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Archived posts from 2024

The ICON Foundation Blog Highway
Coinspect Complete Stellar Audit for Balanced and ICON GMP

Coinspect have completed audits on the Soroban contracts for General Message Passing and Balanced. This ensures robust security as Balanced expands to its tenth blockchain, Stellar.

November 19, 2024

Upcoming Changes to the Validator Support Program and Bond Requirements

Starting Jan 1, The ICON Foundation’s Validator Support funds will be redirected to boost ICX/sICX liquidity on Balanced. Bond requirement and support delegation will reduce, aligning validators with network goals.

November 14, 2024

October 2024: Stellar Front-end Cleared For Launch

We're enhancing ICX-powered applications with key contracts and integrations. Stellar and Solana are set for front-end launch via Balanced, while intents-based trading and cross-chain liquidity features enter testing, driving integrations forward.

November 12, 2024

Hashlock Complete Solana Audit for Balanced and ICON GMP

Hashlock have completed audits on the Rust contracts for Balanced and ICON's General Message Passing. This ensures robust security as Balanced prepares to expand it DeFi protocol to the Solana ecosystem.

October 14, 2024

Sui DeFi Expands Cross-Chain with Balanced

The Sui Network can now swap cross-chain assets natively and borrow against SUI on Balanced, through ICON's Cross-Chain Framework. Stay tuned as Network Owned Liquidity deepens and additional blockchain connections are introduced.

October 10, 2024

September 2024: Balanced Contracts Land on Solana

In September, ICON advanced its cross-chain ecosystem with Relay v2, integrations with Stellar and Solana, and progress on intents-based trading. These efforts enhance security, liquidity, and interoperability, driving growth across the network.

October 9, 2024

Stake, Vote and Bond Through the ICON Community Tracker

The ICON Community Tracker now supports staking, voting, and bonding for ICX. Users can easily log in with Hana wallet to access these features via a new drop-down menu. Upgrades include auto-voting and improved navigation.

September 23, 2024

Back Up Wallets as ICONex Discontinues Service

In early October a Chrome update will discontinue ICONex services. This will prevent users from accessing their ICONex wallet and we advise its remaining users to backup their wallets as soon as possible, migrating to Hana Wallet.

September 18, 2024

GangstaVerse Launch First-Ever Cross-Chain Gaming Tournament Using ICON GMP

Following their funding round through the ICON Contribution Proposal System, GangstaVerse is hosting the first-ever cross-chain gaming tournament. Find out how you can compete and claim a share of the prize pool.

September 16, 2024

Ledger Live Adds ICON Support

Ledger now supports ICON (ICX) on Ledger Live, allowing users to send and receive ICX easily while benefiting from the additional security provided by Ledger.

September 9, 2024

August 2024: Alliterative Progress for Integrations with Sui, Stellar, Solana and Stacks

In August, ICON deployed contracts to Sui mainnet for Balanced and GMP, with Stellar and Solana expected in September and October. Relay optimizations progressed, and a new oracle was deployed on ICON, broadening collateral options for Balanced.

September 9, 2024

bnUSD Lands on Pharaoh Exchange With a Boost

bnUSD, the cross-chain stablecoin from Balanced, is now available for trading on Pharaoh Exchange. The AVAX/bnUSD liquidity pool is now open to traders and liquidity providers, complete with boosted incentives.

September 5, 2024

Movebit Complete Audit for Balanced and GMP Move Contracts

Movebit have completed audits on the Move contracts for Balanced and ICON's General Message Passing. This ensures robust security as Balanced expands its DeFi protocol to additional blockchains within the Move development space.

September 5, 2024

Balanced Integrates with Sui, Adding SUI to Network Owned Liquidity

Balanced, ICON's flagship DEX and lending platform, has integrated with Sui and is enhancing cross-chain liquidity through Network Owned Liquidity. Weekly network acquisition of $SUI has begun with the front end trading experience to follow soon.

August 23, 2024

New Horizons for Injective’s Cross-Chain DeFi, with Balanced

Injective users can now swap cross-chain assets natively and borrow against INJ on Balanced, through ICON's Cross-Chain Framework. Stay tuned as Network Owned Liquidity deepens and additional blockchain connections are introduced.

