Playboy Enterprise Inc. has now decided to tap the digital currency space as the company plans to launch its new online payment wallet which will support a number of cryptocurrencies across all of the company’s online businesses which includes casual gaming, media and digital.
The first of the Playboy’s platforms that will be integrating the payment wallet is Playboy TV. In its , Reena Patel, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Operations for Playboy Enterprises Inc. said that the company is adopting cryptocurrencies within its network in order to provide its customers with “increased payment flexibility.”
Reena Patel said: “As the popularity of alternative payment methods continues to grow around the world, along with the reach Playboy’s digital platforms, we felt it was important to give our 100 million monthly consumers increased payment flexibility.”
In addition to this, the company in its press release also had a mention of own new Vice Industry Token (VIT) which is basically an adult-industry token and will be used to access the exclusive content on Playboy and other partner websites. The VIT coin is currently undergoing an ICO will impressive list of partners like Playboy and Penthouse. The crowdsale of the token ends on March 20. More details of the token can be obtained on .
As detailed in the , the VIT token’s network ledger serves three purposes. The first that it will record all the transactions using digital currencies. The other is that it will measure and track the content engagement and user interaction with videos. This will allow the content providers to customize their content as per the needs and tastes of users. The last use of the VIT token is that it can be used in order to reward its users for interacting with the content either through votes and comments. This means that the customers in a way will be incentivized to consume more content.
Vice Industry Token tweeted the news about the announcement on its Twitter handle.
VIT is proud to announce integration with VIT tokens. By integrating with , visitors will be able to pay and earn tokens to view original content,
— Vice Industry Token (@ViceToken)
The whitepaper also stated that “VIT has an advantage over general-use cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin because it serves as both as a medium of exchange, and as a means of capturing viewer engagement data in a single token.”
“This innovation gives the millions of people who enjoy our content, as well as those in the future who participate in our casual gaming, AR and VR platforms, more choices with regard to payment and in the case of VIT, an opportunity to be rewarded for engaging with Playboy offerings,” said Reena Patel.
Karl Kaufman, a Forbes contributor wrote: “This technology could not only disrupt the adult entertainment industry, but it could also change the way consumers interact with all forms of content online.”
Rewarding customers for interacting through comments is certainly not a new idea. However, is the rewards are suitable attractive, all the partners gathered by VIT under its network can make a considerable difference to content consumption at these websites.
The new digital wallet will be available by the end of the year.
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launched its minimum viable product (MVP) called back in April 2016. Today, it has over 30,000 registered users in 170 Brazilian cities.
The site connects clients with freelance service providers, without charging users any service fee. The new platform will use AI and the blockchain to build a reputation score for users, both customers and service providers.
Reputation Score
Assigning an objective reputation score is meant to facilitate interaction between users, and lower costs for clients. Such a feature, the company hopes, will be able to combat market inefficiency, democratizing access to information for users.
Initially, the company focused its efforts on a segment of the labor market where the need for change is most acute – domestic workers. They include housekeepers, nannies, cleaners, caregivers and others, and are considered among the most vulnerable group of workers. They are often employed in private households, working without any formal agreement, and are unprotected by legislation.
‘More than Any Other Country’
Data by the International Labor Organization (ILO) there are some 67 million domestic workers globally. In Brazil alone, they are about seven million, which is “more than in any other country in the world,” the ILO.
On the other hand, customers face difficulties finding and hiring workers who are qualified enough to do the job. To find the right person, customers need to use word-of-mouth recommendations, which takes time and limits their options.
Alternatively, they can hire workers through a large, reputable organization. The latter option, however, comes at a considerably higher price. Larger organizations have higher operating and marketing costs which, ultimately, inflate the end-price of the product.
Furthermore, large-scale marketing campaigns influence customers’ decisions and lead them to purchases which do not necessarily represent the best value for money.
Information Asymmetry
“The current labor relations are not enough to promote happiness and trust between people, generating friction and, consequently, waste of resources,” the company says in its white paper. Crafty, which will be released both as a mobile app and a web app, has a mission to fix this “information asymmetry”.
