Thank you to those of you that participated in the SOMA.finance Q&A session on our Twitter and Telegram. We have been working hard to develop our platform and products and appreciate your patience as we continue to build finance for the future. We firmly believe that with current market volatility and uncertainty, our mission to bridge the gap between DeFi and TradFi will bring about a safer, more secure and more transparent way to grow long term wealth. We will continue to educate our investors in the hope that they can feel empowered to make decisions that elevate the community as a whole and allow for development of a comprehensive, risk averse on-chain portfolio.
If you missed this Q&A session, please follow our social media accounts (Twitter) and (Telegram) for the latest updates, market insight and digital asset educational material.
Q: What Are the Critical Success Factors for the Project in the First 3–6 Months of Token Launch and What Can We as a Community Do to Help?
A: The SOMA.finance platform is just getting started and the team has an incredibly robust roadmap of products and offerings to roll out and issue through the remainder of 2023 and beyond. Some of the main focal points over the next 6 or so months is launching all of the core SOMA products that include SOMA Swap (our DEX for tokenized public equities, digital assets, etc), SOMA Earn (yield/earn bearing products from both PoS chains and traditional finance offerings through debt and more) and SOMA Starter (our regulated digital asset and securities launchpad). Our main focus through launching these products will be getting more and more investors and users on the platform, while offering secure and transparent financial offerings from both the DeFi world and TradFi world to everyone. What our community can do to help is share the news and inform others about what SOMA is building and launching, give honest feedback so that we can continue to improve the platform and its offerings to best fit everyones' needs, and work to make the community a welcoming place to learn and take control of financial futures.
Q: How Does SOMA Expect the STO Market to Develop?
A: Legal and compliant tokens are a new category now, but ultimately, we believe this will become one of the dominant ones as more legal frameworks for tokens are being enforced or put in place globally. The initial issue could be liquidity, as there is not enough interconnectivity yet among legal platforms. This is why we chose to launch as a blockchain native ecosystem which will allow SOMA.finance to bridge the gap across these different islands. Our on-chain tokens will be compatible with many of these complementary businesses, whether they be wallets, exchanges, funds, pools or other digital asset platforms.
Q: Will the Whitelist Be Granted in Stages? (i.e Numbers 1–1000 Get First Priority, 2–4000 Next, 5000+)
A: Yes. We've been keeping track of the whitelist progress and we're still planning to roll out access to the onboarding to those at the top of the list first. Those that complete the onboarding first will also be eligible to take part in the SOMA token launch to win SOMA, so it's important to keep track of your emails to make sure you don't miss the announcement if you're at the top of the list. Once the public announcement for onboarding goes live, the chance to win SOMA will also be open to the public on a first come, first served basis.
Q: Will SOMA Have Their Own AltCoin With Their Platform?
A: Yes, SOMA.finance will have its own native token called the SOMA token. The SOMA token will be issued as a security in the United States and sold via a private placement RegCF to US retail investors, making the offering the first compliant and legal token offering to US retail investors ever. The SOMA token will have a number of different utilities and benefits to its holders that include compliant staking, dividends and airdrops, governance and token holder rights and buybacks/burns.
Q: Would You Answer if We Asked You About a Token That Will or Not Be Listed on SOMA.finance in the Coming Months?
A: We cannot comment on any third party's listing plans on SOMA.finance, as that would be a potential violation of insider information rules. Each party needs to officially publicly disclose this type of information. If you’d like further updates about when certain projects will go live on the Starter platform as they are publicly disclosed, you can sign up to our mailing list for the latest information.
Q: Why Has the Whole Thing Been Delayed? Does It Have to Do With the SEC License?
A: It takes time to develop a new product line with functionality that hasn’t previously existed in the marketplace, especially one that is as complex and in line with U.S. regulations as we are. We are building a compliant DEX, launchpad, compliance rails and infrastructure, new products, and platform infrastructure from the ground up, requiring strict quality control and numerous rounds of review. We appreciate your patience and, rest assured, we’re as eager to get this off the ground as our community.
Q: Are the Principals the Same As the Defunct trade.io? For Transparency What Happened to the $30M of Investors’ Money From trade.io? Do You Agree Transparency Is Key in Gaining Investor’s Trust?
