BlockTalks x The ESP Project AMA Transcript!
We recently hosted an AMA with The ESP Project, on August 17th at 2 PM UTC. Many of you might have participated or many of not. But we make sure no one missed out from the knowledge shared by Eric Loit, CEO of The ESP Project. So here we are up with the AMA transcript, for those who missed the live session, this blog post will be a saver & feeder of knowledge for them.
Introduction Questions Asked By Team BlockTalks!
Q1. Could you please introduce The ESP Project to our community in layman’s term?
Ans — The ESP Project was created to support a number of ecosystems with a utility Token called E$P. E$P is a component of a much larger vision. It will be the mechanism for value transfer in vertically oriented ecosystems. These ecosystems will be in the Educational, Renewable Energy and Digital Payment sectors. Using the decentralized nature of crypto, this lends itself to a wide variety of new and interesting business models and applications.
The Project is not only creating the Token but is building out the market and creating the ecosystems that will utilize the token as well.
Q2. What are the advantages of The ESP Project to other alternatives in the Blockchain field?
Ans — First, we have a complete operational business models behind the token which means we are building out the ecosystems that will utilize the token. We are keenly sensitive to cost, especially in the education space. We are also extremely sensitive to how the public will use the Token. As such, we have crafted and designed out Token Economics with this in sight. We don’t have excessive taxes or costs for transfers, we are injecting capital back into the coin base on a regular schedule. We have built the token with a deflationary circulation method. All these things, plus strict policies, is to support the holders of the Token.
We also have a team building out the various ecosystems in specific geographic regions around the world creating demand and use cases for the E$P Token. Very few projects have this kind of approach with hopes the market will come to them. The ESP Project is building the market, I think a key difference.
We believe that every token that is held by the public is an illustration of trust in our project which we take very seriously. So we have taking time to put mechanisms in place to make sure that we do it all as transparently as possible to earn that trust.
Q3. What are the major milestones The ESP Project achieved so far & what are in the future pipeline?
Ans — Since the launch of the token we have been on a very aggressive timeline.
Specifically for the Token, we are about 12 weeks into the project. To date we already have achieved some significant success. Namely, we have concluded our seed purchase program where we quickly were fully subscribed. The E$P token contract code has been externally audited by Certik with those details being available directly from our website or from Certik’s. The website is live and Tokens can be purchased via Metamask using Ether directly. Marketing awareness campaigns are currently running. Work on the various business verticals continue as this is where the returned vale is created. Our next big step is going live on an exchange which is currently under negotiation and expected soon. We have gone live on UniSwap which is a decentralized exchange in the few days as we continue to also complete negotiations with a centralized exchange. After the exchanges go live, we are looking at multi chain support, that work has already begun. Soon you will see more information on the website, additional purchase options and features.
We have secured a working agreement with a ECR network provider that can use the E$P token as a means of loyalty points and digital payments. This is a very significant milestone for the adoption of the E$P Token. We expect that toke to be utilized in East Africa.
Questions Asked on Twitter For The ESP Project Team!
Q1. What's the difference between an Open and closed system as it relates to Educational Content Delivery on ESP? Finally, what do you think are the benefits associated with the modern usage of ECR compared to traditional alternatives?
Ans — A closed system is a centralized one, typically a commercial venture. The advantages there is that a single entity provides application support, manages everything about the content, type offered and quality. Also the business model can be adjusted specifically for that commercial venture.
Open System in our words is a decentralized one. Meaning that no single entity controls the ecosystem and any individual person or entity can participate. Community mechanisms will be put in place that exist on chain to manage issues such as determining inappropriate content, along with other governance issues. Content creators are free to determine their own pricing, format and quality standards.
Switching the topic to Electronic Cash Register networks, there are a number of key advantages over the alternatives. First, each ECR becomes a local exchange to move between crypto and fiat. Second, and probably the most important is cost. Removing the expensive fees of payment processors, which can be as much as 5% in the developing world, hurts the consumer and merchant. Having the ECR network on a side chain in a level 2 implementation will mean that we will also not suffer the expensive per transaction cost associated with Ethereum.
Q2. How does EPS choose and select what school/university/educational institution will it support and implement its products with? What are the criteria and characteristics of a school do look for specifically?
Ans — We have two Educational platforms. The first to launch will be our Talk2Expert, which is our Educational content delivery platform. This is more targeted at an individual that may be in school or in business. We will be providing a wide range of subject matter. In the commercial, centralized version this is a pay per view or subscription model which can be offset with the content consumers being paid for watching placed content such as an advertisement. The decentralized version will be open to any content creator who wants to monetize their content on the platform.
The second platform is our Student Information Management System, SchoolConnect. This platform connects Students, Teachers and Parents together into a single app to manage the everyday educational experience, here we do not provide the learning content, this is the job of the teachers. Initially we will target K through 12 in developing countries, Vietnam being the first. We will grow this platform organically through the Private School system establishing a user based with the expectations on engaging at a Government level to bring the platform to the entire school system. With scale we will provide the platform for less then the cost of a cup of coffee per student with the expectation that students and parents getting the application for free with only the educational institution paying for the service. We need scale to be able to provide this platform at such an aggressive cost. The E$P Token will be an integral function of the platform.
Q3. They intend to be an efficient payment method in everyday life but researching the project I realized that they work under the Ethereum network, therefore, I would like to know how they intend to solve this contradiction since the Ethereum network is known for its high gas costs?
