Today, I’ve put together a list of partnerships that ICON has formed over the years. ICON was once a very popular top 20 token, in part because it offered something different from other projects of the time. 

I’ve split this list into partnerships, and consortiums, accelerators and VC backings. If you’d like to read some of my other articles in this series, you can check out these articles on Loopring (LRC), Crypto.com (CRO) and Algorand (ALGO) - or just visit my blog.

If I’ve missed something, let me know in the comments below. I only chose partnerships with direct sources.

List of Partnerships

Partnerships

1. Samsung/Line (Source/Source)
2. ChainLink (Source)
3. Icon.community (Source)
4. Hashed (Source)
5. Crypto Bazar (Source)
6. CertiK (Source)
7. Portal Network (Source)
8. LayerX (Source)
9. MME (Source)
10. Kyber Network (Source)
11. Chain Partners (Source)
12. MixMarvel (Source)
13. NHN Payco (Source)
14. Oak Infra (Source)
15. Trive (Source)
16. Infinity Stones (Source)
17. W Green Pay (Source)
18. Carboneum (Source)
19. Deloitte (Source)
20. B Cryptos (Source)
21. Woori Bank (Source)
22. Bodhi (Source)

Consortiums, Accelerators and VC Backings 

1. Blockchain Interoperability Alliance (BIA) (Source)
2. Pantera (Source)
3. Kenetic Capital (Source)
4. Coinsilium (Source)
5. Mind Fund (Source)
6. Tribe (Source)

Detailed List of Partnerships

Partnerships

1. Samsung/Line 

(Source/Source)

May 2018: This partnership, arguably its biggest, comes via a joint venture between ICON and Line. The two parties unveiled the ‘Unchain’ initiative in early 2018. The focus of this is to enhance Line’s blockchain network. Samsung entered the picture at about the same time, when it was revealed that the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA) had signed an MoU for the integration of Chain ID with the Samsung Pass service. ICON’s theloop is the technical partner which is helping develop Chain ID.

2. ChainLink 

(Source)

January 2020: ICON announces that it will integrate Chainlink’s oracle solutions into the network, allowing them to work with off-chain data i.e. be interoperable with other blockchains. Stated use cases include representing sports industry data, passing traditional markets’ financial data, among other things. Giving developers an oracle for the growth of the ecosystem is also a high priority.

3. Icon.community 

(Source)

This isn’t a partnership in the same way that some of the others are. Icon.community is a community-focused strategic initiative that is focused on the project’s P-Rep election campaign (read more on ICON to learn about this). The Icon.community platform has a lot of detailed stats, including social metrics.

4. Hashed

(Source)

ICON and Hashed are collaborating in that the latter is backing ICON and its ecosystem growth. Hashed has backed several crypto startups, including Oasis Labs, Dfinity, OmiseGO and Cosmos. The firm wants to bring these technologies to Korean businesses.

5. Crypto Bazar 

(Source)

Crypto Bazar is a Russian blockchain funding firm that has supported and partnered with several noted blockchain initiatives, including Mainframe, CertiK, Harmony, Eleven01 and Loopring. It is working closely with many of these projects and has invested in initiatives in over a dozen countries.

6. CertiK 

(Source)

CertiK is a smart contract auditing firm that formally verifies smart contracts and ensures security. CertiK has worked with several other projects to ensure that their smart contract security is top notch. It also has its own blockchain, the CertiK Chain, that is interoperable.

7. Portal Network 

(Source)

Portal Network is building a Blockchain Name Service (BNS) to make the use of smart contracts more seamless and simple for users. Essentially, it is a decentralized domain name system and working on human readable names.

8. LayerX 

(Source)

LayerX is a Japanese blockchain company that offers a range of services, including smart contract auditing, consulting, and research and development. It is also working with Microsoft and Quantstamp.

9. MME 

(Source)

Swiss advisory firm MME helps foreign businesses take off in Switzerland. While primarily focused on solving legal, compliance and tax challenges, generally speaking, MME helps international investors safely and smartly invest in local operations.

10. Kyber Network 

(Source)

January 2018: ICON and Kyber Network form a strategic partnership that will allow instant conversion of various assets with guaranteed liquidity. This is Kyber Network’s speciality, and ICON considers interoperability an important priority. This will then make it possible for different DApps to work across different chains.

