Remember KodakCoin? ICO Fundraising to Kick Off This Month
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Loading... - Gemma Brown
- 11 May 2021
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The team behind Kodak’s blockchain-based image rights management platform has announced that the KodakCoin initial coin offering (ICO) will begin later this month — nearly four months behind schedule.
WENN Digital, who created the KODAKOne platform and will operate it under the storied Kodak brand, said on Thursday that the KodakCoin ICO will kick off on May 21.
WENN had previously said in the coin’s “light paper” that it was not certain whether the token was a security, but CEO Jan Denecke now says the firm is confident that the token sale has been structured such that it will “fully comply” with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidelines.
He said:
“We are excited to offer the SAFTs and the rights to the underlying KodakCoin in a manner structured to fully comply with an exemption to the SEC’s registration requirements. Our goal with this offering is utmost security and transparency, working to bring digital tokens to investors by adhering to industry best practices and in a manner that we hope instills public confidence in the crypto space.”
The ICO will be hosted on Cointopia, and tokens — which will be distributed under Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFT) contracts — will be priced at $1.00 during the initial funding round. The sale will be overseen by Pickwick Capital Partners and Exemplar Capital, both of whom are registered with the SEC and FINRA as broker-dealers.
“An estimated 1.2 trillion photos were uploaded to the web in 2017 alone – the majority without copyright holders’ permission. And as a result, today’s photographers have been left with more work to do, and less compensation to show for it,” said Cam Chell, chairman, co-founder and co-architect of KODAKOne. “By pairing blockchain technology with KodakCoin, KODAKOne will provide a licensing platform that enforces copyright compliance and tracks the usage of images – giving photographers more control over licensing, while at the same time creating a creative community and a comprehensive marketplace that meets all their needs.”
Kodak has also licensed its brand to a bitcoin mining manufacturer.
As CCN reported, the KodakCoin ICO had originally been scheduled to begin on Jan. 31 but was abruptly placed on hold shortly before the sale opened.
Little was heard from the ICO operators over the next several months as the broader cryptocurrency markets fought to stem the tide of a bear market. Notably, the announcement that the token sale will kick off later this month comes amid widespread belief that the market has turned a corner.
Public filingsrevealed that WENN Digital paid Eastman Kodak a $750,000 licensing fee for the rights to use Kodak branding on its DRM platform, along with approximately $1.25 million worth of WENN common stock. Kodak is also slated to receive 3 million KodakCoins and undisclosed royalties tied to the performance of the token sale.