The company believes this asymmetry is at the root of most of the waste of wealth, which leads to higher transaction costs for consumers. To facilitate freelancer discovery, it plans to place the concept of reputation value at the center of the platform.
Using augmented intelligence and the blockchain, it will help customers and service providers leave feedback after each interaction. Feedback will be logged and stored on the blockchain, collecting reliable and transparent data. The company will use the data to develop a reputation score for each user, making future interaction more efficient.
The CFTY Token
Users will receive rewards for the feedback they leave in the form of network tokens. Currently, the company is carrying out an initial coin offering (ICO), which will go on until April 9, 2018. CFTY is an ERC20 utility token based on the Ethereum blockchain. It will allow users to pay for services on the platform and receive rewards for the feedback they leave.
The sale is only for 50% of the total token supply. The company will allocate another 20% to promotions and payments to the team. It plans to put the rest in a reserve fund which will secure the rewards for users leaving feedback. The ICO is hard capped at $35 million, with 60% of the funds planned for the project’s marketing. Unsold tokens will be burned.
According to Crafty, it is the only company introducing cryptocurrencies to underprivileged social groups in Brazil, a country with a minimum monthly salary of $292. Its users are workers who prioritize household purchases and, for the most part, cryptocurrencies are out of their reach. This is even more true about Africa where the company also has plans for expansion.
Wider Circulation
“Our business model allows an easy access to the crypto-world, where every user can earn CFTY simply by evaluating their counterparty. Then they can use the coins to buy products or services from our trading partners or convert them to fiat if they so wish”, the company says.
The company is in talks with different organizations in Brazil to widen the circulation of the . Recently, it met with Brazilian trade association ACICG comprising over 7,000 member companies in the western state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The organization has shown interest in promoting the use of CFTY among its member to encourage them to accept the currency, the company says.
is talking to more organizations for similar partnerships which will bring the coin to everyday use and, hopefully, result in value appreciation. The company operates through a legal entity called AZKLENY COMPANY S.A, incorporated in Uruguay.
The team has been bootstrapping Diarissima since launch in 2016. International expansion is planned to start in October 2019.
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A bill that may turn New York into a friendlier place for crypto entrepreneurs has been introduced in the state’s Assembly. The draft is intended to “safeguard” cryptocurrency business activity and “prohibit” licensing fees. Its sponsors want to replace the costly Bitlicense regulations with a licensing regime based on audits. The aim is to protect investors, while supporting growth in the crypto sector.
Also read: Adoption in the U.S.
Introducing the Digital Seal
If adopted, Assembly Bill will amend the New York’s banking law. The current licensing regime will be replaced with a new mechanism based on independent audits, which will protect investors and reassure customers. The new §9-x section will require any private individual or corporate entity conducting crypto-related business activity to be audited by a public or a private third party depository service.
The auditors should ensure that persons and companies dealing with cryptocurrencies have established security protocols to safeguard them from theft, thus increasing public trust. They must also verify if crypto businesses maintain a fund insuring a portion of their account holders’ assets by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation or other approved insurer.
Third parties are expected to regularly examine holdings of entities conducting crypto business to ensure proper ownership of assets. Those that are in full compliance with the law should receive a digital New York State seal of approval. It will replace the current fee-based licenses. The draft unambiguously states:
Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation, no person, corporation, partnership or other entity that conducts cryptocurrency business activity shall be required to pay a licensing fee.
Protecting Investors, Reducing Red Tape
The amendments are meant to protect cryptocurrency investors on one hand, and reduce bureaucratic and regulatory burdens on crypto businesses on the other. Bill A09899 was introduced by Ron Kim (D) and co-sponsored by several other legislators. The draft has been referred to the NY last month.
According to the bill, the term “cryptocurrency business activity” includes receiving and transmitting cryptocurrencies. The services of storing, holding, and maintaining custody or control of cryptocurrency on behalf of others are also covered by the definition. It excludes, however, “transactions undertaken for non-financial purposes” under what it calls “nominal amount of cryptocurrency”.
