By: Geeq  on Oct 27, 2020

Geeq Founders Ric Asselstine and Chief Economist John Conley held an AMA in our very own Telegram. It was a chance for our Community to see the kinds of expertise Ric and John bring – a unique blend that allows Geeq to leverage a SaaS business plan in the context of a decentralized blockchain ecosystem.

Thanks to all who submitted questions for the AMA, it was very informative for us to see what topics were on your minds. While there were questions on many topics, two dominant themes emerged.

1. Why does the world need a different blockchain and why should that blockchain be Geeq?
2. Please explain how Geeq’s Algorithmic Monetary Policy works!

Founder Stephanie So and Geeq Treasurer Eric Ball also were present. Without further ado, please enjoy the slightly abbreviated recap – and please keep those questions coming!

Stephanie: Hi Everyone! For a change, I will ask the questions! Welcome to the Geeq Founders’ AMA, to all of you and to CEO Ric Asselstine and Chief Economist John P Conley!

Ric: Warm welcome everyone and thanks so much for taking the time!

Stephanie: The first few questions are for Ric. I’d like all of you to get to know Ric’s thinking.

Q1. From @TylerDurdenCrypto: Hi Ric, can you give us a visionary roadmap for the coming decade? What is Geeq’s vision and how will Geeq sustain this vision in decades to come?

Ric: Now that is a big one! I go back to something I said earlier in another forum when asked what I hope for Geeq, that it is a thread that helps weave the world together. I see the technology – Proof of Honesty – and its breadth of applications and the enabling technologies we are placing on top – IoT to DeFi and more – and the strength of the technologies we have placed underneath – declarative code supporting imperative code – allowing for that.

In terms of the roadmap, this time and this place is remarkably similar to where we were with the internet in the late nineties, where the “deep techs” were the first to adopt.

What is different in general for blockchain, but in particular for Geeq is that our approach to time to market and time to value for all is such that, we are very much taking matters into our own hands in terms of working in a simultaneous vs sequential mode wherever possible. Building homegrown paths to adoption while finalizing the protocol. Allowing others to begin building on our platform as we bring it to final form.

I view our addressable market as the 8 billion people on this planet, the millions of machines, the trillions of transactions. Step by step. Steady. Solid. I am excited for the limitless prospects that Geeq represents. Again, all taking time, but the vision is real, the possibilities endless.

Stephanie: Thank you, Ric! These are a lot of the phrases the Geeq team hears all the time. The huge scope of the addressable market, followed by the plan to go “step by step, and steady”.

Q2: Also from @TylerDurdenCrypto: Hi Ric, how is Geeq aiming for mass adoption? What products is Geeq going to develop after mainnet release?

Ric: @TylerDurdenCrypto, another great question. A number of specifics here. And this goes to the core of what Geeq really is. It is a, perhaps even the enabling technology that unlocks the potential that is blockchain.

Big statement, big claim, I know. What is key is that we are taking matters into our own hands.

There are, or have been, two major barriers to mass adoption. First, existing methods or approaches are not as useful as they need to be, and second, they are not at all easy to use. That is because in most, if not all cases, they are simply positioned as layers of technology that developers have to figure out how to work with.

In most, if not all cases, (other blockchains) are simply positioned as layers of technology that developers have to figure out how to work with.

So, from a mass adoption perspective, we are working to ensure those existing devs and Dapps looking for a home will find in Geeq what they are hoping to find. We have paths into those ecosystems and are working to enhance more. Once the TestNet goes live, we are full on to be able to attract and become magnetic to those projects worldwide.

The second barrier, as mentioned before, is simply usefulness. Regarding that, we are not waiting around either. We have been working on “homegrown” applications of our own. Since we know how the MainNet will be built and what it is capable of, we do not have to wait in sequential order.

So, by the time MainNet goes live, our plan is to have adoption from existing projects currently languishing because the underlying validation engine they ride on doesn’t perform at the level needed and, from Geeq, homegrown applications being developed.

Think about the Ferrari engine. Other Formula One teams use Ferrari engines. So does Ferrari – they, too, build their own cars.

On this point of mass adoption, two more things. First, I am a huge fan of the book Exponential Organizations by Salim Ismail. The book both informs and reflects our trajectory. But one of the main principles is to grow fast, it is best to access vs possess. To grow exponentially, we are and will continue to work aggressively to access existing, currently stalled blockchain projects, worldwide. They are sitting there waiting. Our plan is to welcome them to the Geeq platform. But to induce usage and demonstrate function, we are, as well, building our own.