August 19, 2024

July 2024: Optimizing Balanced Through New Development

In July, ICON advanced its integration efforts and optimized system performance. Key achievements including completion of audits for Stellar, and contracts for Solana. Looking ahead to August we anticipate the deployment of Sui contracts to mainnet.

August 6, 2024

HAVAH Offers Liquidity Incentives on Balanced

HAVAH incentivizes liquidity for the HVH/sICX pool on Balanced with weekly bribes of 300 USD of HVH token, available for 16 weeks. Liquidity providers earn BALN, which can be staked for bBALN to boost rewards and participate in governance.

July 25, 2024

HAVAH DeFi Expands with Balanced's Cross-Chain DEX

HAVAH users can now swap cross-chain assets natively and borrow against tokens on Balanced, through ICON's Cross-Chain Framework. Stay tuned as additional blockchain connections expand the horizons for integrated chains.

July 22, 2024

Hashlock Complete Solidity Audit for Balanced and ICON GMP

Hashlock have completed audits on the Solidity contracts for Balanced and ICON's General Message Passing. This ensures robust security as Balanced expands its DeFi protocol to additional blockchains within the Solidity development space.

July 19, 2024

June 2024: Ensuring Security Across Solidity and Move

In June, significant progress has been made on integrations and core systems, including optimization for relays. An additional focus for this month was security, with external audits completed for Solidity and scheduled in July for Sui's Move contracts.

July 8, 2024

Post-Mortem Analysis: ICX Under-Issuance

A bug was found in IISS 4.0 on June 28, causing ICX under-issuance and risking chain halt. The community promptly fixed the bug and partly replenished the treasury. The network is now stable with plans to address the remaining shortfall.

July 1, 2024

Base DeFi Expands with Balanced Cross-chain DEX

Base users can now swap cross-chain assets natively and borrow against tokens on Balanced, through ICON's Cross-Chain Framework. Stay tuned as Network Owned Liquidity deepens and additional blockchain connections are introduced.

June 27, 2024

Introducing ICON’s Cross-chain Token Standard

ICON simplifies cross-chain token launches with its new cross-chain token standard, integrated with Balanced DEX. Projects can now deploy tokens on any connected blockchain with a single liquidity pool, maximizing efficiency and control.

June 25, 2024

BNB Chain and Arbitrum Welcome Balanced's Cross-Chain DEX and Loans

BNB Chain and Arbitrum users can now swap cross-chain assets and borrow against tokens on Balanced, through ICON's Cross-Chain Framework. Stay tuned as Network Owned Liquidity deepens and additional blockchain connections are introduced.

June 19, 2024

ICON Network Begins Acquiring Bitcoin for Network Owned Liquidity

The ICON Network has begun acquiring BTC assets (BTCB, wBTC) as Network Owned Liquidity. A unified cross-chain BTC/bnUSD pool is now established on Balanced, ICON’s cross-chain DEX and lending platform, with front end launch expected within the month.

June 11, 2024

U.S. District Court Rules in Favor of ICON Foundation in Legal Dispute with Mark Shin

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted the ICON Foundation’s motion for summary judgment in its long-running legal dispute with Mark Shin.

June 7, 2024

May 2024: Improving Stability as Balanced Launches on Avalanche

In May, the community saw the Avalanche frontend launch for Balanced, completion of integration tests for Sui, and Balanced deployed to Arbitrum and Base. Moving into June our focus turns to Stellar, Stacks and Solana.

June 4, 2024

Avalanche DeFi Expands with Balanced Cross-Chain DEX and Loans

Avalanche users can now swap assets, borrow against tokens, and transfer USDC on Balanced, through ICON's Cross-Chain Framework. Stay tuned as Network Owned Liquidity deepens and additional blockchain connections are introduced.

May 30, 2024

ICON GMP Unlocks Unified Liquidity for Cross-Chain ETH

ICON Network has successfully migrated ETH assets on BSC to the Balanced Asset Manager and can proceed with acquiring ETH across BSC, Arbitrum, and Base for a unified Network Owned Liquidity pool in Balanced’s Cross-Chain DEX.

May 14, 2024

April 2024: Improved Timelines for Blockchain Integrations

In April we made significant progress in blockchain integrations, advancing in projects like Sui, Stacks, and Stellar. Additionally we have enhanced operational efficiencies for existing implementations and resolved issues with ICON bridge migration.