The legal document encompasses activities such as buying and selling cryptocurrency, performing exchange services, as well as controlling, administering, and even issuing coins. The authors note that with digital currencies, encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units and verify the transfer of funds, “independently form a central bank”.
Several crypto-related bills have been introduced in New York in the past few months. One of them, , again co-sponsored by Ron Kim, aims to create a “digital currency task force”, as . Its primary duty – to provide the governor and the state legislature with information on the potential effects of the implementation of cryptocurrencies on financial markets. Other texts have defined terms like blockchain, smart contracts and tokens.
New York was among the first seeking to adopt comprehensive cryptocurrency regulation, but it has been criticized for some of its aspects. Currently, businesses dealing with cryptos, like bitcoin, need to apply for a from the state’s Department of Financial Services and pay a fee. On the positive side, crypto companies are not required to obtain a full money transmitter license.
Do you think New York state legislators will adopt the bill that prohibits licensing fees for crypto businesses? Tell us in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
At bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more.
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Innovative start-up crypto company on its way to success
To be recognized as a thought leader requires a certain level of respect and charisma in your respective field. Being a thought leader can make a significant and positive difference to your business. Most successful individuals or firms in their respective fields grow in their business because of their ability to naturally lead or draw in more sponsors and members. A thought leader who is able to cut through the ‘noise’ and offer something worth listening to, is a leader who is designed to succeed.
A thought leader of this type
is a next-generation financial institute, a blockchain-based trading platform aimed at democratizing the market, redistributing wealth back to investors and companies, and ultimately striving to be the go-to trading firm for quality expertise in cryptocurrency, and, above all, a top-five asset based on market capitalization.
The big leak
Techbullion have leaked information on the upcoming platform being developed by the trade.io team.
In their review, they concluded that while there are a number of crypto trading websites available on the internet for users, many are in fact centralized by nature, designed to maximize profits for the owners and have little care beyond making a living. The closed system and reluctance of the platform operators to allow for maximum options lead to users having limited options and instruments of trading.
They state that trade.io’s exchange solution however ensures that user satisfaction is kept above all things. This is keeping true to the spirit of peer to peer technologies. For instance, the exchange will:
1) Have a fully customizable interface and will offer key features such as social networking, charts, technical and fundamental analysis and more
2) Once regulated trade.io will be one of the few exchanges that will not only offer crypto to crypto but also crypto to fiat and securitized tokens, thereby creating one of the industry’s only “one stop shops” for digital trading.
3) 24/7 customer support offering support in a range of languages, and which pledges to respond to customer queries within one business day or less.
Techbullion went into further detail on the liquidity pool being offered by the company – a membership and lending program which rewards qualified clients for their participation in the trade.io exchange. This is the most anticipated offering of the company and promises to give as much as 50% the company yields from the exchange platform back to the clients. Users will park a portion of their assets in their platform e-wallets into a shared P2P liquidity pool. The assets bound for the pool are used by the company as liquidity and stability in the exchange environment. As a reward for participation in the pool, contributors will receive a distribution calculated on a daily basis. Up to half of the exchange platform yield is then distributed among the pool investors (according to the percentage of their investment in the pool).
Interest for the liquidity pool are earned in the following ways:
Spreads: All trades have a difference in asking price and selling price. This is called the spread. 50% of the earnings made by the platform through spreads will go into the liquidity pool.
Commission: When spreads are very tight, the little room for profit margins in spreads means that the broker cannot earn profitably while making deals. This leads to a commission based incentive. Again, half of all the commissions that platform makes will go into the pool.
Aggregation: The platform combines all unmatched orders into one single large order before execution so that unprocessed transactions can be executed and a good spread and commissions are earned on it.
Risk Positions: Risk management is done using propriety algorithms and leveraging on the micro and macro level, maximizing profit potential for the liquidity pool.
Loan Interest: Users can earn by loaning their wallet assets to others and earn interest on it. Same as all above, half of the profit earned goes into the liquidity pool.