The second and final point is we are fully aware that blockchain and crypto are to most in the world a parallel universe. Most have no understanding or appreciation for its true potential. And that is 1000% because it is so complex and complicated. Our aim is to simplify the message. In fact, make the technology as close to invisible as possible.

We don’t buy that car for the engine, we buy it for the ride. To cross over, to go mainstream, it is not how we do what we do, but, what it is we do for you. We get that. And we are acting on that now.

Stephanie: Thanks Ric! And here, I’ll interject that simplifying the message is the phrase of the month for marketing behind the scenes. We’re really taking your feedback to heart. Please keep that feedback coming!

The next question goes to the heart of Geeq’s strategy.

Q3: From @Ichigari, for Ric: Many blockchain projects in the market are not able to grow due to lack of projects developed on the platform. Do you have any strategy or plan to attract more good projects into GEEQ NETWORK or have you already engaged with any institutions to use GEEQ platform. This directly affects the use cases of GEEQ coin.

Ric: Thanks for the question, @Ichigari. Fully agreed!

I fully understand the concern that blockchain platforms must be successful at attracting projects and adoption in order to grow. From my vantage point in Waterloo and previous experience in IoT, even before we started Geeq, I could see there was protocol fatigue: that the existing platforms were not thinking about the needs of businesses or how to prepare for the coming explosion of connected devices.

Geeq’s strategy is different from many other projects in the space. On the one hand, we strongly believe in providing a public platform and will do everything we can to make Geeq attractive to developers who have different ambitions or needs that could be met on other platforms. On the other hand, one of the strategies we decided early on, which I have learned from other successful software starts, is that we decided to bootstrap this project by starting to build something we would use ourselves, with applications we could generalize. As I alluded to just above, the easy phrase to remember is, don’t wait for others to come – make something we can use out of the box to “eat our own cooking”.

Geeq’s strategic plan has always been to jump start the ecosystem by demonstrating Geeq’s value where Geeq can offer what no other system can. That means, watch out for places where we can use micropayments and the other kinds of payment methods, which provide completely new functions for tokens, that we announced in our most recent patent.

In addition, I am so very confident in the connections that our Board of Advisors have in different industries to bring in customers for Geeq’s initial applications that, between Geeq’s three strategic elements: eating our own cooking, selling to customers in verticals where we have connections, and benefiting from our revenue model, that Geeq will be able to scale up as we have planned. After all, success begets success, and the quality and reputation of The Geeq Project is something we have all been invested in achieving.

We are all working with potential customers and the Team is always working on ensuring the foundations are laid. We are thinking strategically about what to announce when, so please stay tuned a little longer. For the time being, our focus is on development, which John can speak to later, so customer announcements will probably not come for awhile.

Stephanie: Thank you, Ric, I think that gives our community a good sense of your steady leadership at the helm. Ok, last question for Ric before we give him a break. 😇

Ric: Ah, too kind. 😉

Q4: From @groupcoinfee, for Ric: I am an investor. I do not want to risk new projects. Please give me reason to trust Geeq.

Ric: Excellent question and such a fair ball in this climate. Give me a second, this cuts right to the soul of what it is to be a Geeq.

Telegram silliness ensued, including stickers of Ric as a boxer.

Ric: @groupcoinfree, much appreciated! And those pics are sure something. Most assuredly could have used that look back in the lacrosse days. Although I just bought a new stick year, so am ready to go. But that all aside..

There was some great work done a while back by Doug Hall when he wrote Jump Start Your Business Brain. He said, and I think we can all relate to this, that what adoption of anything new in our lives comes down to three things:

First, whatever we are considering, is it useful? Will it add to our lives, make things better, faster, easier for us?

Second, whatever that thing is, is it easy to use? Because if it isn’t intuitive and something I can get right away, I likely won’t add it to my life.

And third, which is to your point, what is my reason to believe? In other words, can I trust that?

So the first thing I might suggest is to look at the team’s experience. We are now well into year four of what feels darn near like every waking moment on this project. A labour of love, I must confess, but not something any of us take lightly. Geeq is something we all believe deeply in. So we can offer that.