May 3, 2024

Balanced Integrates with Injective, Adding INJ to Network Owned Liquidity

Balanced, ICON's flagship DEX and lending platform, has integrated with Injective and is enhancing cross-chain liquidity through Network Owned Liquidity. Weekly network acquisition of $INJ has begun with the front end trading experience to follow soon.

April 22, 2024

ICON Foundation Receive Grant to Bring Balanced to Stellar

The ICON Foundation have received a grant from the Stellar Community Fund to integrate Balanced with Stellar. This marks the first step in linking both blockchain ecosystems, enhancing DeFi experiences and liquidity.

April 18, 2024

Validator Support Program: Commission Rate Eligibility Update

Following updates to ICON's Economic Policy, only validators with a commission rate under 15% will qualify for the Validator Support Program from April 23. Adjustments may happen based on market conditions.

April 17, 2024

March 2024: Shipping the Central Relay and GMP 2.1

March saw IBC enhancements, GMP 2.1 rollout, and progress with Sui, Stellar, and Stacks integration. Paving the way for a more interconnected blockchain ecosystem.

April 8, 2024

February 2024: Migration to New Economic Policy

In February, ICON completed the enshrinement of Balanced. With further progress across the Central Relay and Composable Finance integration, efforts in March are now focused on the discovery and development for new integrations such as Sui and Stacks.

March 5, 2024

Staking ICX: How Validator Bonds Affect Staking Rewards

With the passing of Revision 25, validator bonding of at least 5% of ICX votes are required for consensus, affecting rewards distribution. With minimal bonds diluting rewards, voters are urged to consider validator bonds for optimal staking rewards.

February 23, 2024

Introducing the ICON Cross-Chain Framework and ICON General Message Passing (xCall)

Apps use ICON to operate cross-chain seamlessly, build momentum and gain reputation. ICON's Cross-Chain Framework simplifies cross-chain development with the easy-to-use ICON General Message Passing and connections to secure bridging protocols.

February 21, 2024

Staking ICX: Understanding the New Validator Commission Rates

ICON governance passed Revision 25, which simplifies rewards into a single system and introduces validator commission rates. This empowers voters with greater transparency and clearer options for optimising their staking rewards.

February 19, 2024

Staking ICX: Avoid Voting for Jailed Validators

ICON's Revision 25 vote introduces a new economic policy enhancing network decentralization, resilience and including 'jailing' for non-compliant validators. This will impact staker rewards and emphasizes the importance of diligent validator selection.

February 14, 2024

January 2024: ICON General Message Passing (xCall) Expands to Wormhole and Layerzero

Among other developments, this month included enhancements to General Message Passing (xCall) contracts, launch of the central relay and adaptors for Wormhole and Layerzero. Bringing additional interoperable protocols within ICON's Cross-Chain Framework.

February 7, 2024

Voting to Enshrine Balanced to the ICON Network to Kick Off This Week (IISS 4.1)

Crucial network votes beginning this week will include an approval vote on enshrining Balanced and implementing proposed changes to emissions. Following the implementation of ICON's Economic Policy 4.0, the execution vote will begin on 28/02/24.

January 31, 2024

Upcoming Changes to ICON Economic Policy

IISS 4.0 introduces significant changes for ICON's Economic Policy, enhancing security and restructuring reward systems. Both validators and voters will need to adjust their behaviours as a result and should inform themselves on how changes effect them.

January 30, 2024

ICON’s Interoperability Network Expands to Ethereum and BNB Chain

ICON expands its general message passing (xCall) by integrating the Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP) on mainnet, connecting it to Ethereum and BNB Chain.

January 25, 2024

Charting a Course for Expansion Through a Strategic Merger and Revenue Consolidation

ICON's key focus for 2024 is to position Balanced as a leading decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol and in doing so, drive adoption for ICON technology and generate revenue for the network. Join the discussion on our community forums.

January 11, 2024

December 2023: xCall connects to ETH and BSC

December's ICON development saw major milestones, including xCall's mainnet connection with several new blockchains and continued success expanding the features, blockchains and protocols supported by ICON's Cross-Chain framework.

January 9, 2024

ICON Integrates Injective to Scale Cross-Chain Interoperability

ICON's Cross-Chain Framework has integrated Injective through xCall via Cosmos IBC. This integration expands ICON's connections within the IBC ecosystem, promoting better cross-chain application development and a seamless DeFi experience.

January 8, 2024