2024-03-29

Telcoin Community Update, Volume 12

Dear Telcoin Community,

Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona last month was a resounding success and an appropriate way for us to kick off what promises to be a string of exciting releases throughout this year. A number of long term projects — related not to trading crypto but to the real-world usability of crypto — are finally converging and about to bear fruit.

The event last month marked my third MWC as CEO of Telcoin, and it was also my 10th or so overall since 2005, having previously been deeply involved in the telecom fraud and security space. It’s always been a huge, at times overwhelming, conference with roughly 100,000 attendees from every corner of the globe and thousands of exhibitors spread across dozens of interconnected halls. But this time felt different.

Taking a step back, at MWC 2022 (and to some extent — even after the big crypto collapses — MWC 2023), fintech and blockchain were the talk of the town. From the giant mobile operator booths in halls A and B to the tiniest one-person stands in the 4YFN startup area, companies were showing off payment systems and digital asset services. Telcoin, despite not even having a booth, managed to draw attention for our ideas about how compliant, user-owned blockchain products could benefit a global user community and empower operators with the next-generation of fintech services. But in the context of MWC and the telecom space specifically, we were still very much in the ideas stage. We had a functioning DeFi wallet, a powerful liquidity engine, an incredible global community, and had connected to most global telecom mobile money wallets for remittance — but the direct involvement of telecoms in blockchain was still limited.

This year, everything felt different. Now that clearer regulation exists for digital assets, telecoms are suddenly way more willing to pilot real digital asset projects. This turned out to be perfect timing to release Telcoin Network and Digital Cash — and they were no longer ideas, but something we were able to physically demo at our first ever conference booth. Actually showing live tokens moving on the Telcoin Network blockchain was a powerful way to let everyone at the conference know that we have not only persevered, but are on the verge of revolutionizing how the telecom industry enables instant, low cost, always-on money transfers on a truly global scale.

Telecoms that we spoke to are starting to realize that the most important factor for them when it comes to running a distributed ledger is for it to be on a blockchain that only mobile telecoms can process blocks on and earn transaction (gas) fees from. Processing blocks will become a network service just like switching phone calls, text messages, and data packets. Why would a telecom want to run anything on a blockchain run by third-party miners when they could run it themselves as an industry consortium? The main difference now — apart from increased regulatory clarity and less hype — is that telecoms finally understand how distributed ledger technology can work for them to expand the scope of their network offering and run the internet of finance as a network service.

We are very excited about 2024 and what the coming months will bring. Things are converging for Telcoin as the market in general has picked up, and we are also launching a fundraise to complete our banking project and fully capitalize on the amazing position we find ourselves in as a company, ecosystem, and community. Please stay tuned and thank you all very much for your continued interest and support.

Paul Neuner, Telcoin CEO

Mobile World Congress 2024 recap

Without a doubt, Telcoin’s (and Telcoin Association’s) MWC showing this year was its most impactful to date. The booth in the conference’s startup-focused hall, 4YFN (short for “four years from now”), was a major hit that provided the perfect jump-off point for the conference at large. We were strategically positioned next to the European Union Innovation Council, the SK Telecom startup delegation, and a cafe — generating a lot of foot traffic from curious visitors, potential partners, investors, and a surprising number of existing Telcoin users.

Rajesh did an incredible job on stage as usual, discussing the merits of Telcoin Network and our upcoming Digital Cash product. He was joined by co-panelists from JP Morgan, Santander Bank, and Mento Labs — lending instant credibility to what Telcoin is building. This year’s stage was significantly larger than last year’s, despite the shifting focus at the conference from blockchain and fintech to AI, and the seating was packed.

The Telcoin team was able to meet a number of major operators from across the globe, including Orange, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Viettel, NTT Docomo, Telefonica, e& (Etisalat), SK Telecom, Omantel, and many more. We were excited to share updates on Telcoin Network validation and Digital Cash remittances, and follow-up discussions are currently in progress. We also had a live demonstration of both in our booth, which was very impactful versus the hype of “crypto ideas” in the past.

Telcoin dominated the #4YFN hashtag on X for the second year running — and was often the top trending company overall using the #MWC24 hashtag. That’s no small feat given that the event hosted some 2,000 exhibitors including the likes of Samsung, Google, Huawei, and dozens of the leading telecoms globally. In the period including MWC, Telcoin’s X impressions increased a whopping 134 percent to more than 1.02 million. We owe much of the success on social media to our incredible global community — it wouldn’t have been possible without the Telfam’s support!

