Open Community Letter & Proposed Directions for I/O Coin

I want to share the proposed directions for the project and outline the steps we will be working on together with other community members to continue to move the project forward. These ideas are intended to be a re-starting point for the community and to guide us in determining the best path for IOC and Chameleon’s future.

Background

I/O Coin was founded and fair launched in earl 2014, for more info you may read my blog post here.

First, we must recognize the hard work of our lead development team, including Derek, who tirelessly worked and led IOC during an impressive 8 year run. Unfortunately, during the heavy DVM work Derek had to abruptly stop due to health reasons. I gave him space in the hope that he would recover, but as of today, after numerous attempts to contact him, I have not heard back. I can only wish for his well-being and that at some point I get to hear from him again.

With this said, and with a heavy heart, we must carry on and continue the hard work and vision that Derek and I, along with the team, laid out for the project’s future.

Derek helped guide us in several key directions. Some were completed, while others remain works in progress. Among these, DIONS was a key focus. Beyond proving the viability of Proof of Stake (POS), he introduced innovations that demonstrated IOC’s blockchain capability to:

• Store encrypted data at its highest levels using AES-256 with up to 1MB per block cap.
• Enable encrypted sharing of data between public users.
• Provide private DNS-enabled identities allowing for private storage up to 1MB.
• Facilitate encrypted messaging between users with no cap.
• Offer shade transactions, an optional feature ensuring enhanced transactional privacy within the I/O Coin blockchain by scrambling public transactional block information.
• Maintain a constant 1.5 IOC reward per block, enabling stable incentivization and safeguarding prolonged security with added shuffle staking, allowing small holders to be rewarded.

At some point, some of these features specifically our encrypted capabilities became a direct challenge to certain entities within certain governments. These entities pressured exchanges to delist and block from listing, such innovative privacy-based projects, including ours to a certain extent, essentially also persecuting developers, founders and others via state-run agencies. Some even were incarcerated and a few others lost their lives in very suspicious ways.

To make matters worse Bittrex our original and last exchange was also feeling the pressure from government entities. This then began a camapign of SEC lawsuits which forced them to stiffen up on some project listings including IOC. As we began to ask for more pairs to IOC unfortunately we were getting denied, even trades against USD and ETH. And for years we were only limited to BTC pair. This significantly hindered our volume, creating a perfect storm that devalued our project and, in the end Bittrex (our only home) was forced to leave the U.S. permanently and file for bankruptcy. This situation permanently locked up over 3 million IOC in their wallets. Many of our fellow community members will have to stand in line now, in hopes that at some point either Bittrex comes back from the ashes or wait for bankruptcy courts to adjudicate these coins to their rightful owners.

Lastly almost all other exchanges that we applied to be listed we never heard back from, even after many attempts. A few replied but would require ridiculous BTC payments plus coins for IOC to be listed.

Now it's been close to one year that IOC has not been listed on exchanges. I totally understand that this situation has been unbearable and has significantly restricted our community’s ability to grow. Users who lack the technical knowledge to download and install our wallets have been unable to participate in trading, sharing, or even donating coins. This limitation has also created barriers making it much harder for new users to access and interact with our project.

To make matters worse, unjust rules and regulations here in the States placed extra pressure on developers who simply wanted to run a centralized wallet system. These regulations even required developers to file with the SEC and gain a money transmitter license to operate legally. All of these tactics essentially put us in a bind. We just could not move forward with hosting our own HD mobile central wallets unless we complied with shady regulations and legal applications, something our community simply didn’t have the resources to handle. The situation in the US became so absurd that even platforms like TikTok and Capcut were banned. In the end, it’s all about maintaining unfettered control — not just over our lives, but more importantly, over the peoples messaging. Looking back, we saw these dangers as early as 2015, which is why we put in the work on DIONS to prepare for such times.

Despite these challenges, our core blockchain and innovative features have remained strong, with 100% uptime, now approaching 11 years of uninterrupted service.

Thankfully, here in the states after enduring a very hard-fought political storm, and with a new administration taking office that has shown to be pro-crypto, I’m optimistic about the upcoming executive order designating cryptocurrency as a national priority. This order, which is expected to establish a presidential crypto council comprising industry leaders and regulatory agencies, aims to foster collaboration and create fair laws that will promote innovation and growth in the crypto sector. Additionally, plans to instruct the SEC to rescind restrictive accounting guidelines signal a significant shift toward a more supportive regulatory environment. With these developments, we are hopeful that fairness and opportunity will be restored for developers, projects, and communities like IOC’s, enabling them to thrive and contribute to the future of blockchain innovation.

Likewise, we are also looking forward to exchanges finally being open to recognizing the importance of projects like I/O Coin and others that have pioneered innovation in this space. This acknowledgment is crucial to fostering broader adoption and enhancing the overall vibrancy of our community.

Exchanges play a vital role in providing visibility and accessibility. For our project, being listed specifically in the U.S. markets would not only bridge this gap but also demonstrate the value of our contributions to the blockchain ecosystem by showcasing our groundbreaking work in proving POS viability, encrypted data storage, and decentralized features. Although our primary vision for crypto is to be fully decentralized and foster self-custody, we must recognize that some users simply cannot join our venture without access to our project via centralized exchanges.

Exchanges also play a crucial role in fostering innovation and growth. By listing projects like I/O Coin, they not only support decentralization but also acknowledge the pioneering work that has laid the groundwork for many aspects of today’s blockchain technology. We call on exchanges to consider the broader impact of these projects and provide a platform for their continued success.

