ICX: Cryptocurrency ICON Claims Forbes and Bloomberg as Partners

Forbes and Bloomberg are partnering with a new cryptocurrency, according to the foundation behind the token. The ICON project, which plans to build “one of the largest decentralized networks in the world,” updated its website on Wednesday to show new partnerships with the two outlets.

The change was announced at the foundation’s annual summit, where it also announced plans for the coming year and future release of the technology. It is unclear at this stage, though, how Forbes and Bloomberg are partnering with the foundation: the foundation’s website simply refers to them as companies established “to provide hands on support and investment to entrepreneurs and innovators.”

Korea-based ICON, which offers an ICX token to power the network, differentiates itself through its use of interconnected blockchains to get different industries talking to each other. In an example video, its protocol is used for a visit to the dentist, where the patient can ask the team to speak directly to the insurance firm and ask for reimbursement.

The system uses a proprietary blockchain technology called loopchain to link these networks together. The team claims that a number of Korean security companies, insurance companies and universities are already using loopchain, while its Chain ID system is set for use in clearings and settlements later this year.

It’s been a rapid rise for ICON. Since launching its site in 2017, the team raised over $42 million in six hours during its first token sale. On January 24, the team switched on the mainnet and minted all the ICX as intended. From here, the team plans to launch the ICON Incentives Scoring System in April, an A.I.-driven incentive system key to the cryptocurrency’s usage.

However, markets have not shown positive signs over the roadmap’s announcement. The ICX token, which has a market cap of $2.8 billion and is ranked as the 17th largest token in the world, was down 13 percent over the past 24 hours at the time of writing, making it the second-worst performer out of the top 100.