Digital Cash is coming to the Telcoin App

As you probably noticed from our big reveal at MWC, Telcoin is preparing for one of the most important product releases in our history: Digital Cash. Digital Cash embodies our vision for what a stablecoin should be — the digital equivalent of handing someone physical Dollars or Euros or whatever local fiat currency you and your loved ones use in your daily life.

In the near term, Digital Cash will underpin Telcoin’s next-generation remittance services, support multi currency payments, and power on-chain forex for Telcoin App users. Further down the road, Digital Cash will also enable treasury management and inter-carrier settlements for our telecom partners.

Digital Cash tokens are fully backed and 1:1 redeemable stablecoins, focused on the remittance and telecom industry use cases. The plan is to release the first batch of Digital Cash tokens in the Telcoin App this Spring. As with all assets held in Telcoin App wallets, Digital Cash tokens will come with the peace of mind of assisted self custody.

Digital Cash will initially launch in pilot mode, with functionality limited to storing, sending, and trading within the Telcoin App. It will soon be central to our revamped remittance flow in V4 (see more below). We will be sharing more details about Digital Cash in an upcoming public announcement, so keep an eye on Telcoin’s social media channels and Discord server!

Telcoin Association Update Featuring the TAO

Following the unprecedented, unanimous approval by the TEL community in the TGIP1 vote for the new Telcoin Platform and governance system, we are diligently advancing the implementation of the new infrastructure for miners’ participation. This involves driving ecosystem development alongside the GSMA, while also ensuring the full legal formation and operational capability of the Telcoin Association.

We are thrilled about the successful migration of liquidity by miners on TELx to the new marketplace network and staking contracts, and eagerly anticipate the release of application layer TEL issuance, followed by the inaugural Telcoin Association Miner Council election! Once the TEL issuance systems are live on Telcoin Application Network (“TAN”) and the TAO (Telcoin Association Operations — the operational unit of the Telcoin Association) can adequately finance its expenses, we will provide updates related to the Platform and Association through our own channels, including the @TelcoinTAO X account.

Moreover, once the five Miner Councils are elected, they will independently control Telcoin Association communications related to their jurisdictional domains of the system and its governance institution. We are excited to share updates concerning the Telcoin ecosystem, our facilitation of the Telcoin Platform implementation, and our efforts to enable the Association to self-organize, ensuring community autonomy.

TELx: Successful Migration

As a result of TGIP1, the existing TELx markets and staking contracts were replaced with six new Balancer V2 pools. We are pleased to announce the successful migration of liquidity to the new marketplace by miners, with nearly 1.6B TEL (~US$8M at current prices) total liquidity across the network in its first month of operation under the new TELx harvesting rules.

Visit TELx.network to explore the TEL liquidity mining opportunities available on the Telcoin Platform now!

Telcoin Platform: Audit Complete and Implementation Underway

The Telcoin Platform code has undergone a formal audit by Sherlock. We are excited to proceed with the implementation and launch of TEL systems on the Telcoin Application Network (TAN), enabling Stakers and Application Developers to harvest TEL based on their adoption of the Telcoin Platform.

Upon release, Stakers on Telcoin mobile applications will commence harvesting TEL, followed by Developers in accordance with the TAN harvesting rules. These rules are designed to incentivize application layer miners, Application Developers and Stakers, to foster the development and adoption of the Telcoin Platform as shared infrastructure for mobile financial services. Subsequently, with the formation of these three Miner Groups, the Telcoin Association’s inaugural Miner Council Election will commence!

At this juncture, the Telcoin Platform and governance will be operational, with the Telcoin Association officially self-organized by the Miner communities, thus enabling the ecosystem to scale globally. We will provide advance notice once the TAN systems are ready for launch.

Telcoin Network: Steady Progress on All Fronts

The TAO team is hard at work, making consistent progress in developing Telcoin Network. Our focus remains on enhancing the network’s capabilities, ensuring it remains secure, scalable, and user-friendly. We’re committed to building a platform that not only meets but exceeds the expectations of our users, telecoms, and the broader community.

At MWC, the Telcoin team had the opportunity to showcase the Telcoin App’s capabilities by sending transactions on Telcoin Network. The transactions were executed seamlessly, finalizing quickly and without any issues, demonstrating the network’s efficiency and reliability. Moreover, the gas fees associated with these transactions remained very low, underscoring our commitment to providing a cost-effective solution for our users.

In our journey toward continuous improvement and transparency, we are excited to announce that Telcoin Network will soon launch its first public testnet, named “Adiri.” This significant step forward will allow us to test new features, gather valuable feedback from the community, and ensure the network’s robustness and scalability. The Adiri testnet represents a pivotal moment in our development process, bringing us closer to our vision of a fully decentralized financial system.

