Dear Ferrum Community,
In this report, we recap the significant achievements from 2019 in the areas of technology, business development, and marketing/community. We also look forward to what is coming in 2020.
Before we begin, we want to thank you all for your amazing support throughout 2019. We can’t wait to show you what’s in store for 2020!
Technology:
From Ferrum’s early days, we knew it was critical to launch a useful, revenue generating product to demonstrate utility and staying power. Thus, First Kudi was conceived of in late 2018, and the beta version was launched in May 2019.
First Kudi:
First Kudi is the only FinTech app in West Africa for instant fiat payments through phone numbers, access to investment in digital currencies, low cost merchant services, and bank accounts for the unbanked.
Beta testing began in March 2019, and the beta version was launched in the Google Play store in May 2019.
Between May and December, we updated the app four times based on early adopter feedback, including an update that provided bank accounts for all our users and integrated the Kudi bank card in partnership with Stanbic bank.
The First Kudi team was extremely busy on the ground in Nigeria — hosting numerous events, educating people about the benefits of the app, and who could forget the time Kudi was featured on the BBC!
At the end of 2019, we announced two major milestones: adding FRM and ETH and the addition of First Kudi to the Apple store.
Now with the technology in place, First Kudi is ready to expand into Ghana, and reinitiate its aggressive marketing campaign to begin scaling.
Token Bridge:
The Ferrum Network Token Bridge was built from the ground up to enable fast, easy swaps of ERC-20 and BEP-2 FRM. Here’s a recap of its development.
The Token Bridge was launched in early August 2019 a few days after our listing on Bitmax.io.
It was built from the ground up using Ferrum Network technology for increased security and ease of use, as explained in this article.
It is powered by the FRM token and users are required to spend approximately 50 tokens per swap.
To date, our community has swapped millions of FRM tokens using our Token Bridge and has provided utility for the token.
Flexible ERC-20 Staking:
Given the popularity of staking and DeFi, we wanted to launch an early version of staking that works with any ERC-20 token. Here’s a short recap of FRM Staking 1.0.
In November 2019, we launched our staking version 1.0 with three tiers of staking pools, and rewards as high as 50% for the 18 month staking pool.
The total amount of FRM locked for staking is 8,412,666 (all pools) + 2,397,260 locked for rewards, equalling around 10% of FRM circulating supply.
We are now in the process of formulating staking 2.0 (“FRM Stake and Earn”) with assistance from the community. You can get involved here!
Business Development:
2019 was also a big year for partnerships and business development. Below is a recap of our major partnerships and progress on the business front.
First Kudi biz dev: signed up over 100 merchants for the point of sale system, and developed the Kash and Kudi rewards program (to be revealed soon).
Gemini co-marketing partnership: In January 2019, we announced that Kudi and Ferrum would be working with Gemini to become the first app in Africa to provide access to a U.S. Dollar backed stable coin.
Hydro partnership: In April 2019, we partnered with Hydro to integrate Hydro technology into Ferrum Network’s identity authorizations, risk-free transactions and cold storage management.
Fusion partnership: In April 2019, we partnered with Fusion to enable a faster, more reliable interoperability network by leveraging Fusion’s Distributed Control Rights Management System (DCRM) technology.
Binance Chain Integration: In July, we announced that we would be issuing tokens on the Binance Chain. In August, we listed on Binance DEX. In September, we became the first members of the Binance Chain Alliance.
Dash partnership: In September, we announced our partnership with Dash to work together to expand our presence in Africa.
PChain partnership: In November, we announced our partnership with Pchain to work together in Asia and create a Chinese version of the UniFyre Wallet.
Vite partnership: In December, we partnered with Vite to as a co-listing partnership. More news on the FRM listing on ViteX to follow.
Marketing and Community:
Community is everything to Ferrum, which is why we have made concerted efforts to grow and support the community through Social Mining, AMA campaigns, and a constant social media presence. Here are some highlights:
Social Mining:
A community-driven marketing platform that rewards FRM holders for creating valuable social media content. We have over 3000 users, about 10 million FRM tokens “staked” in social mining, and hundreds of participants receive approximately 260,000 FRM every month. Social mining will run into late 2020, so sign up today and start earning!
Guerilla marketing: given the bearish market conditions, our strategy was based around grassroots campaigns and actively engaging the community through social media. In addition, we held nearly 30 AMAs in communities around the crypto space, including international communities, influencer communities, and even on Twitter and Facebook!
Twitter/Telegram/Bitcointalk/Reddit/etc: at the beginning of 2019 our community was very small and Ferrum was basically unknown. But as a result of our community driven marketing efforts we have reached approximately 6,200 Twitter followers, over 13,000 Telegram members, and hundreds of contributors on Reddit and Bitcointalk. With your help, we can reach tens of thousands more in 2020!
Looking Towards 2020
While 2019 was a big year, we know we can make 2020 even bigger! Here’s a sneak peak of what’s upcoming in Q1:
Staking 2.0 (“FRM Stake and Earn”): thanks to your invaluable feedback, we are excited to be launching the new and improved FRM Stake and Earn. Stay tuned for more announcements over the coming weeks.
UniFyre Wallet: regrettably, we were unable to launch UniFyre in Q4 because the engineering on First Kudi (bank accounts, iOS version, FRM/ETH) took longer than expected. However, we opened private beta testing and have been getting valuable feedback on the early version of UniFyre. UniFyre will launch in Q1 2020.
Ferrum Fiat Gateways: our vision is to create an integrated ecosystem of fiat gateways, non-custodial wallet, DEX and cold storage that allow people around the world to take control of their money. We are happy to report that two additional fiat gateways are in progress, and we hope to announce at least one of them in Q1 2020.
Of course a lot more is planned for 2020, and we will never stop our hands-on engagement, community driven approach, and bringing you valuable real-world financial products that define the Ferrum Network brand.
Finally, we thank you all for your unwavering support throughout 2019. Together let’s make 2020 the biggest and best year yet!
Best regards,
The Ferrum Network Team
Ferrum Network Links:
Website: https://ferrum.network/
Telegram: http://telegram.ferrum.network
Twitter: http://twitter.ferrum.network
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.ferrum.network
YouTube: http://youtube.ferrum.network
Reddit: http://reddit.ferrum.network
Bitcoin Talk: http://bitcointalk.ferrum.network
Facebook: http://facebook.ferrum.network
Github: https://github.com/ferrumnet/
Instagram: http://instagram.ferrum.network
