Nick Saponaro sat down with Bonna Zhu and the rest of the BitMax Telegram to answer some of their burning questions about the Divi Project, DeFi, and the upcoming mobile wallet.

We will start off with some basic questions from my end and then open it up to the broader community for a Q&A session. If you don't mind, let's give everyone here a recap of The DIVI project, the progress thus far, and remind them what the vision of the project is!

Nick Saponaro: The Divi Project is focused on making cryptocurrencies easy to accelerate mainstream adoption. From one-click masternodes to human-readable addresses, the entire project is focused on user experience and accessibility so anyone can be a part of the blockchain revolution, not just the tech-savvy.

Launched as an ERC-20 token (DIVX), released through Ethereum's blockchain at an ICO event in 2017. Divi founded its blockchain in 2018 and swapped from the original DIVX ERC-20 token to the current DIVI coin. We’ve been the recipients of numerous industry accolades including second place in the "Token Tank" contest at World Crypto Con in Las Vegas, and ranking #3 under Omni's Trust OAG rating, behind only Dash and PIVX.

Our desktop wallet (downloadable from https://diviproject.org/downloads) was released in 2018, and designed with an easy-to-use format allowing users to send/receive DIVI coins, store, and earn through staking or masternode services. Setting up and operating a masternode is just a click away with Divi’s patent-pending masternode One-Click Cloud Installer (MOCCI) ensuring anyone, regardless of technical ability, can set up and run a Divi Node in moments

Divi’s Proof of Stake consensus sees users earn rewards from validating transactions through staking. Divi adopts the same concept whereby wallet nodes receive a payment of 418 DIVI for every block minted. The rewards provide an incentivized environment in that staking wallets will receive an income for securing Divi through transaction validation.

Divi users can currently run full masternodes through the Divi desktop wallet (and soon through our mobile wallet). Divi Nodes ensure the platform's safety by hosting a copy of Divi's blockchain. Divi offers a tiered system with five levels of masternodes available. Each tier contains different collateral prices, starting with the lowest level, Copper at a price of 100,000 DIVI, and ranging to the highest, Diamond for a cost of 10,000,000 DIVI. The different tiers offer increasing bonuses ranging from 21.5% to 25.8% APR.

Our weekly lottery sees a total of eleven lucky winners stand a chance of walking away with a weekly lottery reward. The random selection of winners is determined by blocks, which is a different criterion from the regular lottery generating numbers. All Divi holders owning 10,000 DIVI who are participating in staking may participate in the lottery reward system. The lottery funds cost 50 coins and are derived from every block. Finally, the largest hash secures 252,000 DIVI, while the other ten winners receive 25,200 DIVI each.

In 2019 we purchased a controlling share in a Financial Institution - rebranded Ridivi, with the ability to issue IBANs for our users and provide account services, our pursuit of a digital future firmly in sight.

Additionally, our goal of creating accessibility and usability of cryptocurrency is one step closer with the imminent release of our new Divi mobile wallet. Its best-in-class user experience pushes the blockchain to the background, creating a familiar and naturally intuitive experience for users without compromising on security and custodianship.

By removing barriers to entry, innovating new frictionless technologies, and delivering use cases for the developed and developing world, Divi is helping people across the globe to engage in the Crypto economy and achieve financial freedom and inclusion.

Very cool, after hearing the great achievements, curious to see what ambitious goals you guys have set for 2021, care to share a bit more about your preliminary roadmap for the coming year?

Nick Saponaro: 2021 is about two things. Getting the much anticipated Divi Wallet out to the world, then embarking on our goal of Divi Everywhere.

Our new mobile wallet is in the final stages of beta testing and will be launching soon with a host of features for both payment and investments. Its best-in-class user experience pushes the blockchain to the background, creating a familiar and naturally intuitive experience for users without compromising on security and custodianship.

