On Tuesday, August 1st, our Brand Ambassador, Elaine Egan, hosted three AMAs with Nayiem Willems on the recent Solar updates. They were held in the Türkiye, Korea and the Global Telegram channel. Before the AMAs, community questions were gathered and given to Nayiem to answer on the day.
This AMA was slightly different due to time pressures and work volume. Nayiem posted the questions and answers into the channels and after an appropriate amount of time had passed he then opened the chat for community questions.
The questions and answers are available as a transcript here.
Prepared Community Questions
Q: Nayiem, please give us some information about your experience and background in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. How did you become involved with Solar?
A: This question pops up during every Q&A, but I’m happy to answer it again. During the announcement of Swipe Mainnet, they announced plans to use the ARK Blockchain for their mainnet. At that time, I was a delegate on the ARK Blockchain and had been involved with several other crypto projects. I saw a chance to help Swipe with my knowledge and experience. Unfortunately for ARK, they didn’t reach out to Swipe. I contacted Joselito, the former CEO of Swipe, and decided to voluntarily help with the code on their Github. Later, Joselito asked me to run the project and rebrand it to Solar. Fast-forward, I accepted this opportunity and gathered the necessary help and expertise from developers and other community members.
Q: Now that the swap portal is closed and the project can concentrate fully on the future of Solar and its direction, where do you envision the project in the next 1–3 years?
A: I’m committed to working on Solar for the next 4.5 years due to several partnerships and exchange agreements. My goal is to reach the top 50 of CoinMarketCap, even the top 20, considering the challenges we have already faced and overcome. With skilled developers, block producers, and community members, there’s little stopping us from competing with the top projects in the industry.
Q: What plans do you have for Q3 and Q4 this year?
A: We’ve recently hired a new workforce at Solar and Dokdo. Everyone is now focusing on Core 5.0, SVM, District 53, Solar Card, and other related projects. Q3 is the quarter where we will finally see Solar Card and several other Dokdo projects come alive. Once those products are released, we will heavily push marketing in many countries. During Q4, we aim to launch Solar Core 5.0.
Q: How are you preparing for the U.S. market? Do you have plans to list SXP on exchanges like Coinbase? Do you have any plans to form American partnerships?
A: As mentioned in another blog post, our team uses Rosetta for blockchain functionality. Rosetta is a Coinbase product. We are looking to make tools and features around Solar compatible with Rosetta. We’ve been in touch with several Rosetta developers and VCs with deep connections to Coinbase. Compatibility with Rosetta is the first step before applying for a Coinbase listing. There is another potential U.S. exchange listing in the pipeline, which we will review and provide more info on later.
Q: Does anyone want to work with us when Core 5 comes out? Has anyone contacted us to create a token already?
A: We’ve been contacted by people waiting for the launch of Solar SVM on testnet. They have shown interest in building and launching a project on the Solar Network.
Q: Does moon.store hold the money until the buyer confirms receipt? How do you get the money paid out in Crypto or the respective currency €/$? What are the fees?
A: moon.store accepts payments through our partner, NOWPayments. Part of those funds are converted to USD and transferred to the supplier that produces the hardware. The rest of the funds, known as the profit, are held in SXP and will be used for marketing efforts for the platform.
Q: What type of projects do you imagine will apply for Solar Blockchain Foundation support?
A: Are you referring to technical or financial support? We will value solid projects with proper whitepapers, roadmaps, and a clear understanding of their goals. Technical support is always available, and financial support is targeted towards projects that benefit the larger community and broader industry. This may include development, marketing, events, and more.
Q: Can moon.store be integrated with external tools?
A: Not at this time. The features offered through moon.store is limited to those mentioned in our latest blog post.
Q: Can you update us on the Solar Debit Card? Have cards been sent out?
A: The cards have yet to be sent out due to a slight delay in compliance. Most of the Solar Card program’s funding came from donations and block rewards, leading to difficulties with traditional banking. Hopefully, this issue has been resolved, and we await final approval, which is expected this week. After that, we’ll launch the Solar Card app and ship the cards.
Q: Do you plan to attend conferences to expand Solar’s audience?
A: Yes, several events, such as Korean Blockchain Week, are planned. More announcements will follow the release of some Dokdo and Solar products.
Q: Will Core 5 be a significant step forward? How will you keep the community informed about coding progress?
A: Core 5.0 will be a significant advancement, but the code will remain private due to competition. Other products like Dokdo will be open-sourced and viewable on GitHub. We’ll periodically update the community on Solar Core 5.0’s progress.
Q: Can you provide insight into Solar Virtual Machine (SVM)? How will it compete in the industry?
A: SVM, being EVM compatible, is essential to opening many doors for success. By focusing on specific marketing and simplicity, we’ll compete effectively. You can learn more about why Solar has a competitive edge, presenting the best of all worlds and is an all-encompassing solution in this Telegram post: https://t.me/Solar/146507
Q: Are you working to increase the usability of SXP?
A: Absolutely. We’re developing several projects and use cases for Solar, which will enhance usability upon release. This includes Solar Core 5.0, Solar Card, District 53, and other products.
Q: What is the development status of moon.store? Can you share details about the merchandise?
A: Moon.store is nearly complete, with only minor backend work remaining. Initial merchandise will focus on clothing, expanding to include branded items like mouse pads, stickers, ledger devices, shoes, power banks, and more.
Q: Will the new desktop and mobile wallets be user-friendly? How will you ensure the best UX?
A: You can expect a look and feel similar to the Solarscan explorer. We prioritise simplicity, and this approach will be reflected in our products
Community Questions on the Day
Below we have included live community questions from all 3 channels.
Q: How is the Japan Exchange whitelist going?
A: It’s going great. We have accepted the offer. The next step is paying the listing fee and working on marketing plans.
Q: What happens if the final approval of the solar card is rejected?
A: It will be accepted since the funds were gained through non-illegal sources. Just providing the info regarding the source of funds became difficult, and it had to go through other legal agencies. This was the only reason for the delay.
Q: Can you give us a partnership disclosure date other than soon?
A: Not at this moment.
Q: Are there any plans for the Dex exchange?
A: Not by Solar or Dokdo. But I’m aware that other people are working on it.
Q: Are there any plans to re-list on Kraken?
We have plans to apply for listing again. But there has yet to be any significant progress since the legacy token was listed on Kraken.
Q: How is your marketing campaign going?
A: Marketing efforts will be accelerated once the Solar Card program has been officially released to the public.
Q: When the final card decision is made this week, KRW deposit and withdrawal, actual use in August after card distribution, Dokdo white paper release, etc., will everything come true?
A: Everything is ready and good to go. The compliance case is the final step.
Q: Just a quick question, and I understand if it cannot be answered. Is there an estimated timeline for core 5 to launch on testnet?
A: We have our own internal roadmap. But we cannot provide public details regarding the timeline for the Core 5.0 launch on testnet. Rest assured, we are working fast and securely.
We want to thank our community for supporting us and we encourage everyone to ask questions and provide feedback. Keep following our official channels for news and updates.
Thank you for reading!
Elaine Egan — Solar Brand Ambassador.
Follow Solar:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SolarNetwork
Medium: https://blog.solar.org
Telegram: https://t.me/Solar & https://t.me/@Solar_Network