The launch of Adiri testnet is just the beginning. We have big plans for Telcoin Network, including further enhancements to network performance, security, and user experience. We encourage our community to participate in the testnet, as your feedback will be instrumental in shaping the future of Telcoin Network.

Legal & Org: Facilitating Entity Formation, Administration, and Autonomy

The Telcoin Association has been formally created. We are currently in the process of filing notarized documents with the Commercial Registrar in Lugano, Switzerland to obtain Telcoin Association’s identification number. This will then be used to complete the formation of the Telcoin Association Operations entity, which will be Telcoin Association’s operational arm. We expect that these tasks will take another month to complete, but cannot provide a firm timeline.

Learn more about the Telcoin Platform and Association at Telcoin.org!

Bank project update

Of all our long-term projects, the most foundational is our banking project. Our years-long endeavor to become a regulated bank in the United States, and the first regulated bank issuer of stablecoins in the world, has reached its final approval stage. We believe that this project’s ability to create durable and trusted connections between digital assets and traditional banking holds the key to making crypto truly usable for the masses.

While most crypto firms quickly rushed into third-party banking and card programs — often with problematic banks — we’ve always felt that the longer path of building a proper native banking foundation ourselves was the most viable strategy.

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this sensitive journey, which has involved numerous legal considerations regarding what we can share publicly. However, please know that we are nearing a point where we can share more information.

Laying the groundwork for V4…

The pending introduction of Digital Cash is more than just a major milestone in Telcoin’s journey to revolutionize remittances — it’s a prerequisite to a completely new and improved user experience for Telcoin App users that will arrive in V4. The next version of our app is all about scaling access to Telcoin services and expanding functionality beyond fiat remittance and DeFi trading. The goal has always been to bring those two worlds together, and we can’t wait to show everyone what that is going to look like.

We’re working on several projects that will enable us to quickly spread Digital Cash to new markets and offer reliable on- and off-ramps — and in the future, a number of additional Digital Cash currencies. Beyond commercial partnerships, Telcoin has also been working directly with regulators in key geographies to demonstrate the ability of Telcoin Network and Digital Cash to promote financial inclusion and a best-in-class digital remittance experience for diaspora communities.

As we continue to push forward toward V4, please note that we are also in the process of implementing a major upgrade to our compliance system that requires some users to re-KYC in the Telcoin App over the coming days and weeks. We’re also migrating to a new cloud provider that supports banking-grade infrastructure and security while boosting app performance and lowering latency. This will necessitate downtime, which we will announce ahead of time and provide more details on soon. These enhancements are paving the way for big things to come!

Telcoin formally opens pre-series A equity financing round

To aid our rapid growth and put us in the best position to launch the upcoming bank project, the company has opened its latest round of equity financing following a successful US$10M seed round in 2021. Telcoin is targeting a raise of US$30M for its pre-series A round — US$10M of which will be used to capitalize the bank project.

If you’re a fund manager or private investor interested in joining us as we revolutionize mobile financial service, digital banking, and the technology of money, please fill out this form to express your interest and we will follow up with relevant documentation for those deemed eligible. Please note that interested US citizens must be accredited investors.

New Telcoin job openings

Speaking of growth — Telcoin is actively recruiting for a number of roles in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia that will help us scale to the next level and achieve household name status for remittances, user-owned DeFi products, and beyond. Check out our current job postings at the following link: https://www.telco.in/jobs

Important Disclosures

The terms of the Telcoin’s Terms of Service available on www.telco.in control as to the use of Telcoin’s products and services. Telcoin does not guarantee any result and past performance is not indicative of future returns. Telcoin does not provide any type of advice to you and you should consult your own advisers as to whether to use Telcoin products and services. Telcoin customers and their accounts are not insured by the FDIC or any other government or entity. The information in this communication is provided for informational purposes and without a warranty of any kind. Telcoin does not represent, endorse, or warrant the timeliness, sequence, accuracy, or reliability of any such information. Telcoin shall not have any liability for any purchase or sell decisions based upon this communication. Digital assets are extremely volatile and risky. The goods and services offered by Telcoin may not be suitable for all customers. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer to buy or sell securities or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities. Any investment may only be done through a private placement memorandum. Telcoin goods and services may not be eligible for sale in some states or countries. This communication may contain links or references to third party documents and websites which Telcoin does not control and thus is not responsible for their content. The owners, employees and affiliates of Telcoin may also buy, sell, or hold long or short positions in Telcoin goods and services for their own accounts.