Launching with four cryptocurrencies - Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and DIVI as well as fiat currencies, Divi intends to quickly expand the digital and local currencies available. Users will be able to send and receive, set up a mobile MOCCI, and stake at launch with a comprehensive list of features such as the ability to move between fiat and cryptocurrency regularly released across 2021.

We have partnered with a top-tier US-based financial institution, ensuring our users will seamlessly be able to use banking services alongside crypto-specific features such as crypto swapping and earning with staking and Divi Nodes. In the future, the wallet will offer a debit or credit card for easy purchasing.

The new wallet welcomes a new era of financial freedom for users as they consolidate their myriad of finance apps into one non-custodial offering.

2021 also sees us embarking on making our Divi Everywhere strategy a reality. We have recently announced a partnership with Stakehound which will allow participants to use a new coin stDIVI (pronounced stivvy) on the Ethereum blockchain and participate in DeFi. The year ahead will see additional wrapped Divi released including with Zap. There are many others planned.

We have a number of other partnerships we are in the process of negotiating and finalizing and will have lots of exciting announcements across the year.

Great, indeed a lot of things to expect! You mentioned staking just now, any idea what do the staking economics look like for DIVI?

Nick Saponaro: DIVI is a novel blockchain that embraces healthy and balanced inflation of its ecosystem. First of all, we utilize a Proof of Stake (Pos) consensus algorithm. With PoS, a user can mint new DIVI, depending on how many coins they hold in a masternode or Divi wallet, which is their collateral. Stakeholders validate new blocks by utilizing their share of coins on the network, and this is done just by leaving their encrypted wallet connected to the Divi network, either on a home computer or on a cloud server. The schedule of newly minted coins is a decreasing rate of inflation:

2018–19: 1250 DIVI minted per new block

2020: 1150 DIVI/block

2021: 1050 DIVI/block

2022: 950 DIVI/block

2023: 850 DIVI/block

2024+: etc

When we started this journey, we realized that to create an ecosystem that was attractive and easy for people to enter, and still be able to use DIVI as a currency, we would require an inflationary model to begin with, but we believe it will find a stable balance over time.

Most people often think that inflation is automatically bad. They may also wrongly come to the conclusion that it will be increasing exponentially over time. If DIVI has enough demand then no matter what, the coin price will rise. A healthily controlled inflation has another huge advantage, which is that it helps with price stabilization, making it better for worldwide adoption, and use as a global currency.

Cool, so staking rewards are actually going to decline year by year?

Nick Saponaro: Correct, much like Bitcoin decreases its mining rewards over time.

What are the requirements for running a DIVI node?

TNick Saponaro: The beauty of Divi Nodes is that anyone with access to a computer or smartphone will be able to participate in securing the Divi network and be rewarded for doing so. With Divi’s patent-pending one-click Masternode setup, all complex actions are automated. The user needs only to buy DIVI, allocate it to a node, pay for server hosting, and the work is done for them by our process. No complex coding is required. We have five tiers of masternodes, ranging from Copper (100,000 DIVI) to Diamond (10,000,000 DIVI).

Looks like the costs and set-up requirements are minimal here. Only the token matters!

Nick Saponaro: Very much so. Here's a look at the current ecosystem, costs, and rewards

Is it possible to run a node using my cellphone, if it is, does it take any extra power or work?

Nick Saponaro: When DiviWallet is released, you will be able to run both staking and masternodes from your device. No power beyond the running of the application is required. All server functions are carried out in the cloud which means your phone’s battery and data are not wasted. The best part is, this is all done without the coins or keys ever leaving your wallet thanks to our novel, patent-pending solution. In other words, it’s 100% non-custodial and decentralized.

Interesting, would you also be able to share how many people are using your wallets or running master nodes?

Nick Saponaro: Over the past year, we have seen a consistent expansion of our node ecosystem. We now have over 1660 masternodes (see above photo), contributing to one of the most decentralized coins on the planet. With regards to wallet sign-ups, we have close to 18,000 people ready and waiting and we are only just beginning to flip on our marketing machine.