Ans — We are very sensitive to the cost of services especially in the developing nations of the world. With the cost of Ethereum gas prices being very high we have to consider Layer 2 solutions in order to get the cost down. We also hope that the move to Ethereum 2.0 which is a proof of stake versus a proof of work will also reduce the gas fees. As well, we are not going to only be on Ethereum, we are looking at other chains which can provide a reduced cost and higher speed model. Cardano is being considered now as out second supported blockchain, as they will be supporting ERC-20 style tokens such as E$P. When we have support to alternative chains, we will make sure to provide as friction free as possible, gateways between the two blockchain networks.
Q4. Is your project is fully decentralized and is there some risk of centralization in the future?
Ans — Actually we will have both models for our use cases. There will be centralized versions of our Educational Content Delivery platform and a decentralized one. This allows for us to have a commercial venture that manages content, quality and price. As a closed system also allows us to productize and market the service for profit of which a portion will be used in the buy back and burn program of the E$P Token.
The DeFi application for our Renewable Energy based projects, will only exist in a decentralized one as that will fully reside on chain as a smart contract, allowing anyone to access to the platform and integrate it into their system.
Just as a general comment, Centralized or Decentralized is not a choice between good or bad, they both have their merits, and in some cases it makes sense to do both or to do one or the other. This is use case dependent.
Q5. A few hours ago you announced that E$P token is available on Uniswap. How do you expect this to help boost the development of your project in the short term? What impact has this announcement had on your community?
Ans — One of the issues in getting off the ground with the Token is to get it out into the market. The original method prior to going out on an centralized exchange was to purchase directly off our website which you can still do using Metamask or compatible digital wallet with Ether. This process is somewhat more complex and restrictive for some as well as being only a single direction (buy). Bringing on UniSwap opens up another avenue on acquiring the Token being able to swap to and from 100’s of other Ethereum based assets such as USDT and so on.
As we are just getting out the word on this, we expect that there will be wider adoption of the Token with more trade activity being generated. Being on a DEX, offers holders more options, easier access to the Token and is a integral part of our growth and adoption strategy.
I think the impact to the community is one of excitement. The ability to now trade the asset is positive and one milestone for the community to see and gain trust in what we are trying to accomplish with the ESP Project.
Questions Asked by our BlockTalks Community Members during live Session to The ESP Project Team!!
Q1. What is The ESP Project’s revenue model? In which ways do you generate revenue/profit?
Ans — The project will invest capital in the different business units, Education, Digital Payments and Renewable Energy. This essentially means that the capital is retained by the project and generates profit share and interest. 90% of this will be used in Token repurchase which is our preferred way of injecting value back into the coinbase. Unused capital will be staked producing other interest streams that will be again 90% used for Token repurchases.
In each of the sectors, there are different revenue models. In the Student Information Managment System, it is run on a subscription basis, paid only by the educational institution, Our content delivery platform is a pay per use. DeFi for renewable energy is based on a service fee/micro loan interest strategy. Digital payments generate revenue with value added services such as Fiat exchange and network offerings.
Q2. Is there a mechanism burn in The ESP Project for the supply token? If so, can you explain this?
Ans — Yes we have a couple of burn strategies. First, the token contract has a built in 1% transfer tax. This tax is split 50/50 between burn and random token holder distribution. The second, 90% of the profit generated by the project will be used to buy back tokens on the open market and then burn. In all cases, our buy back activity will be disclosed monthly on the website, the Smart Contract burn happens at the point of transfer. These will all be easily viewable on etherscan.io.
Q3. What is the difference between DEX And CEX? Is The ESP project any different from the existing DEX’s that Offer Limit Orders? Can I add additional token addresses to The ESP Project if the tokens are not available in the DROP-DOWN menu?
Ans — A decentralized exchange is typically not owned by anyone, exists on the block chain. UniSwap is an example of this. They have built into their system a liquidity pool scheme that pays out to people who provide liquidity. Users can easily swap between assets. Typically a DEX doesn’t undetake any KYC protocols and does not trade in Fiat. CEX’s of course will provide usually a FIat to crypto exchange function as well, they are usually under some compliance regulations that require KYC.
Currently E$P Tokens can be purchased on UniSwap a DEX. We are negotiating with a few CEX’s now to launch as well. It is important that we have Fiat to Crypto capability as that is attractive and required in many use cases.
Q4. Which tools like DeFi, Staking, NFT, and Dapps are your team currently spending more time on maximizing the quality of your project? Will you have new products designed with these tools in the short term?
Ans — DeFi is of course central to our strategy for our renewable energy projects. It is deployed as a Dapp. This is also true for our Educational Content Delivery platform. Dapps is really what gives tokens their utlity.
Staking is really a part of our DeFi application in the renewable energy space. It will be the mechanism where micro lenders can earn a return from these deployed projects.
Last is NFT’s. These are also interesting and will be used in some cases as part of the dapp architecture. One example is to create a enforceable security for the Solar projects that we will be supporting. This will allow ownership to be transferred as necessary for the underlaying security against the project.
Q5. I read that they actually have two initial platforms that are being developed in parallel, one of them being an online content delivery platform. So what is the other platform you are developing? Will both work in parallel or are interconnected to create content?
Ans — The two platforms are completely seperate and address different parts of the Educational market. The second platform is our Student Information Management System, that connects Students Parents and Teachers for things like daily communication, absentee management, grades, schedules, lesson plans, school funcations and so forth. This is the higher value property that we have but is much more complex than our talk2expert platform, so it will debut second.