A: No, that is a different company and it is not "defunct." While some of our people may have worked there in the past, no SOMA personnel were owners of that company. A regulated, KYC crypto exchange was just not competitive against unregulated, no-KYC exchanges at that time so the owners decided to pivot to a less expensive, more profitable model - hence the launch of Tiomarkets, which is still operating today and appears to be still paying token holders on a regular basis. If you have any questions about that company, please feel free to direct any relevant questions to them for an answer.
Q: Is It Like a One Time KYC to Get Access to the DEX and Then You Can Swap Whatever Trades on It? What Personal Data Do You Have to Provide to Pass KYC to Be Able to Access the DEX?
A: The initial KYC/AML will be a one time process, however, in accordance with rules and good practice, certain information will be monitored in real time and certain information will require periodic refreshment. The data you will need to provide is standard KYC information, including proof of identity (photo ID), proof of residence, a ‘liveliness’ check, and background information to help us onboard you to the SOMA.finance platform.
Q: Reading the SOMA Corporate Presentation on LinkedIn, the Last Slide States That All US Investors Will Be Able to Participate. However, Currently, It’s Only Visible That Reg D Has Been Filed. Can You Explain the Process in Which Non-AI Will Be Able to Participate. Ie Will This Come Later or Will Everyone Be Able to Participate From the Get Go? Thank You.
A: We have not made any filings regarding the SOMA token to this point. The SOMA token will be issued as a security in the United States and also sold via a private placement under Reg CF to US retail investors (and others), making the offering the one of the fist compliant and legal tokens in this category. For further updates, please follow our social media accounts - we’ll be announcing any further information through these channels.
Q: To the Leadership Team: What Measures Have You Taken to Ensure There Isn’t a Repeat of the trade.io Debacle Where Investors’ Money Was Unsecured?
A: No one on the SOMA.finance team was responsible for the security of the cold wallets at trade.io, knew any of the keys at any time, or had access to any other of the financial accounts. All access and control was held by the equity owners of that company. If you have questions about that company, please direct your questions to the company directly.
Q: Will Launch Consist of the Full Monte, i.e., All Your Products You Have to Offer or a More Rolling Launch With Select Products and More Added Gradually Over Time? Thank You.
A: We'll be releasing our products on a rolling launch, starting with the Starter platform. This is to allow our dev team to conduct all of the necessary QA and security checks to ensure the smooth release of the upcoming products. The good news is that you'll only need to complete the onboarding process once to get access to the full range of products, although some information may need to be updated at a later date.
Q: When Will You Be Launching Your First Security Tokens on the Platform?
A: We cannot disclose when the first issuances will be in part as it is not our information to disclose, the issuers themselves would make that public. Additionally, the process of launching a compliant private placement can be time consuming with legal and regulatory processes to go through, so putting firm dates on these offerings is not possible or advisable. We’ll continue to update our community as and when we can through relevant public platforms, including our public Twitter account, our Telegram, or through our dedicated email list. Please sign up to any of these channels for further information.
Q: When Is the Approximate Launch Date?
A: The SOMA.finance platform offerings and products will be launched on a rolling basis with the start of onboarding the current waitlist this month of March, then followed by the SOMA token RegCF offering (first legal and compliant token offering ever to US retail investors), lockdrop to bring public equities on the platform, multi-asset DEX, Earn/Yield products and more throughout the rest of the year! It will be a non-stop 2023 so make sure to subscribe to our socials and newsletters to not miss a beat!
Q: How Will the Platform Integrate With TradFi and Be Compliant? How Will You Onboard Both TradFi and Retail Clients?
A: The key to integrating the TradFi world is proper licensure and all the controls that come with that. This will not only allow us to bring over traditional products from the TradFi space, but also put key enhancements on top of them in a way we believe improves functionality and brings additional value. We aim to bring this value to be open to as wide a client base as possible, including retail investors.
Q: What Is the Launch Time and Who Can Join Presale?
A: We’re working hard to push out key product offerings in 2023. The SOMA token will be issued as a security in the United States and also sold via a private placement under Reg CF to US retail investors (and others), making the offering one of the first compliant and legal tokens in this category. If you’ve onboarded to the platform and passed the necessary KYC/AML requirements, you are eligible to take part in the public sale of the SOMA token. The presale will be available to select users including those at the top of the whitelist.