With this in mind, we are now adopting a new stance — one that will enable our team to focus on innovation without undue constraints. By emphasizing our continued scientific research and community-driven efforts, we will work to further explore the possibilities of I/O Coin’s universe while prioritizing unfinished initiatives such as DVM, Nighthawk, and Chameleon. We will also re-engage with exchanges specifically in the U.S. to give our community a chance to freely list I/O Coin, reminding them that for projects like IOC, we were able to help prove that POS was viable. This allowed projects like Ethereum, Solana, ADA, and others to reap the rewards of the few who led the POS movement. Just as we were pioneers in POS, we are now at the forefront of innovative work that will offer further enhancement into decentralized and fully private transactions and communications. For these reasons, and for the foreseeable future, exchanges should work closely with communities like IOC to further introduce the true scientific and non-scam side of crypto, as projects like IOC bear the most risk and the brunt of the most innovative work.

There are now no excuses. It is time to put up or shut up. Our space should recognize and list Fair Launch projects, particularly those that pioneered groundbreaking advancements like I/O Coin, BlackCoin, PeerCoin, VeriCoin, Monero, and others that led the way. These projects have not only set foundational standards for blockchain innovation but have also demonstrated resilience and community-driven progress despite significant challenges. Listing such projects without imposed monetary conditions would not only honor their contributions but also benefit exchanges by showcasing their commitment to supporting innovation and fair practices in the crypto space. We urge exchanges to acknowledge the impact of these projects and provide them the platform they deserve for continued growth and visibility.

Proposed Roadmap For I/O Coin

1. Comprehensive Code Review

We will engage open-source developers, both pro-bono and incentivized, to help our team fast-track and review our current codebase, especially initiatives such as DVM and Nighthawk. This will result in a full report that:

• Assesses the verified state of our project.
• Evaluates stability, security, and scalability.
• Identifies the best path for advancing DIONS, DVM, Nighthawk, and Chameleon.

This critical step will establish a strong foundation for future development efforts.

2. Development Initiatives

Post-review, we will explore three key pathways:

• Complete the DVM: Finalize the Decentralized Virtual Machine, enabling smart contracts that expand iOC’s use cases and attract ETH or Solana developers.
• Enhance DIONS: Build on existing features to enhance decentralized identity, encrypted messaging, and secure file storage for real-world applications.
• Start the Nighthawk Side Chain: Develop a privacy-focused side chain integrated with DIONS. Features include full privacy from block 0, with current I/O Coin holders receiving a 1-to-1 credit on the new chain.

3. DVM Implementation Branch Details

The following features have been developed, tested, and partially implemented on the DVM GitHub Branch:

• Compatibility with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM):
• Enables migration of Ethereum dApps without rewriting the codebase.
• Integration tests with ERC-20 tokens have been successful.
• Smart Contract Execution and Data Storage:
• Polymorphic data structures for dynamic and flexible data handling.
• Initial tests for smart contract state storage and retrieval have been completed.
• Hybrid dApps with DIONS:
• Integration of DIONS with the DVM, allowing hybrid dApps to utilize stateful contracts and dynamic data.
• Development Tools:
• Tools such as Gandalf for script automation and deployment workflows.
• IDE tools under development for streamlined contract scripting and management.
• Enhanced Usability:
• Named account structures for improved user experience compared to Ethereum’s alphanumeric addresses.
• Human-readable smart contract names for simplified interactions.
• Security and Testing:
• Fuzzing tests to ensure robustness against malformed inputs.
• Regression testing to validate ecosystem stability after updates.

Remaining Tasks:

Smart Contract Execution and Polymorphism

• Conduct stress testing on polymorphic data structures.
• Optimize storage and retrieval for larger state transitions.
• Validate complex interactions across various states.

Dynamic Gas Fee Mechanism

• Finalize dynamic scaling algorithms.
• Integrate into the consensus layer and simulate network conditions.

Decentralized Exchange (DEX)

• Complete development and integration of DEX smart contracts.
• Test with multiple token types (ERC-20, ERC-721).

Consensus Validation for DVM Transactions

• Strengthen consensus mechanisms for DVM-based transactions.

Graphical IDE and Wallet Integration

• Finalize debugging and deployment tools in the IDE.

Mempool Optimization

• Streamline transaction queuing and prioritization.

Enhanced Security Protocols

• Extend fuzzing tests and conduct security audits.

Final Integration and Public Testing

• Perform large-scale integration testing and deploy a public testnet for RC1

4. Nighthawk Implementation Branch Details

If supported by the community, we will focus on the following features for Nighthawk:

• ZK full-proof encrypted balances.
• Stealth addresses.
• Privacy-enhanced staking.

Starting a new side chain will ensure further privacy for IOC users without losing our DIONS features.

5. Developer Outreach and Incentives

To support these initiatives, we will:

• Create outreach videos to attract developers for code review.
• Offer incentives in iOCoins and accept donations to support the effort.
• Personally contribute iOCoins to demonstrate our commitment.

6. Reintroduction to Exchanges and Community Growth

A long-term goal is to rebuild trading volume and visibility by re-listing iOC on exchanges. Achieving key development milestones will:

• Regain credibility.
• Attract attention to the project.

Exchanges if you would like to add our project simply pull from our github main legacy branch and use our dev sig bootstrap. You may also contact our dev team via telegram, email, twitter and or www.iocoin.io

For developers interested in our project you may find our github here.

These directions reflect the steps we can take as a community to revitalize I/O Coin. I encourage everyone to share their feedback, questions, and ideas to help us refine this plan. Together, we can determine the best way forward and reignite the potential of I/O Coin.

— Joel
IOC Dev Team