This is the same question I would like answered: Will profits from PayKey be used to buy Gemz from the sell wall?

I am trying to mask my disappointment, but I agree that the solution to all of the frustration here would be more communication... the more time that goes by without a word from Daniel, the more frustration will come out of this forum. I understand people are feeling forgotten in the wake of the PayKey revelation. Given the foundation of a kibbutz is to share the profits evenly with everyone in the community, perhaps the right thing to do would be to announce some type of profit sharing, where a percentage of the profits from PayKey would be used to buy up Gemz off the sell wall. At $400,000, I don't know how much of a percentage of profit the VC was guaranteed, but perhaps something similar could be announced here. They obviously don't have to do this, but it seems like the right thing to do to support the people who supported them.

Where in the ANN does it say that investors hold a percentage of the company profits? Say you hired Bill Gates to build you database software for $800,000, and at the same time he delivered you the database he also sold MS-DOS to IBM for 100 million. Would you be entitled to a cut of his profits? I don't think it works that way.

You, as a crowd, basically hired them to write you a program, and in exchange, got a percentage of the ICO. They made good on all promises; therefore, it seems you have no case.

How have they been "tricked" if they are the ones offering to modify PayKey to a bank's liking?


Does accusing people of being stupid make you feel superior?

We get it now...we got it before. It's not rocket science. Gems and BTC would be ideal to have in every iteration of PayKey. As I mentioned before, I don't know how friendly banks and regulators will be to Bitcoin. I think eventually, they will all HAVE to be friendly to Bitcoin and figure out ways to adapt to a new decentralized economy.

But right now, Daniel/Alon have to quickly sell PayKey to banks all over the world, and I don't know if every bank will want BTC/Gemz right off the bat. After PayKey is established, and it is installed in millions of phones, then the team could force a BTC/Gems payment option a year or so later. But to force it on banks right from the start might increase resistance, which would slow adoption.

Remember that Google and Apple are probably not far behind PayKey, and they already have the userbase. All they need to do is install a dollar sign in their keyboards--they already have the bank partnerships lined up.

You also might want to treat people with respect--it would help you to better get your point across.

Sorry in advance for the long post, but I think it's worth reading--I believe it explains the philosophical motives and possible tactics that underly this project.

THE UNDERLYING PHILOSOPHY DRIVING GETGEMS AND PAYKEY

Let me point you to a quote from the article Daniel posted that apparently no one has considered:

“The values behind GetGems are the values of the kibbutz,” he says. “Ramat Yohanan is one of the remaining Israeli kibbutzim where everyone is still equal, where people still share their salaries. It’s a prosperous community; our factories are successful. I think it’s amazing that such communities can prosper.”

I think everyone needs to put down their pitchforks and take a step back here. If this were just another Altcoin, I would be the first one to be upset at what's happening here. But it's not--this project reflects a core philosophy that everyone here doesn't understand, because many people come from the mindset of "Take care of me first, and screw everyone else in the process."

I'm not Israeli, nor am I Jewish--I only know what little I've read about their culture, and discussing the topic of kibbutz with Jewish friends. Based on that, I see the Kibbutz movement as trying to create a utopian society where wealth is distributed equally among all of its members. In such a model, EVERYONE is taken care of, not just ONE person. This is essential in understanding the energy guiding this team, because Daniel is being accused of greed, which is LUDICROUS when you consider that Udi Peled, Daniel's father, was the economic director of Israel's kibbutz movement. This means Daniel grew up in a culture that FROWNS UPON GREED. I don't think he can even relate to the anger and fear that people on this forum have, and is most likely scratching his head at some of your responses.

Think about it: If PayKey and GetGems succeed in becoming the most successful payment system in the world, do you think Daniel and everyone in their Kibbutz will be driving around in Ferraris wearing gold chains, sipping champagne all day long?? Of course not, because that wasteful philosophy goes against the entire philosophy of the kibbutz! The goal of this project is to give BACK to the community, and to create a utopian society where greed is taken out of the equation.

So now that we have established motive, we can throw out the idea that the Daniel is NOT trying to screw everyone here, and in fact set out to do the opposite!! So let's break down some of the points people are making on this forum.