Impressive! I am sure you have seen the NFT traction recently, do you guys have any plans for NFT integration in the Divi Wallet as well?

Nick Saponaro: Yes, NFT integration will definitely be a big part of the future for us. We have a Divi-powered video game in the works which will utilize NFTs (SiegeWorlds.com) and a second game we hope to announce soon! Our partnership with LightningWorks.io will publish scarce animated comic books on a blockchain network. Currently, seven stories are underway involving some of the prominent DC and Marvel names in the industry. LightningWorks will add a comic viewer app and a creator app to generate the comics according to this advancement. To add more, artists can harness LightningWorks to come up with their artwork contents.

Are you planning to introduce wrapped DIVI? If so, what benefits will this offer, and what’s the timeline on that?

Nick Saponaro: Absolutely, this fits entirely with our strategy of Divi Everywhere. Our plan is unique in the crypto industry. We will be creating wrapped versions of Divi on every prominent blockchain network, so we can participate in any use case. Our first foray is wrapping Divi on the Ethereum blockchain so our users can participate in DeFi.

Some of the benefits to users new and old include:

• Double or triple dip your earnings
• Scarcity event for $DIVI
• Arbitrage opportunity between stDIVI and $DIVI
• Price of stDIVI != $DIVI price
• Attracts more eyes, traders, stakers, holders to the project

Nice! I am pretty much finished with my questions, if you are ready, we will unmute the chat and let the community take over.

Nick Saponaro: Sounds good, thank you!

Now on to the community questions 👇

How will you prevent "copies" of tokens from being included for the purpose of defrauding users? Does DIVI have a system to remove these tokens from the pool?

Nick Saponaro: Much like most blockchains, a consensus algorithm is utilized to ensure the validity of each coin and prevention of double-spending. Since we have ~60-70% of the coins in the ecosystem allocated to either staking or masternodes, defrauding the network is virtually impossible.

DIVI token supports DEX liquidity and transaction growth, what strategy are you employing to turn it into a stable token with a higher value than that of the competition?

Nick Saponaro: We've seen impressive growth since the launch of $DIVI in 2018. From $0.003 to roughly $0.06 today. This growth comes from the progress and ease-of-use our ecosystem offers and stability comes as a result of real-world applications (of which there are many) and strong community participation.

Over the past months, we have seen many yield farming projects that are just clones or copies with a few changes to Yam or sushiswap. What is your plan to attract liquidity from the mainstream yield farms that have launched to date?

Nick Saponaro: We are working directly with some of the biggest players in the DeFi space for our wrapped token rollout and have millions of dollars pre-committed for the launch (and counting). We also enter the space with an existing community and relative brand recognition. I expect great things from the Divi DeFi initiatives.

All platforms that use a SWAP mechanism, must confront two issues, low liquidity (causing big spreads between orders) and slippages. Can you tell me how you will solve these intrinsic limitations?

Nick Saponaro: I'm not sure if you're referring to our coin at the protocol level or on-exchange. We use market makers (real ones, not wash trading) to ensure tight spreads and liquidity. BitMax has actually become one of our best, most liquid exchanges. Please let me know if I failed to answer your question. 🙏

Does DIVI have a reward program event ongoing or upcoming? Do you have any ambassador programs? Many communities organize events to attract more people. It is also something that attracts investors.

Nick Saponaro: We don't really do airdrops, however, there are some influencers and YouTubers doing giveaways right now. You can join the Divi Crew to earn $DIVI for performing micro-tasks and spreading the word about Divi. Just reach out to @Robertsz here on telegram to get started.

What exactly is impermanent loss? How does a liquidity provider encounter impermanent loss? What are the major factors that can influence this?

