achievements.

In summary, we have had an outstanding first half of the year. We released our blockchain testnet, developed our Telegram app for imminent release, launched the PointPay token booster, and completed the token swap. These accomplishments highlight our hard work and set us apart. Our team remains dedicated, and we look forward to continuing our efforts into the next year. For more details on our future plans, please refer to our roadmap.

Vladimir (CEO): Now, let's proceed to the questions. We have 20 minutes remaining. Diana, please go ahead.

Diana (Host): All right, so the first question is: Pointpay currently offers over 200 trading pairs. What's your next goal?

Vladimir (CEO): Our next goal is 300-400 trading pairs, up from the current 200+. It's important to understand trading pairs in the context of exchanges. A pair like BTC/USDT creates specific trading options. One asset can have multiple pairs, so increasing pairs doesn't necessarily mean adding new assets.

More pairs attract users by providing more trading options, which is crucial for platform growth. We're confident about reaching 300 pairs by year-end, possibly more. We'll separate asset count from pair count in our metrics.

Adding pairs is easier than adding assets. For example, we can double our pairs by adding USDC pairs to existing USDT pairs.

While our competitors have thousands of pairs, we focus on maintaining proper liquidity. We avoid unpopular pairs as they're costly and impractical.

So, to summarize: our next big target is 300-400 trading pairs.

Diana (Host): What's the next major update from PointPay?

Vladimir (CEO): Upcoming major updates for PointPay:

Mainnet release this year
Potential secondary tier-one listing
Launch of Telegram app
Release of PointPay portal (expected next month)

Speaking of it closely, the PointPay portal is an innovative onboarding platform that rewards users with PXP tokens for completing various tasks:

KYC verification
First trade
Trading PXP

This approach differs from competitors who often give away free money, which isn't economically viable for us. By tying rewards to our blockchain and proprietary token, we're creating a unique user experience that stands out in the market.

The portal aims to:

Improve onboarding experience
Increase platform engagement
Expand PXP utility within the ecosystem

Users can use earned PXP for various purposes, including paying trading fees on the platform.

These developments, along with the mainnet, Telegram app, and potential new listing, represent significant achievements for our project in the coming months. We believe this strategy will set us apart from competitors and drive user engagement on our platform.

Diana (Host): When will we see a return to 14th place on CoinGecko or even higher?

Vladimir (CEO): I believe it's achievable soon, especially with the development of the Point Pay Telegram app. As we gain more users and platform visits, our ranking should improve. Recently, we reached 53rd on CoinMarketCap, our highest position yet.

Reaching 14th place again is certainly possible. Once our app takes off, it should be easier as we'll have increased platform visitors and trading volume. We're also working on proof of reserves.

With these factors combined, I'm confident we can achieve this by year-end. Looking ahead, we might even break into the top ten next year. I'm very optimistic about our ratings across all platforms.

The development of our blockchain and PXP portal will increase user engagement and positive actions. Additionally, the Pointpay app release will give us a first-mover advantage. These initiatives should significantly boost our position in the rankings.

Diana (Host): Is Bitcoin's recent low volatility good or bad for Pointpay?

Vladimir (CEO): The cryptocurrency market's ups and downs don't really hit us directly, but they do affect our business in a couple of important ways. First off, when Bitcoin prices tank, people tend to trade less, which means fewer transactions for us to profit from. We make our money primarily on those trading fees, so less trading activity means less income for us. It's not the price itself that matters, but the trading volume it generates.

The other big impact is on our listing fees. We charge a pretty penny for listing new projects on our exchange, and that's actually a major source of revenue for us. When the market's down, though, projects get cold feet about listing. We've even had cases where projects have signed contracts and paid deposits, but then ask to hold off on actually listing until things pick up again. Our sales team really feels the pinch during these downturns – it's tough to sell listings when everyone's waiting for better market conditions.

So while we're not directly affected by the price of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, the ripple effects of a bear market definitely hit our bottom line. Lower trading volumes mean less income from fees, and a hesitant market means fewer new listings. It's a bit of a double whammy for us, really.

Diana (Host): What do you think of making an airdrop of PXP for marketing or a blockchain launch?

Vladimir (CEO): Regarding PXP airdrops for marketing or blockchain launch, I don't think it's a great idea. We already did a generous airdrop during our initial ICO in 2021, which was effective at the time. The market has changed since then, but we still have significant PXP reserves in our revised tokenomics.

We're now focusing more on engaging with influencers and key opinion leaders to promote our project. We'll use PXP to pay them and to incentivize users for completing tasks within our ecosystem. This approach helps attract users and encourages them to actively participate on the platform - depositing money, passing KYC, making their first trade, and so on. It's more cost-effective than using regular currency for these incentives.

