Props AMA with Satoshi Club

Props Project
Props Project
Published in
15 min readApr 27, 2021

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Adi chats with the active Satoshi Club Telegram Group

AMAs are an important part of the Props Project global marketing plan. It allows our team to interact and educate communities around the globe. In this edition, Adi shares a brief history of Props and answers many amazing community questions.

Moderator: Let’s start! Introduce yourself, please. How did you get to be involved in crypto & Props Project?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): I am the Co-Founder and CEO of Props. Nice to meet everyone. I come from a background of building communities in the media space, at scale. I co-founded the world’s first online Karaoke, K-Solo, which sold to Fox MySpace at the height of Myspace. After that, I founded the first consumer live streaming in the US, called YouNow, which grew to 120M user sessions/ month. It is there that we introduced, in 2013, non-crypto virtual currency — in the context of a two-sided market where users could buy into it, and content creators could earn it.

We sold close to $100M of that currency and became experts at managing a digital economy. Users, however, wanted more than just cash. They would say: Adi, you will become a tech millionaire and we earn like coin operators. We want a stake in the network. We want an upside.

At the time, there was no way to give users stock options or capital or a stake in the network. But when Ethereum was mature enough to build on, we started Props — a community token that both unlocks benefits and provides a stake in the network.

Today we have over 9 Million Users who hold the token for the benefits it unlocks across a half dozen participating apps. You see our metrics here.

We started in 2017 — and have been adding apps and users since. This week we are announcing an NFT community as our next Props partner app.

Moderator: Now everyone loves NFTs 🔥. Hot topic🚀

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): For sure. The nice thing about Props is that it’s a community/ loyalty token that can be used by any community. We have media/creator communities. Seller and buyer communities and in the days ahead we will be announcing an NFT focused community

Telegram Question: The long-term goal is for the Props Protocol to be fully governed by the community of Props Token holders. What is your timeframe on when Props Protocol can be fully governed by the users? How will you slowly transfer the control to token holders?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): We are getting ready to launch our staking governance portal. The first functions that the community will take over are the protocol rewards, whereby the community will decide the ongoing tokens that each participating app will receive from the Protocol. We expect an incentivized test staking to start this Quarter.

After that, once the test is over, and it goes online, we will slowly over a period of time, pass more and more of the governance to the community.

Telegram Question: In one of your AMAs, you said you were working on launching layer 2 and it would be ready along with the stacking. So I have a two-part question.

Is there an exact release date for layer 2? I understand correctly, if I move to layer 2, I can save on commissions if I trade on DEX?

What is the benefit if I buy coins now? Will I receive a passive income?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): We are indeed introducing a layer 2 alongside the staking launch. We want to ensure that our token holders who come to govern and stake don’t need to pay high gas fees to contribute their value.

As for the benefits: the governance will provide stakers with an APY for their time and effort of participating. The test staking, which is launching this quarter, will also be incentivized. So users who help test the staking and governance will be rewarded for that as well. (As for Dexes: I believe that over time more and more of them will support layer 2s… so yes — there will likely be an opportunity to save gas fees there as well)

Telegram Question: Is there any other benefit for token holders?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Token holders receive discounts, status, unlocked content and features and other utilities in the apps/ communities that are on the network. So that is the main utility.

The Governance/ staking APY is a unique additional benefit for those users who chose to participate in governance/ staking

Telegram Question: What is the amount of tokens needed to participate?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Ha! We have not set a minimum, but it would be very low — so everyone can easily participate

Telegram Question: I see that PROPS is an SEC-approved token, this is big! How difficult was the process of getting the SEC approval and was it worth it from experience? If you were to start again would you apply to SEC again or maybe consider skipping the US market as many crypto projects do?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): We are a US-centric org and the US is our home market and a very big one at that. So we wanted to be able to leverage our intimate knowledge and network here to get adoption. As such, the SEC qualification was important. Mainstream companies with Millions of users are risk-averse. The SEC seal of approval is very important to them and moves the conversation to their product and community people, rather than the lawyers. So it’s been an important blessing. It was a long process (over a year), but well worth it.

The token can be legally bought, sold, transferred, and earned by users in the US and all over the world. That is the benefit of the qualification we received. And we are proud to be, along with Blockstack, the only 2 US companies to get it

To be clear — while users in the US can buy, sell and transfer — we currently list on international exchanges outside the US, as the US exchanges get additional licenses to be compatible with SEC regulations.

Telegram Question: Props is an open-source project so if they wish I assume you will accept outside developers to integrate your token with their app if you are accepting such proposals what are the requirements, that you are looking for the proposer in order for forming a partnership with them and bringing the app to mainstream and finally be used by end users and how many apps are you thinking to bring to the ecosystem is there a limit to number of apps that the project decides to run in the ecosystem

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Anyone can develop on Props, without permission. However, App developers who wish to participate in Protocol rewards, to help bootstrap their deployment — apply and today, the Props foundation reviews their application (based on community size and proposed use case). There is no limit to the number of apps that can join. And to scale this — in the future, one of the governance functions of the community would be to ver proposals and approve new apps for participation

Moderator: But do you have any other apps in plans? I mean, to add to your ecosystem

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Yes — 5 have launched, each with Millions of hundreds of thousands of MAU. We announced a few more who are integrating. And we will be announcing another app joining, this week!

