Everything You Need to Know Before the ICON (ICX) Token Swap

After various delays, the ICON (ICX) token swap is almost upon us. Here’s everything you need to know before the platform switches out its ERC20 ICX tokens for mainnet ICX tokens! 

In the coming days, ERC20 ICX tokens will be swapped out for mainnet ICX coins. The exchange rate will be pegged to a ratio of 1:1, and mainnet ICX coins will not be backward convertible into ERC20 tokens.

Participating Exchanges

As of the time of this writing, only Binance, Upbit, and Bithumb are supporting the ICX token swap.

ERC20 ICX tokens can be deposited into Binance until June 20, 09:00, UTC+9.

Likewise, ERC20 ICX tokens can be deposited into Upbit until June 20, 22:00, UTC+9.

Bithumb has yet to announce a specific deadline for ERC20 ICX deposits, but an official announcement is expected soon.

Of course, ICON’s own native wallet, ICONex, will support the token swap from June 25, 13:00, UTC+9 until September 25, 13:00, UTC+9 — providing ample time for interested token holders to swap for mainnet coins.

The ICON team has also reminded interested individuals that, “as of June 18th, only Binance, Upbit, and Bithumb are the official exchanges that have agreed with ICON for the token swap support,” so users should exercise caution with other exchanges claiming they support the swap. Furthermore:

ERC20 ICX tokens must be received by the exchanges before their deadlines for the token swap to be made […] All ICX deposits and withdrawals from the exchanges will be suspended until the token swap process of the exchanges are finished. For details, please refer to the exchange announcements.

The Procedure

Those relying on participating exchanges to do the heavy lifting for them need only deposit their ERC20 tokens in time and wait, as Binance, Upbit and Bithumb will do all of the behind-the-scenes dirty work. During this time, all ICX deposits and withdrawals from the exchanges will be suspended until the token swap process is finished.

Those using ICONex will have to follow a few simple steps. As provided by the ICON team:

1. Create an ICONex ETH wallet and send your ERC20 ICX tokens to the ICONex ETH wallet (Guide to creating your wallet)
   * Please check you create an ICONex ETH wallet(address starts with “0x”)
2. Add ICX custom token to activate the token swap feature.
3. Follow the instructions and complete the token swap submission
   1) Your ICONex ICX wallet will be created automatically and the same amount of ICX that you have swapped will be distributed to your ICX wallet.
   2) You will need a small amount of ETH balance for the token swap.
4. Mainnet ICX coins will be distributed once per day(except weekends). (Token swap submission available at all times)
5. Token swap submission received before 09:00(UTC+9) will be processed
   and distributed on the same day at 18:00(UTC+9). Submission received after 09:00(UTC+9) will be processed the next day. (No distribution on weekends or holidays)

It’s also important to note that only participating exchanges will allow for the trading of mainnet ICX coins. Furthermore, those wishing to immediately trade their mainnet ICX coins should utilize Binance, Upbit or Bithumb for the token swap.

Finally, as is always the case when a cryptocurrency project is conducting a token swap, users should be wary of scams. When in doubt, contact ICON directly to report suspicious activity.

What do you think about ICON and the upcoming token swap? Let us know in the comments below! 

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter/@helloiconworld.

[Full Disclosure: The author of this article holds ICON (ICX).]