Lowdown with Lucas - December Edition

In this month’s lowdown, I’ll be sharing some early news on LOX’s January plans, our new year goals, and reflecting on another busy few weeks in the world of crypto.

The end of the 2022 is approaching and with it comes the opportunity for a new start. What’s proved to be a difficult period for crypto can come to a close, and, hopefully, 2023 will bring new perspectives, opportunities, and growth. No one can say how long the current winter will last, but I’m confident that we’re on the right track to change the world.

For us at LOX, the past 12 months have been a period of major development, and we’re edging closer to bringing about lasting technological transformation through our hybrid blockchain, as well as the SmartLOX and MetaLOX projects.

As always, let’s start with three insightful industry-related stories from the past month.

Chain reaction from FTX fallout

The collapse of cryptocurrency platform FTX has had a huge impact on the industry as a whole. As a result, other providers are now experiencing further financial difficulties. This includes BlockFi, a US-based lending platform, who recently filed for bankruptcy.

Although it’s always devastating to see cutbacks, BlockFi remains operational with assets estimated at $256 million. In their statement, financial advisor Mark Renzi, confirmed that BlockFi are “looking forward to a transparent process that achieves the best outcome for all clients and other stakeholders”. After the fall of FTX, ‘transparency’ is a term I expect to see crop up in every corner of the crypto world. Regulation needs to, and must, improve. It’s my hope that major industry change, for the better, will occur as a result of the lessons learned from recent events.

Most importantly, throughout this difficult time, BlockFi has committed to continuing to pay employee salaries and benefits without impact, until a permanent resolution can be found. Here’s hoping one isn’t too far away. You can read the full statement here.

Caring for employees should the worst happen

In a similar situation, staff at KrakenFX, an exchange platform, have also suffered disappointing news—with 30 percent of its workforce being reduced due to the current market conditions. Although this month’s news may all sound like doom and gloom, I’d like to highlight the care Kraken has given to their outgoing members of staff.

With 16 weeks separation pay, a performance bonus, healthcare benefits, and outplacement support, Kraken is going above and beyond to help employees in the next chapter of their careers. Nobody wants to lose their job, and no employer ever wishes to have to take such drastic measures, but Kraken’s handling of this delicate situation is one to be admired. Founder Jesse Powell commented on the news via his Twitter handle, and you can see the published overview here. I’d like to wish nothing but the best to all those affected by the recent industry turbulence and look forward to seeing a settled and progressive crypto market in 2023 and beyond.

Binance purchase Japan-based crypto exchange

After initially attempting to break into the Japanese market as far back as 2018, only to be scuppered by regulatory approvals, Binance has finally achieved its long-term goal. Following the successful purchase of Sakura Exchange, in what’s undoubtedly a good move for the crypto ecosystem, Binance’s entrance into the Asian market is widely viewed as the first of many licenses to follow.

In fact, this move follows on from Binance’s procurement of an 18 percent stake in a regulated private Singaporean stock exchange and their recent partnership with PaySafe. Though we’re in a crypto winter, the future of the industry and emerging technologies continue to offer hope as we move forward into a Web3 world. You can read the full story here. 

Speaking of emerging technologies, let’s move onto the latest news from our very own LOX Network.

Our goals for the new year

As we prepare to enter 2023, there’s a time for reflection on the great successes of the past year. It’s also a time to fully focus our efforts on further developing our technology and pushing towards live solutions.

Our hybrid blockchain will soon be available through our GitHub repository, and we’re encouraging developers to get involved and support our technology through early access. 2023 also represents a huge year for the SmartLOX mobile app, and we’ll be publishing regular updates, screenshots, and demos to showcase its unique features. We’ll be announcing how developers can get involved in our regular weekly posts, so keep checking back for the latest news.

Next MetaLOX IDO phase coming in early Jan

We’ll be kicking off the new year with the final airdrop of the MetaLOX rewards program, Epoch 4. Following completion, we’ll also start to distribute any remaining balances to trustlines. Phase 2 of 3 will then start as part of our planned IDO process on Jan 1 2023.

This is another great opportunity for our token holders to boost their rewards just for participating in LOX Network’s XRP staking solution.

That’s it for December’s Lowdown. Stay tuned for next time!

Wrapping things up, we’re really looking forward to the year ahead as there’s so much to be excited about. 2022 has been a great achievement, and we’re determined to make 2023 even better. We’ll be detailing all our plans and news as part of our weekly posts and continuing to keep our community involved. Be sure to follow us on Twitter to get IDO updates as soon as they drop. Thanks as always for the support #LOXFamily!

See you next time – Lucas at Team LOX.

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