11. Chain Partners 

(Source)

June 2019: ICON signs a strategic partnership with Chain Partners to bring the ICX token and the project’s DApps to Chain Partners’ exchange, DAYBIT. It will also provide support for ICX and the DApps.

12. MixMarvel 

(Source)

May 2019: ICON signs another strategic partnership, this time with MixMarvel, a game company that is blockchain-based. The latter has already released a few games, including HyperDragons and HyperSnakes. As a part of the partnership, MixMarvel will integrate the platform with the ICON public blockchain network, among other things.

13. NHN Payco 

(Source)

December 2019: ICON partners with NHN Payco, a platform designed by one of Korea’s largest financial companies, NHN. The partnership sees NHN Payco join ICONLoop’s MyID Alliance, a blockchain ID service that works with real services. 

14. Oak Infra 

(Source)

November 2019: ICON and OAK Infra partner in that the latter has joined the MyID Alliance. Additionally, OAKNode has created a new product tailored for ICON’s block producers, letting P-Rep candidates “share validator’s uptime, block production rate or transaction throughput performance either through an interactive dashboard or an API.”

15. Trive 

(Source)

May 2018: ICON partners with Sinaporean VC firm Trive with the intention of educating and raising awareness in the regional startup environment. This includes launching ICON focused blockchain courses on Trive’s programming schools, Upcode Academy Singapore, and Coder School Vietnam.

16. Infinity Stones 

(Source)

June 2019: ICON partners with Infinity Stones for consulting purposes. The latter will “provide insight” into the governance and economics of ICON. Infinity Stones has experience running nodes on several other major blockchain networks.

17. W-foundation

(Source)

August 2018: ICON signs an MOU with non-profit W-foundation to bring blockchain technology to W Green Pay, a pollution reduction compensation system built by the non-profit organization. In addition to bringing various services, ICON will also facilitate transparency.

18. Carboneum 

(Source)

June 2018: ICON signs a strategic partnership with Carboneum, a platform for social trading and which is backed by Thailand’s leading online stock trading and analytical platform, StockRadars. ICON will help Carboneum with its technical development on the ICON blockchain.

19. Deloitte 

(Source)

June 2018: ICON and Deloitte, specifically the Deloitte Blockchain Lab, sign an MoU to “develop, empower and commercialize blockchain based projects.” Deloitte’s contribution will include “accounting/financial consulting, tax advisory, risk consulting, investment sourcing and overseas advancement support.”

20. B Cryptos 

(Source)

May 2018: ICON partners with Japan’s first crypto fund B Cryptos, which is also backed by the Liquid exchange. The focus of this partnership is to expand the ecosystem and create strong support for blockchain-based solutions.

21. Woori Bank 

(Source)

August 2017: ICON partners with Woori Bank to build a digital currency called WeeBee Coin that can be used in place of cash or cards. This includes university communities and regional societies.

22. Bodhi 

(Source)

June 2018: ICON signs a strategic partnership with the Bodhi Foundation, a prediction market platform. The two parties will cooperate to improve Bodhi’s platform by connecting it to other blockchains in ICON’s ecosystem. 

Consortiums, Accelerators and VC Backings

All sources are from here, except where stated otherwise.

1. Blockchain Interoperability Alliance (BIA) 

The Blockchain Interoperability Alliance (BIA) is an initiative launched by Aion, ICON and Wanchain, with the intention of promoting interoperability. Not many updates are available on the effort.

2. Pantera 

Pantera is a well known digital asset investment firm that has invested in several notable companies. These include Ampleforth (AMPL), Bakkt, Brave, Ripple (XRP) and Zcash (ZEC).

3. Kenetic Capital 

Kenetic Capital is a venture capital and trading strategy company. They have a focus on innovative blockchain business models.

4. Coinsilium 

Coinsilium provides advisory and investment services for early stage companies. This includes Abra, Dether and Fantom.

5. Mind Fund

Mind Fund is a comparatively well known VC venture, having provided funding to Hedera Hashgraph, Helix and Hashing Systems.

6. Tribe

ICON and its partner Trive announce a collaborative program resulting in the accelerator program Tribe Accelerator. The official statement says, “...this is the first blockchain accelerator blessed by Enterprise Singapore, the lead government agency responsible for developing the startup ecosystem and making Singapore a global hub for startups.”