This is what is pubic today + another this week

Moderator: Any easter egg about that one?😁

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): I can say that they are an NFT focused business and that we are very excited to see not just mainstream communities choosing to deploy Props as their community token, but also blockchain focused innovators.

Telegram Question: As we know Props Project works as a work/discount token that unlocks benefits in the apps that use it. But what we often see when we talk about Props Project is that it is destined more towards social media apps and streaming apps. So, my question is, to which kind of businesses is Props Project design for? Will only this kind of app be able to use it or could any business model be able to have Props Project by their sides?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): The vision of Props is to enable value sharing to anyone who contributes value to the network. This value added by users is most pronounced in two sided markets, where the users are both the buyers and sellers, the creators and supporting fans, the teachers and students etc. and the platform simply facilitates the market. In that environment, sharing a token with users who constitute the network and imbue it with value — to garner loyalty and alignment — its proven to be effective

Here are some case studies:

Users receive both benefits and a financial stake in the network for their contributions are more likely to continue to contribute and contribute more and drive more value.

So the communities that participate are using Props to enhance their key traditional KPIs — like revenue and engagement.

So for us — we focus on platforms with a marketplace — as a low hanging fruit.

Moderator: What about the fees? Are they needed to use the apps?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): The target is mainstream users, who are not Crypto savvy. So the apps handle custody for the users who don’t have to create. wallet or jump into any Blockchain hoops until they wish to claim and take custody. This is one of our philosophies — to make it simple for end users to engage and educate them through the product itself in a gamified fashion.

Here are some of the interfaces (SaaS like, admin and user facing) that are available for apps/ communities off the shelf:

Moderator: Btw, what is the main objective in your roadmap for this 2021?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): We are working on staking and Governance, enhancing the SaaS like tools that are available for apps to integrate and also looking at Community NFTs as an enhancement to the offering. Roadmap is here.

Telegram Question: $PROPS is an ERC20 token but the Props Protocol’s Smart Contract that is utilized for allocating points and reward from app activities is developed on Algorand Network. I don’t seem to understand the need and how you combined these two separate networks in PROPS project implementation. What are the roles played by Algorand and Ethereum network in Props project and how does this mutually benefit apps and users? And as an ERC20 token, don’t you think that the high gas on Ethereum chain may offer a set-back to $PROPS or do you plan to implement Layer 2 and side chain innovative solutions to tackle this?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Great question. Algorand serves as our side chain. We have over 100,000 transactions a day and Algorand has minimal transaction fees and can support a huge TPS. So apps issue users Props IOUs on Algorand. When users wish to claim, they claim into an ERC-20 wallet — so the token and the smart contracts are compatible out in the world. That’s the high level distinction.

With regards to gas fees and layer 2s. Yes — we are introducing a Layer 2 this quarter (first associated with our staking Daap) — exactly to address the gas fees issue you mention.

Thank you for the great community questions!

Moderator: We will open the chat and you should pick 15 questions and answer them

Community Question: We all believe and hope that 2021 will be an important year for crypto. What do you envision once the staking features are out and how will you encourage token holders to participate more in the ecosystem?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): The staking is geared to appeal to both savvy and mainstream users. App users who want to support their apps and get a leg up within their communities by voting for the apps they love. So besides the fact that Staking for governance is an important step towards decentralization — and besides the fact that it enables token holders who are not app users to participate: it also introduces some of Blockchain’s main concepts: financial governance to mainstream app users — and we are psyched about that.

Community Question: You are launching Props 2.0 this Q2 which will take off with a testnet program. What innovative features will you be introducing? When is the incentivized staking testnet for Props 2.0 event expected to start and who can join?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): The incentivized testnet will start this quarter, yes. Anyone can join and get test props. to participate.

Community Question: What can you say about your newest relationship with Roomi and what you hope to achieve together and how you will both be of benefit to each other?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Roomi is a roommate marketplace for owners who are letting rooms, and people who are looking for a place to live. So it falls square in the marketplace category. The KPIs we look for are users HODLing props to unlock benefits in the app and we believe roomi will be a strong addition to the ecosystem and introduce strong utility demand value

Community Question: Smooth and easy-to-use apps always win the attention of the users when opening or surfing apps. What about Props Project apps? Is there an incredible IT team backing the apps to prevent any issues regarding the smoothness of the apps? What kind of engagements the users can have and what kind of financial benefits they will gain from it?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Each app decides its own utility for the token. The interests are aligned and the app can run its own show. So the utility apps tend to provide are: Discounts, Bonus rev share, unlock gifts/content/features, higher daily streak stipend and status.