But, more importantly, actions speak far louder than words and resumes and beliefs here. So what I would ask and suggest is that you keep a close eye on progress we are soon able to share. We have looked a lot like an egg for a long time from the outside. Looking like not much going on. But inside this egg, all manner of build out has been underway. A member of our Geeqosystem recently spoke of foundation laying. It isn’t glamorous and goes largely unnoticed and unseen. But the foundation laying, this time in almost invisible development, is the necessary precondition for building something substantial. And we believe that to be the case here.

You need that understandable assurance however, and I am pleased to advise that we are taking steps toward specific use cases now. There are tremendous capabilities, in addition to what Geeq began, in the new patent-pending technology we announced about a week ago. If you study that, you will see Geeq will stand out in being increasingly easy to use, with capabilities no others have.

Stephanie: Thanks, Ric. I am sure that was a question on a lot of peoples’ minds. And the metaphor of an egg really resonates with all of us. Ric has said privately it’s as though all of us have been crammed inside that egg, trying to poke out in all directions.

One thing I’d like to say about both Ric and John is that they are definitely “actions speak louder than words”guys.

And with that, I’ll turn to John, because he has a lot of explaining to do about the AMP. 🤣

So, let’s turn now to questions about the token supply and the Algorithmic Monetary Policy, because the stabilized-token and approach to supply is one of the innovations of Geeq. There are a lot of questions, John are you ready?

John: Hi everyone, thanks for the questions.

Stephanie: Here’s one of the most common questions:

Q5: From @BlackSpiderSPOOK: How will the Algorithmic Monetary Policy (AMP) work if Geeq moons prior to mainnet and P0 is something like $100? Will the base price (the multiplier of which defines the tokens released to fund the FSR) still be $0.25? Or is it variable according to P0?

John: Hi @BlackSpiderSPOOK, The base price is whatever the market price is at the launch of the AMP. If Geeq is at $100 one year after mainnet, then new tokens are issued only if the price goes above this according to the AMP. The $0.25 initial price during the token sale is irrelevant.

Stephanie: Awesome. I think that eases a lot of people’s minds.

Q6. From @xmaspudding: I think some investors are concerned about long-term investment growth potential of Geeq due to the stabilized-token monetary policy. To what extent will the algorithmic monetary policy (AMP) that will come into effect following mainnet launch be used to keep price below the high water zone (HWZ)? In other words, can you allay the concerns of investors regarding the long-term investment growth potential?

John: Hello @xmaspudding. Good questions. Let me take this in two parts.

First, the AMP is intended to stabilize Geeq’s value relative to the dollar, but not to fix its value.

The reason we see this as so important is that volatility of coin value undermines confidence in a platform, and makes the coin much less useful as store of value and way to settle payments.

By stabilizing Geeq’s value, we aim to make Geeq more useful, which increases platform adoption, which in turn increases demand for Geeq-based transactions and general willingness to hold Geeq. All of this has the knock-on effect of increasing the value of Geeq.

Second, the AMP is not meant to (and by design, can not) keep Geeq value below any specific price (or above any price). A very short version of how this works is the following:

1. The AMP is launched about a year after mainnet.
2. The price at that moment is both the base price, and by default, the current high water mark price (the highest price seen since the start of the AMP).
3. If price goes up after this, a set number of tokens are issued, and part of the fiat earned from the sale is put into a fund (the fiat reserve). This also sets a new high water mark price.
4. If price goes down, the fiat reserve is used to buy tokens at a set rate and the tokens are taken out of circulation and put into a token reserve.
5. If the price bounces around, but stays below the current high water mark price, the AMP buys tokens from the fiat reserve or sells tokens from the token reserve. No new tokens are created.
6. If and only if the price goes above the current high water mark price, new tokens are issued again. In this event, the token reserve would be empty.

Note that the only time tokens are issued is when price goes up, so holders of Geeq must be gaining if tokens are issued. The AMP is designed around what central banks would like to do to stabilize currency value, reduce uncertainty, create clear expectations, and raise economic confidence, if they were not constrained by politics and the impossibility of making binding commitments to sound monetary policy. We hope this will address one of the major issues that makes ordinary people leery of using crypto in their everyday lives.

Thanks a lot for the question, I appreciate the opportunity to give that explanation.

Dong Dong: Very useful information

Stephanie: I’m glad. From my scan of the discussion about Geeq’s stabilized token, there were a lot of questions about how it compared to other projects.

I think the answer is, this is a unique system of reserves.

