Limewire Aims To Revive Blockchain; Raises $16mn
By Laxmikant Khanvilkar
Limewire – the controversial file-sharing service platform active since early 2000 – is trying to script a comeback trail in a new tech-friendly avatar. It has adopted the latest technology – blockchain, which will serve the dual purpose – help users make money and tackle copyright issues.
Advancing to next level of technology adoption is not easy considering the fact that the Limewire was forced to shutdown its operation in 2010 for promoting illegal activity such as sharing music. It had become a famous brand then, since it allowed downloading music.
Rebuilding the brand while trying to wipe off previous wrong deed calls for a complete redoing of Limewire. That requires lot of investment. Hence, Limewire is on a fund raising spree.
On Tuesday, May 9th, the company said that it raised more than $16 million for its revived platform through sales of its cryptocurrency token (LMWR).
By raising $16.5 million, Limewire has surpassed its $15 million funding goal and is more than halfway to its $30 million fundraising limit.
The project’s website says that the sale will close on May 11 and that the token will be listed on four major exchanges beginning on May 16.
The project raised funds in fiat as well as cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC) USD Coin (USDC), Tether (USD), and Binance Coin (BNB). It added support for XRP, Cardano (ADA), and Polygon (MATIC) payments around May 6.
Limewire previously announced on April 21 that it had raised $10 million through a private sale led by led by Kraken Ventures, Arrington Capital, and GSR.
LimeWire is the first blockchain-powered membership platform for content creators to connect with their biggest fans and get paid for doing what they love.
Limewire was created by Mark Gorton as a free peer-to-peer file sharing client for Windows, MacOS, Linux and Solaris.
Limewire became controversial for enabling copyright infringement of music and faced lawsuits from the recording industry. Limewire was eventually shut down circa 2010.
However, Limewire’s revived version will instead serve as a platform for music artists. Creators will be able to create content on blockchain-based content and monetize that content with cryptocurrency rewards, payments, and subscriptions.
Content on the platform will be stored and traded as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and access to that content can be gated behind NFTs and other tokens.
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