People here are not taking into consideration the realities that this team will face with regard to adoption of Gemz and PayKey from mainstream banks. This entire project is a massive chess game, and if it's not played correctly, everyone loses. I've been impressed that Daniel has been very careful not to make promises that will jeopardize this project, and has made accommodations that will allow for increased adoption: one of those accomodations is the use of "white label" software.

WHITE LABEL SOFTWARE

From what I gather, and someone correct me if I am wrong here, white-label software would allow any bank to rebrand PayKey as their own solution, so that Citibank could modify PayKey to offer specific features and rewards for its customers in order to create a competitive advantage over Wells Fargo. This also means that PayKey would operate in a similar manner that VISA and Mastercard do, in that you as a customer see the VISA brand beside your bank's logo on your credit card, but the VISA network operates seamlessly in the background during each transaction.

It is also true that white label ALSO might mean that banks and regulators will want to remove Bitcoin and Gemz payment button from their keyboards or abandon PayKey altogether. If I were Daniel, and banks gave me such an ultimatum, I would drop Bitcoin and Gems payments keys in an instant. In the long run, if consumers want Bitcoin or Gems payments on their keyboard, they will demand it, or go elsewhere that offers it (Like GetGems PayKey!).

Since one of the goals of the team is to increase the value of Gems, they can do so in other indirect ways. Bitcoin and Gemz payments have to come about as a result of consumer demand--not vice-versa! We can't force demand for Bitcoin on people. Creating demand for Gems is where I see the GetGemz messenger comes into play, which is why it STILL plays such an important role in all of this.

BUYING GEMS WITH FIAT

Buying Gems for fiat has to be done very carefully, and may or may not be possible, depending on local and international regulations. Daniel has said it's something that they are actively exploring, which means it is something they want to do. Whether or not they CAN convert fiat to Gems in-app it is another topic.

If they CAN'T do it in-app, there are other options, such as establishing a fiat-to-Gems/Bitcoin exchange, similar to Local Bitcoins, but with the addition of Gems.

In addition, Daniel has stated previously that PayKey will first start off using traditional "on-rail" methods of digital transfer of funds, but hinted that it might eventually move entirely to the block chain.  IF it moves to the block chain, and if Gemz are the currency used, then every time they take a .5% cut off the top of Gemz, that would decrease the total supply of Gems. That seems like the obvious move, especially when you consider the team owns EIGHT PERCENT OF ALL GEMS. They want Gems to work as much as we do!! The programmers behind GetGems are stockholders, just like we are!

"PAYKEY IS THE ONLY GOAL... GETGEMS MESSENGER IS NO LONGER A FOCUS"

If that were the case, then why did the team JUST announce the new desktop interface for GetGems Messenger?? Why did they JUST come out with a new version of both the Android and iOS apps that have increased stability significantly?? Why did I receive a message from the iOS Beta Test support team just two days ago discussing a support ticket for an issue I had?

GetGems Messenger and Gems the currency ARE PART of the entire chess game, people! If I had a billion dollars revenue from PayKey, and I controlled eight percent of the shares of Gems, then what would I do?? BUY OFF THE SELL WALL! Once Gems gets to a certain price, then the referrals will go exponential. If I know that each person I refer gives me $2.50... wait... now it's $5... no WAIT now it's $10!! Guess what I would do? PANIC AND INVITE ALL MY FRIENDS!!! And I would also try to figure out how to buy Gems!! If and when they create an easier method for buying Gems, then ALSO contribute to a rise in price.

Let's just ALL remember that Daniel is not the greedy person he is being painted out to be on this forum. As he posted before, but no one noticed, simply read the Kibbutz article for evidence of this! He recognizes that this community made GetGems possible. He has huge aspirations, and has invited us all along for the ride. Instead of being angry and fearful, take a moment to appreciate what an opportunity this is. If PayKey didn't exist, I would be incredibly excited. But NOW, I am freaking out excited.

I want to give a big thanks to Daniel and the GetGems team for all the work they are doing for this community! If ever doubt begins to enter your mind, just remember the quote from Daniel:

“The values behind GetGems are the values of the kibbutz."

