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KODAKCoin
Development
Development statusInitial coin offering
Website
Websitewww.kodakone.com

KodakCoin (stylized KODAKCoin) was a photographer-oriented blockchain cryptocurrency[1] that was planned for payments for licensing photographs; however, the project has failed and been shut down. The cryptocurrency was being developed under a brand licensee agreement between Kodak and RYDE Holding Inc. (formerly WENN digital), with the relationship and project canceled.

The initial coin offering (ICO) was initially scheduled for January 31, 2018, but was indefinitely delayed due to questions about its vetting process.[2] A simple agreement for future tokens (SAFT) was then scheduled for May 2018, which limited purchases to accredited investors.[3]

The website and project has been shut down, with all mention of the KodakCoin and KodakOne removed from Kodak's website.[4]

Background

KodakCoin SAFTs were made available on May 21, 2018, to accredited investors in the United States, United Kingdom, and some other countries.[5][6][7] Working in conjunction with the KodakOne digital rights management platform, KodakCoin was intended to serve as the currency for an encrypted ledger of intellectual property rights ownership.[8] KodakCoin would have used the Ethereum blockchain platform.

KodakCoin was created by WENN Digital, using the Kodak trademark under license.[7] KodakCoin may be a rebranding of an abandoned initial coin offering (ICO) known as RYDE, a cryptocurrency developed by WENN Digital.[9] WENN Digital is a company formed by investments from Wenn Media Group and Ryde GmbH, a German company.[7]

WENN Digital

In the initial press release about the KodakOne project published by Kodak on January 9, 2018[10] WENN Digital is described as having a "live operational copyright infringement management system" that "is delivering revenues to photographers worldwide today" and leveraging "the market position of its 30-year old subsidiary WENN Media, which works with approximately 2,500 professional photographers". German media reported on March 21, after a conversation with WENN Digital CEO Jan Denecke, that his Berlin-based startup RYDE GmbH, which according to the White Paper released by WENN Digital (dated April 24, 2018)[11] builds a technological core of the KodakOne platform, was "meanwhile majority-owned by WENN Digital".[12]

KodakOne

KodakCoin was designed to work with Kodak's KodakOne platform, to facilitate image licensing for photographers.[13] The KodakOne platform uses web crawlers to identify intellectual property licensed to the KodakOne platform, with payments for licensed photographs to be made using KodakCoin cryptocurrency.[14]

The website and project has been shutdown, with all mention of the KodakCoin and KodakOne removed from Kodak's website.[15]

Reception

Following the January 9 announcement of the new platform at the 2018 CES in Las Vegas, Kodak's stock price tripled in two days, as its market valuation increased to US$565 million, an increase of more than 300 percent.[16][17][18][19] By the end of January, one third of Kodak's shares were trading short.[20]

BBC News "Tech Tent" declared KodakCoin/KodakOne and the (unrelated) Kodak KashMiner "Worst Idea" at CES 2018.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Blockchain and a New World of Digital Currency; Photography (KODAKCoin) and Digital Marketing (SponsorCoin) New Entrants to Market". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  2. ^ Lahman, Sean. "Kodak delays launch of cryptocurrency KodakCoin after questions arise over vetting process". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  3. ^ "Kodak's Not-Quite ICO to Launch May 21, As the SEC Cracks Down". Fortune. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  4. ^ Gerard, David (December 24, 2020). "News: KodakCoin is dead, XRP RIP, US on stablecoins, seasteading fails again". Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  5. ^ "KodakCoin nearly ICO". Fortune. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Reynolds, Matthew (January 10, 2018). "Well done, Kodak. Now everyone stop pivoting to the blockchain". Wired UK. Wired. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Ray, Tiernan (January 9, 2018). "Kodak CEO: Blockchain Significant, Though Not a Doubling in Stock Price". Barron's. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  8. ^ Kodak Corporate Release (January 10, 2018). "KodakOne platform and KodakCoin Cryptocurrency". Kodak. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  9. ^ Lee, Timothy (January 10, 2018). "We found a deleted page that reveals the paparazzi roots of Kodak Coin". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  10. ^ "Kodak and WENN Digital Partner to Launch Major Blockchain Initiative and Cryptocurrency". Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  11. ^ "White Paper" (PDF). kodakone.com. WENN Digital. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  12. ^ Max, Borowski. "Berliner Startup erlebt Hype und Häme". n-tv.de. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  13. ^ Yakowicz, Will (January 10, 2018). "KodakCoin and 3 Other Ridiculous Cryptocurrencies People Are Going Nuts Over". Inc. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  14. ^ Grigonis, Hillary (January 9, 2018). "KodakOne uses a blockchain and web crawlers to spot stolen images". Digital Trends. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  15. ^ Lee, Timothy B. (January 10, 2018). "We found a deleted page that reveals the paparazzi roots of Kodak Coin". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  16. ^ Shen, Lucinda (January 10, 2018). "Bitcoin Mania Just Made Kodak $431 Million More Valuable". Fortune. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  17. ^ Moyer, Liz (January 10, 2018). "Kodak shares have more than tripled since company announced its new cryptocurrency 'KodakCoin'". CNBC. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  18. ^ Kawa, Luke (January 10, 2018). "Kodak's Coin Propels Trading Volume Past Biggest Index ETFs". Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  19. ^ Fiegerman, Seth (January 9, 2018). "Kodak to launch cryptocurrency, stock pops 125%". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  20. ^ Lahman, Sean (January 31, 2018). "Kodak delays launch of cryptocurrency KodakCoin after questions arise over vetting process". The Coloradoan. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  21. ^ Cellan-Jones, Rory (January 12, 2018). "Tech Tent: The CES 2018 Techie Awards". BBC News. Retrieved July 18, 2018.

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