Nick Saponaro: I'm not a DeFi expert by any means and Divi is not a DeFi project. We are leveraging a wrapped token to give our users an opportunity to engage with DeFi without sacrificing their place in the primary ecosystem. That said, Binance has a good article on impermanent loss. https://academy.binance.com/en/articles/impermanent-loss-explained. We will be launching with a significant amount of liquidity that will mitigate the risk of impermanent loss. We are working with some of the foremost experts in the DeFi niche to ensure this.

We are living in the [age] of Yield Farming and Liquidity Mining. Can you share your personal opinion on Yield Farming? What will Divi’s process look like?

Nick Saponaro: I think it's a very interesting evolution/innovation in the crypto space. I think there are a lot of ways to make money but many ways to lose as well. It's very important that users do research and rely on projects with a proven track record (like Divi among others) to ensure their money is being put to good use. As far as our liquidity mining process will go, it's the same as you may have seen on SUSHI or UNI already. Contribute stDIVI and stETH and reap the rewards of trade volume against the pair.

A big problem for a lot of Defi projects seems to be that when farming starts, the price goes down because people unload to put liquidity into the farm. Will there be an incentive to hold DIVI and not just farm and dump?

Nick Saponaro: I think it's important to reiterate that Divi is not a DeFi project and that we are just entering the space with a new initiative. That said, we are already in talks with several partners in the ETH ecosystem to implement use-cases for stDIVI. The incentive to hold DIVI will remain the same as it is today. Earn rewards for staking or owning a masternode, use rewards on real-world use-cases, and contribute to a community and ecosystem that is making crypto more accessible and easy to use than ever before. Our strategy has a proven record of success, evidenced by the strong growth and staggering allocation to Divi nodes.

I am still new in the crypto space. Why would I invest my hard-earned money in DIVI. Many people have lost money due to various projects like SUSHI pulling the rug. What unique feature does Divi offer me, and how will that protect my money and prevent these scams?

Nick Saponaro: Divi has been around since 2017. We raised ~$2.1M in our token sale and have built that into a $100M+ project. We've been through multiple bear markets, crypto winter, etc., and still, remain one of the strongest projects to emerge out of the 2017 ICO era. We've created 800%+ returns for those who bought in from day one and have always taken the proper regulatory steps to protect our users. We are building what we believe to be the next step toward mass adoption and have no incentive or intention on "pulling the rug" from under our global community that we have worked so hard to build.

What extra benefits will the implementation of your yield farming and liquidity pools bring? What are your plans on DIVI tokens minting in the future if demand gets higher than supply?

Nick Saponaro: I've already sort of answered the first half of the question, so I will focus on the latter part. DIVI is minted on its own blockchain-based on a schedule that is coded at the protocol level. This schedule can change based on a community vote and dynamic spork activation (basically a quick soft fork update). You can learn more about our coin specs here: https://wiki.diviproject.org/#divi-coin-specs

Between staking, farming, and swapping, which product is DIVI most focused to develop and why? Also, can you tell us the advantages of the DIVI products compared to other projects?

Nick Saponaro: Our primary focus is on the DiviWallet, which is a mobile application that enables the easiest onboarding, use, and earning of crypto that exists. It is currently being beta tested by ~250 people, including many influencers that you probably follow. Some have told us that our wallet will decrease the adoption curve's timeline by years. No one has been able to implement the level of user experience we have for earning. Our one-click masternodes are still regarded as the easiest way to set up a node. We continue to bring that same enhanced UX to the forefront in our forthcoming product. Divi makes all your finance needs easier.

Can you provide an overview of Divi’s tokenomics? Will the design of the token increase and decrease with the success of the platform, does it include any scarcity pathways, such as equity, storage, or burning?

Nick Saponaro: Definitely give our coin specifications a look. Here's a quick summary: We burn fees, we decrease rewards each year, and we enable use-cases and opportunities that create massive scarcity across the ecosystem.

Can you name some of DIVI 's key achievements and what milestones are you currently working on?