Since we're all throwing our hat into the ring, I'll just echo what others have said here. I think it's important to note that a small group of people are working their asses off to fulfill a promise to investors, which is unlike most of the terrible coins out there. They're here a year later, pumping out updates and implementing features, while most of us just wait for news. You act as though they owe you every idea they ever think of because you've thrown a few dollars at one of their ideas. You funded one idea; that's it. There was no mention of ownership of the company in the ANN that I'm aware of.

PayKey directly and indirectly benefits GetGems, and without it, we would have Gemz, plus GG Messenger, plus a desktop application. And all of that would be enough to make me incredibly excited. But if PayKey goes mainstream, then Gemz will definitely go up in value.

Hi Daniel,

Are you going to incentivize PayKey users to use and adopt Gemz, such as offering discounted transaction fees for Gemz for the first year or two? Also, will users be able to purchase Gemz directly through PayKey?

Thank you guys for all the work that has been done. You're doing an amazing job!!

I guess at this point you either trust in the project or you don't—they have delivered on all of their promises so far. It would not make sense to start an entirely new coin to make relative peanuts off an ICO, while at the same time devaluing Gemz and losing core investors. If they move forward with both GG Messenger and PayKey, or even if they only move forward with PayKey, it would make zero sense to start a new coin when this one already holds value and could only be worth more if integrated into PayKey.

I think everyone who questions the team's motives should read the following article:

http://www.timesofisrael.com/meet-the-kibbutznik-who-wants-to-disrupt-the-global-banking-system/

"Peled belongs to Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan in northern Israel, and the son of Udi Peled, who until recently was the economic director of Israel’s kibbutz movement."

“The values behind GetGems are the values of the kibbutz,” he says. “Ramat Yohanan is one of the remaining Israeli kibbutzim where everyone is still equal, where people still share their salaries. It’s a prosperous community; our factories are successful. I think it’s amazing that such communities can prosper.”

I agree as well that this deserves a new ANN thread. Great idea!

To anyone who is anxious for the blog to come out, I would ask that you please allow the devs flexibility to release this sensitive information whenever they need to. It seems obvious that they are delaying publication for some strategic reason that can't, and shouldn't, be revealed to everyone quite yet. So if the big reveal takes another week, or even a month, I say don't pressure them to do something that would put them at a strategic disadvantage against their competition who follow what they are doing closely. Our desire to be informed is secondary to the main goals of this project, which sometimes requires tight lips (As evidenced by none of us knowing about PayKey until they revealed it at the competition).

Also remember that they have worked very hard to create Gemz the currency, and it can work in both GG Messenger and PayKey in a similar manner (referral rewards, airdrop, etc.). I doubt they would put all this time into developing Gemz, and then drop it, especially when it was already promised to help develop their community. In addition, the point of the business game is to make as much money as possible, so why would they forsake the opportunity to do that with Gemz the currency when it's already developed?

I am so unbelievably impressed at everyone on the GetGems staff, from Daniel and Alon's presentation, to the programmers and the graphic designers. I can only laugh/cringe at the reaction of the judges. If it were only a keyboard app that could transfer money, AND they have a patent pending, that in and of itself would be revolutionary... but when you factor in Gemz, especially using a referral reward system and airdrop, then wow...

Yea I have been obsessed with this project ever since I read about it, and now it's wayy more compelling. I am really excited to see how they incorporate Gems into PayKey.

It's definitely a lofty goal, but this team has the intelligence, the technical know-how, and the presentation skills to make it happen.

Thank you to Daniel for the communication...you helped calm a lot of nerves on here.

Let's not jump to any conclusions here. Daniel and Alon have been travelling back and forth between the US and Israel and have been going to various meetings. They promised to communicate with us soon, so let's just give them the benefit of the doubt—anything said here is purely speculation. As I said before, I used to think GetGems was just another greedy Altcoin until I read their emphasis on community and family, so I have a high level of faith in the collective moral compass of this team.

Well I have been thinking about it, and I'm probably wrong because if they bought off of an exchange, unless they owned and operated the exchange, they would be charged a fee; in addition, sending through the block chain wouldn't allow for transactions in less than five seconds. Therefore, the money released from the end-user's bank to the recipient would have to come from another source, or each transaction would simply be an IOU that would guarantee payment to the recipient's bank, with the anticipation that the funds will be released when the transaction is completed on the block chain, or at the end of the business day, I suppose.  I will stop speculating and let them explain what they're doing, because whatever the approach, the potential is HUGE and very exciting!