Regular airdrops aren't as effective anymore, especially for established projects like ours. We need to ensure our tokenomics remains sustainable for the long term. Projects that give away massive amounts of tokens often struggle to succeed in the long run.

While we won't be doing traditional PXP airdrops, we'll still allocate budgets for influencers and to reward users for positive actions on our platform. This strategy allows us to maintain a healthy balance between growth and sustainability.

We're in this for the long haul, and indiscriminate token giveaways could jeopardize our tokenomics and the project's longevity. That's why established platforms like Binance don't do airdrops either. We're taking a measured approach to ensure PXP's long-term success.

Diana (Host): What should we do with cryptocurrency? Trade it or hold it?

Vladimir (CEO): What to do with cryptocurrency? Trade or hold? There's no one-size-fits-all approach, and I'm not offering investment advice. The key is to create a well-balanced portfolio.

For stable currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, holding might be a good strategy. With more volatile assets, you can take measured risks. The focus should be on analyzing the market, monitoring asset performance, and timing your buys and sells effectively.

Regularly rebalance your portfolio. For certain assets, holding makes sense. For others, like meme coins (which I'm not particularly fond of), selling might be the better option.

In essence, maintain a diverse portfolio, keep a close eye on it, and be ready to open or close positions at the right moment.

Diana (Host): Pointpay will be available as a Telegram app, but what exactly will it offer?

Vladimir (CEO): The Telegram app will soon offer all the features currently available on mobile and computer platforms. While the interface may differ slightly from the current app, the most significant advantage is that users from jurisdictions with legal restrictions will be able to access the platform fully, even on Apple iPhones.

Users will have complete functionality to trade cryptocurrencies, stake, and perform all other available actions through the Telegram app, without any restrictions. This development addresses the current issue where some users can access the website via computer but not through their phones due to licensing or jurisdictional limitations.

The new app will be intuitive and user-friendly, despite its slightly different appearance. Given that Telegram is a crypto-friendly space with numerous crypto-related groups, this integration is expected to provide a first-mover advantage.

In essence, the app will have no limitations and will offer all the capabilities of the current website and app, making it accessible and fully functional for users worldwide, regardless of their location or device.

Diana (Host): Are you satisfied with how the first half of 2024 went for PointPay?

Vladimir (CEO): I'm thrilled with PointPay's performance in the first half of 2024. It's been our most productive period yet, with significant achievements across the board. We launched our testnet, developed the mainnet token swap (a major challenge), and made substantial progress on the PointPay app. The release of the token booster and upcoming launch of the buoyant pay portal are also noteworthy.

Our development, product, and design teams have been working tirelessly. We've also maintained a strong presence at industry conferences. What sets us apart is our ability to innovate and deliver new products despite challenging market conditions. Even as the market and our token faced some downward pressure, we've outpaced our competitors in terms of development and market fit.

I'm particularly impressed with how our team has handled the last three to four months. Their dedication and resilience have been key to our success. Overall, this half-year has been transformative for PointPay, positioning us strongly in the market and setting a new standard for productivity and innovation in our sector.

Diana (Host): Why are assets listed one by one, while USDC trading pairs are released for dozens of positions at once?

Vladimir (CEO): Our trading department handles the release of trading pairs, not me. Most exchanges release them one by one, and there's no real explanation for this approach. In our case, the decision was made to release USDC trading pairs as a block, while others were released individually. Some of these individual releases were paid listings, while others were strategic choices. We don't disclose which listings are paid and which aren't.

I can confirm that none of the USDC listings were paid for; they were released as a strategic measure. The others, released daily, serve market exposure purposes and include paid listings. This approach allows us to balance strategic goals with market demands and financial considerations.

Diana (Host): Well, that was the last question for today's AMA session. Thank you very much.

Vladimir (CEO): Thank you very much. Diana

Thank you all for an incredible half-year. Our team's hard work has paid off, and I'm thrilled to announce that we'll be releasing our biannual report this Friday afternoon. Be sure to check it out, especially the stellar graphics created by our designer, Alexandra.

I'm truly excited about Pointpay's future, including the upcoming mainnet and Telegram app releases. We're also preparing for future marketing campaigns. Honestly, I'm surprised more of you aren't buying PXP right now – we're one of the most undervalued projects in the crypto market.

It's been a pleasure speaking with you all. I'll see you again at the end of July. In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying the Euros – there have been quite a few surprises for football fans!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me directly at Ceopointpay. Our Telegram group is booming with new members excited about our project, so be sure to join us there as well.

Have a wonderful day, week, and weekend. I'll see you all next month. For any pressing matters, reach out to me directly in Telegram, and I'll respond as soon as possible.

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