Nick Saponaro: I would say being one of the lowest raises during the 2017 ICO era and remaining one of the most profitable coins from that time are among our top achievements. We've placed multiple times in coin ranking contests and reports. We created a patent-pending application that enables anyone of any skill level to start earning crypto at the click of a button, and much much more.

Stable coins are the hottest topic for many projects, so where does DIVI stand on them? Are there any plans for a DIVI stable coin? What is DIVI 's strategy and Roadmap in 2020? What was the biggest milestone so far? What is the plan in the coming years?

Nick Saponaro: I think stable coins are an important part of the crypto ecosystem. We will certainly support them within our forthcoming application but we don't have plans for a Divi stablecoin in 2021

The DIVI website shows that DIVI can be connected with many exchanges to share liquidity. How can DIVI do that? Can you help explain Blockchain DEX?

Nick Saponaro: Yes we are listed on several exchanges and Bitmax is one of our most liquid, currently. As far as blockchain DEXs, there are many implementations from Atomic Swaps to things like Uniswap that decentralize liquidity and order books. Not sure we have time to do a deep dive on that today though.

The DeFi field is full of many projects, all of which provide functions such as lending, staking, and liquidity on multiple platforms. As we all know, marketing is essential for every project. What strategy do you plan to DIVI to attract more users?

Nick Saponaro: Our CMO, Zoe Cox is a seasoned marketing professional who has spent the last 4-6 months developing a world-class marketing strategy that is beginning to roll out now. It spans a wide range of both paid and earned media, PR, influencer promotion, and more. I think I've answered the benefits of holding/using DIVI a few times but let me know if you would like more information. You can always check out diviproject.org for info as well.

The DEFI bubble is pumping up every day and it's only a matter of time before it bursts. What do you think about this and can you be sure that DIVI products will be in great demand in the long term? what are the ways that DIVI Token DIVI rates profits/revenue to maintain your project and what is its revenue model?

Nick Saponaro: Unlike many projects that are migrating away from their main networks to ETH, DOT, etc. to chase the DeFi wave, we are remaining loyal to our custom blockchain and leveraging partnerships for wrapped DIVI. This way, our users and new users can access and use stDIVI (wrapped DIVI) in whichever ways they would like without running the risk of DeFi's bubble popping. DeFi could literally disappear and DIVI would still exist because we're not reliant on it.

What is your most ambitious goal for the project?

Nick Saponaro: My goal is for you to delete the finance folder off your mobile device and purely use DiviWallet for all your finance needs. Since we will be able to provide bank accounts, performance tracking, earning, sending/spending many coins, and eventually even a debit card - there should be no need for any of the other apps 😉

What inspired how you arrived at the project name "DIVI"? In a real sense, what significance does the name have in the project functioning and ecosystem development?

Nick Saponaro: To 'divvy' something up, in English, means to share equitably, which is how our earnings protocol functions. Everyone should have the chance to earn and access this revolutionary technology we call cryptocurrency 🙂

Education in cryptocurrency is necessary nowadays. What’s your plan to attract those people who don’t know about cryptocurrency? What makes you confident about the sustainability of your project in the near future? How much do you take into account community feedback?

Nick Saponaro: Education is important but not as important as user experience. We build adaptable technology that any user can use. We have actual grandparents and even children utilizing our tech right now. We have survived and sustained some of the most difficult moments in crypto and come out stronger. Our strategy, team, and most importantly our community, will keep us flourishing for years to come.

That’s all folks!

Nick Saponaro: Guys, I'm unfortunately out of time for this AMA and have to move onto my next meeting. I want to thank @BonnaRock and the entire Bitmax team for setting this up. And I'd like to thank the community for the amazing questions! I'm sorry I was not able to answer them all but please join us at t.me/diviproject and our community and admins will pick up where I left off.

Please follow us on Twitter.com/diviproject and all other social media platforms (@diviproject)

Find our website at diviproject.org and sign up for beta access to DiviWallet at diviwallet.com