Community Question: Applications such as PROPS must constantly increase the number of users. What are the solutions you have developed to continuously and steadily expand the PROPS user base?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): We focus on adoption by mainstream apps that already have a large user base and drive adoption through them. That is the main tactic that allows us leverage and has been driving growth. That is also a very big market to benefit from: as over the next few years, mainstream apps will be looking for off the shelf solutions, rather than write their own solidity code and hire blockchain engineers. That is part of the exciting opportunity.

Community Question: Thinking of it, your project is not globally adopted because even in my region some of the apps that adopt props are not available for download. I would like to know your plans for global adoption and how are your plans going on for partnering with global social media platforms.

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Our center of Gravity is in the US. So it’s natural that we will start here. That said, the apps we partnered with have a global audience and crypto is global. As such, we hired a team in China last year and this year, made our first hire in Korea. So it’s in our future to get more apps (not just users) from across the globe.

Community Question: How does PROPS measure the level of success from it’s services on apps that have been able to fully integrate your features?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Great question: by the net demand value an app provides. are their users valuing the utility the app provides (and HODL and buy) or do the users no value it and sell. (and the app incentives are aligned as they mine tokens based on these KPIs. We plan to expose a lot more data upon staking governance — so that token holders can help funnel any token rewards to the most value producing and promising apps.

Community Question: How does PROPS measure the level of success from it’s services on apps that have been able to fully integrate your features?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): This is up to the apps that have complete autonomy (as the incentives are aligned with the protocol) — so an app usually rewards for actions that are most valuable to the app: Like content creation, transaction generation (listing items for sale) Buying product in the app, inviting a friend etc.

Community Question: Can you list some of the killer features of your project that might scare the rivals? What is your platform’s most unique and innovative competitive advantage?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): A lot of people talk about adoption. Our approach in bringing the value of Blockchain to the masses, is to a. make it simple for apps to adopt — by providing a SaaS like framework that obfuscates the Blockchain and does not require a deep integration and Blockchain engineers (simple REST APIs etc.) b. Providing the apps off the shelf gamified interfaces for their users again easy to integrate and good UX for users. c. Custody handled for users (advanced users can take custody) — so its buttery experience. A dogged focus on bringing the power of blockchain and crypto in a simple way to mainstream is one of our main secret sauces.

Community Question: You are working with greats like YOUNOW and Dating, my question is, do you think it is a challenge to integrate into bigger platforms? How do you see that companies of the SIZE of twitch, tik tok, pinterest can be integrated? Is Props scalable enough?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Our approach is to go upmarket. Prove the model on Small and medium partners who are early adopters and willing to take more risk, and then go up from there, as blockchain solutions become more mainstream. It’s also expected that the big dogs will want to build (and can afford to) their own solutions from scratch, while the Medium businesses will want off the shelf. The good news is that the addressable market is huge — as more and more businesses are seeking to leverage this power.

Community Question: What new features will Props Whitepaper 2.0 have? Could you get ahead of us a bit … How does the covid 19 pandemic affect Props in the labor sense?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Here is the latest Whitepaper. I say it’s a great idea and we are working on our NFT plans. Community+ NFTs is a very practical and valuable fit. Often NFTs can have a lot more value within a community than outside of it.

Community Question: Do you have plans to target developers for multiple platforms? or what platform do you support (Web, Android & IOS)? Do you have Widgets or libraries to integrate with code, so you can make implementation work for developers with Props an easy step? There are some similarities between Props and BAT (Brave Browser Token) What are the unique features of Props?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject): Our documentation is here. We support Android, iOS and web.

Community Question: Do you have plans to target developers for multiple platforms? or what platform do you support (Web, Android & IOS)? Do you have Widgets or libraries to integrate with code, so you can make implementation work for developers with Props an easy step? There are some similarities between Props and BAT (Brave Browser Token) What are the unique features of Props?

Adi Sideman (PropsProject):

a. The team and their pedigree/ experience

b the investors

c. the partners

d. the adoption

e. the communication

f. The audited smart contracts here and here

Finally — your own assessment as a reasonable person.

The props ecosystem has KYC tools that each app uses. It’s important to know your users and follow the law. Separately — here is a relevant user testimonial:

Thank you for having me!

Pls join us to continue the conversation!

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Legal Disclaimer: Read more about Props here. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has qualified the offering statement that we have filed with the SEC. The information in that offering statement is more complete than the information we are providing now, and could differ in important ways. You must read the documents filed with the SEC before investing. The offering is being made only by means of its offering statement. This document shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. An indication of interest involves no obligation or commitment of any kind. Any person interested in investing in any offering of Props Tokens should review our disclosures and the publicly filed offering statement and the final offering circular that is part of that offering statement at this website. YouNow is not registered, licensed or supervised as a broker dealer or investment adviser by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or any other financial regulatory authority or licensed to provide any financial advice or services. Forward-looking statements: This communication contains forward-looking statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “will,” “expect,” “would,” “intend,” “believe,” or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements in this document include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans for developing the platform and future utility for the Props Token, our Reg A+ offering and launch of our network, and collaborations and partnerships. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different. More information on the factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause or contribute to such differences is included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion & Analysis” sections of our offering statement on Form 1-A. We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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