Credit goes to John!

<There was chatter, stickers, and a mention of a kraken.>

Stephanie: Alright, here are two questions that are very similar.

Q7: From @onchainguy: Will you burn Geeq token periodically for appreciation of the token? And a similar question from @Sheep: What was the idea behind the incredible high inflation and short vesting periods?

John: Hi @onchainguy and @Sheep – Geeq has a unique monetary policy designed to stabilize token value. The AMP dynamically adjusts the size to the circulating monetary base in response to transaction demands. Tokens are removed and added to as the platform use levels require. There is no scheduled burning to generate systematic token appreciation, nor is there scheduled token creation to generate systematic inflation.

Stephanie: So this is very different from other systems which cap token supply from the beginning, once and for all? Or that have systems of governance that can vote on supply? Could you briefly explain why Geeq chose to do something so different from those kinds of systems of coins?

John: Yes. One of the lessons from the study of monetary policy is the most harmful thing is a lack of certainty. The second is an inability to respond to economic changes. The ideal thing is to respond, but predictably. This is what the AMP does.

One of the lessons from the study of monetary policy is the most harmful thing is a lack of certainty. The second is an inability to respond to economic changes. The ideal thing is to respond, but predictably. This is what the AMP does.

Stephanie: Thanks, John. Ok, I’ll take one because it’s the easiest one.

Q8: Are there any plans for Geeq to be listed on more exchanges?

Stephanie: Due to compliance reasons, we are unable to comment on exchanges. Thanks for understanding.

Let’s go back to Ric!

Q9: From @cuongpham1997: For Ric Asselstine, CEO: What do you think about the Asian market? Does your team plan to reach other countries with potential crypto markets, and have large teams and investors wanting to work and monetize crypto?

Ric: For sure! I feel like we were actually ‘born global’ as our informal footprint almost from the start was fully distributed, and that has only continued and we expect will now accelerate. Our relationships both on the advisory front with Dr. Rex Yeap was a start and we have since added to that Morpheus Labs and Jun Capital, both Asia based, and all with reach far beyond where they are physically located. So, the short, and enthusiastic answer is yes! So thanks @cuongpham1997, very much on our radar!

Stephanie: Here’s one everyone wants to know, Ric.

Q10: Hi Ric, are you able to give us more information about new partnerships?

Ric: Well, I just might. 😃 It just so happens, directly under the category of actions speaking louder than words, that we have a significant announcement. We are pleased to be joined on this AMA by Dr. Eric Ball, Co-Founder and General Partner of Silicon Valley-based Impact Venture Capital, and we are elated to announce the close of a Geeq Impact Venture Capital led equity round. Eric, we wonder if you would be so kind as to say a few words.

Stephanie: 🔥

Eric: Thanks, Ric. I have a long history with the Geeq founders, and am representing a venture firm that is making an old-fashioned equity investment this week into Geeq. We see a lot of potential for the platform to enable a micropayments economy and are excited to be part of the effort.

Stephanie: We are so excited to be able to share this news, thank you, Eric, thank you to Impact Venture Capital!

Eric: Thanks are to you. We at Impact Venture Capital see the Proof of Honesty platform as an alternative architecture that can finally bring the promise of making very small payments efficient, which will unlock an entirely new economy. Thanks for letting me join today!

We at Impact Venture Capital see the Proof of Honesty platform as an alternative architecture that can finally bring the promise of making very small payments efficient, which will unlock an entirely new economy.

Ric: Our pleasure, Eric, and our eternal gratitude. One of the main points of comfort and confidence I have is in context. When John and I first connected in 2017, it was evident that what could be created was new, novel, something not before possible. We are now at the inflection point where vision becomes tangible reality and we are so pleased that you and Impact Venture Capital are in the boat for this next phase of this transformational journey.

Stephanie: And on that note, I’d like to end our AMA by answering the final question with another announcement.

Q11: From @onchainguy: For Stephanie So: Will Geeq launch decentralised Liquidy Mining?

Stephanie: Well, speaking of mining and staking, you may be aware we made an announcement a few days ago to state we had non-custodial liquidity staking coming.

I am delighted to announce another partnership today, Geeq and Ferrum Network!

And, I think that does it for this AMA! Thank you all for participating, and please watch out for further AMAs and events to be scheduled! We’re really excited with the constant progress that’s happening at Geeq, it just gets better and better. Please spread the word!