I have been trying to wrap my head around how Gems would be incorporated into the keyboard, and came to a possible realization that made me jump out of bed. This is obviously pure speculation, but I would love to hear if I'm right.

If PayKey uses the Gems block chain to transfer money from one person's bank account to the other, would this mean that when someone transfers money using PayKey:

1) PayKey would instantly buy Gems off the sell wall using money from the client's linked bank account
2) GetGems would take .5% of the Gems for themselves, thus lowering the supply even further, and raising the price
3) The money generated from each transaction could be used to secure the network and provide price stability via a buy wall and prevent market destabilization from whales who at some point might decide to dump
4) When the cash recipient receives the Gems, they are instantly sold to the sell wall and the money is converted to whatever currency their bank account accepts
5) Or perhaps the user is given the option to store the money as Gems, which would probably create more problems than not

Forgive me for speculating, but if this is true...wow...

Yes, I was curious about why the judges were saying PayKey had no future because of Apple Pay. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but the judges didn't grasp that in order for a universal payment system to take hold, it seems as though it is a huge _benefit_, NOT a detriment, that GetGems is not Apple or Google. It seems way better strategically for the banks and retailers to align themselves with a neutral third-party payment system instead of having to choose sides with one or both of the two major players in mobile computing in the hopes that each side's users will jump on board. I have an iPhone 6, and have never once bothered to use Apple Pay because it's not universally supported. The only solution I see is for a third player to jump in the game, and honestly after seeing that speech and how well they both presented themselves and the product (despite the hostility and ignorance of the judges), I can see PayKey going very, very big.

I think Daniel and Alon performed incredibly under such aggressive questioning--I know I would have not been able to be that quick on my feet, so bravo!

It looks like the focus has shifted from the original goal of GetGems messenger to the Paykey keyboard, which is obviously a brilliant idea!! I'm curious if and how the Gems currency, as well as airdrop, attention economy, referral rewards, etc., will be incorporated as part of the PayKey product? Does the lack of focus on GetGems messenger in your speech mean the development focus has shifted from the GetGems messenger to PayKey? Or will GG Messenger be used as a marketing tool to recruit users to install PayKey (i.e. - PayKey will be installed at the same time GetGems messenger is installed?)

You're right, but winning the people's choice award is newsworthy in and of itself, and if GetGems wins both prizes, that would be phenomenal. Not to mention $10,000 would pay a team member's living expenses for several months.

Apparently anyone can vote for their favorite team, so make sure you tell all your friends and family (and tell them to tell their friends) to vote for GetGems:

https://43north.skild.com/skild2/43North/viewEntryVoting.action

I first started off thinking this project was like every other in the Altcoin world, where the motive is purely greed/profit, so my expectations were much different. But after reading the Kibbutz article and reading various quotes from Daniel about family and community, it seems that he and his team are focused on more altruistic goals. I think that kind of energy tends to attract others into the arena who will want to help, as well as those who only want to profit from this project (not a bad thing).

With regard to the people voicing how long this is taking, this project is not nearly as simple as Facebook was in its early days. This team is faced with programming an incredibly complex system for two entirely different OSes that are both secure and full of complex features. Given the recent help from Citibank mentors, as well as the guidance from mentors in Buffalo, I see this move as being an incredible leap forward for the team. They might use the money to hire more programmers, a marketing firm, or simply support themselves with a salary until this takes off. $250,000 is a lot of money, and of course they have the potential to win $500,000 or even $1,000,000!

I trust this team, and give a sincere mazel tov and thanks for all the hard work they are doing, and also want to extend a warm welcome to the US--make sure you pay a visit to the Catskill mountains when you need to relax and take a break! I hope that for all the people here who are anxious, realize that with all the months of waiting we have had to do, they have been behind the scenes working day and night in order to create an amazing product that benefits us all. This project could be the big step toward connecting average people to the world of digital currency, and is very well worth the wait.

Amazing job to the GetGems team!!

In other news, it looks like Bob or some other whale has moved in to the neighborhood temporarily with their huge buy wall at 5000. Watch out for a pump and dump before the big announcement, everyone.