Creating a demographic decentralized platform, trade.io has created one of the most interesting trading and earning system that allows its users to earn a handsome profit.
The team behind the name
The team is made up of talented and experienced members who all stem from a long background in financial, technology and advisory services. They all strive to enhance their mode of thinking with their ability to source, work with, and profit from their target markets. A large part of why trade.io is likely to succeed is because the team are able to determine what works in the finance community and not repeat mistakes.
The team draw upon their experience from investment banking on Wall Street as well as retail and institutional forex brokerage services and even blockchain development. This varied yet high level expertise across a range of financial sectors join hands to craft the ultimate exchange platform that can be used by both retail and institutional clients.
Such a solid financial background puts them ahead of the competition, at the forefront of the industry and will propel them on their way to being the next-generation’s financial institution.
Proof of the pudding
Until the exchange is officially launched, when results can really be analyzed, it is fair to note that participants and observers will go by both reputation and trust in the company’s ability to profit long-term. The core investors behind the project brought in their long-standing relationships with clients and investors, which is one of the reasons why trade.io continues to draw such interest.
trade.io is a fine example of leaders who recognize trends before they happen and apply that insight to achieve actual business results. The secret to holding such status will come down to the ability to inspire and influence and it seems that trade.io is doing a nice job of it so far. The fact that the company raised over $31 million in their ICO is a testament to the credibility the company has gained over a long period of time, given the fact that a large portion of the team have hugely successful careers.
In any doubt? Take John Patrick Mullin for example. He is a 25-year-old, American living in Hong Kong and while he isn’t busy supporting and advising the trade.io name, he continues to build his impressive career. He previously worked at Guotai Junan Securities where he spent the majority of his career, focusing on fintech, blockchain & artificial intelligence. His admirable reputation can be highlighted in the fact that he is frequently invited to speak at high-level crypto conferences internationally as a guest speaker. In addition, the CEO, Jim Preissler, also comes from over 20 years of international business experience with a deep private equity and investment banking background in Wall street, having helped launched numerous ICOs as well as oversee important financial mergers and acquisitions.
Speaking about his company, Jim Preissler explains that trade.io,“is not just about distributed technology…it’s about distributed wealth. Blockchain technology allows us to achieve the vision of distributed wealth through our peer-to-peer shared liquidity pool.”
One of the biggest questions on the minds of potential participants, is what sets trade.io apart from others. In response to this common question, Jim Preissler states that the company will share 50/50 from their seed contribution with all of their participants.
“The time has come where people take back control of capital markets and reject the status quo,” he said.
“We are doing multiple stage rollout to get to a full multi-asset platform. First is crypto/crypto. At some point we will add fiat to the mix. Then FX trading will be added. Finally, other asset classes such as global equities, etc. The platform is built ultimately to allow this full functionality, but we need to roll it out in segments.”
He continued “We plan to be a fully licensed exchange across multiple jurisdictions. Our intention is to actually work with the regulators to forge policies and regulations critical to crypto trading, as well as to protect clients and their wealth. This is something that no other exchange has attempted to do so far.”
Indeed, it’s clear that the leaders at trade.io understand the importance of listening to their community. Without their followers and customers, a company is nothing but a name.
“Listening to the community and building a product that isn’t what we think it should be, but what the community wants. If we can do just that we will win. On that front we are building sentiment analysis tracking and feedback systems that will allow us to keep a pulse on the community to gain insight, but also to make sure we are exceeding expectations.
“It’s a very busy and exciting time at trade.io right now. We have a lot to look forward to. On the marketing front I think our success with the ICO is a testament to our acumen in that area. We also learned a lot and will continue to improve our communications and PR.”
Looking ahead
The launch of this exciting exchange takes place this spring. Taking into consideration the team’s spirit and solid experience and expertise, it is safe to say that they’re on the right road to a truly successful launch and journey ahead. For further information on the exchange visit https://trade.io
Contact Email Address
helen@trade.io
Supporting Link
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