Charles H. Miller
In a move that could help the company get back on track (to profitability), Kodak is joining the cryptocurrency market with a token of its own.
Announced in “licensing partnership” with WENN Digital, the company’s KODAKOne image rights management platform and KODAKCoin, a photo-centric cryptocurrency, aim to empower photographers and agencies to take greater control in image rights management.
Relying on blockchain technology, the KODAKOne platform will create an encrypted, digital ledger of rights ownership for photographers to register both new and archive work that they can then license within the platform. From that point on, participating photographers are invited to take part in a new economy for photography, using KODAKCoin to receive payment for licensing their work immediately upon sale.
Additionally, the KODAKOne platform provides continual web crawling in order to monitor and protect the IP of the images registered in the KODAKOne system. Where unlicensed usage of images is detected, the platform can efficiently manage the post-licensing process in order to reward photographers.
“For many in the tech industry, ‘blockchain’ and ‘cryptocurrency’ are hot buzzwords, but for photographers who’ve long struggled to assert control over their work and how it’s used, these buzzwords are the keys to solving what felt like an unsolvable problem,” Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke said in a statement. “Kodak has always sought to democratize photography and make licensing fair to artists. These technologies give the photography community an innovative and easy way to do just that.”
WENN Digital’s CEO Jan Denecke is also pleased with the deal and has high hopes for the platform. “Subject to the highest standards of compliance, KODAKCoin is all about paying photographers fairly and giving them an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a new economy tailored for them, with secure asset rights management built right in,” he said.
ICO is scheduled for the end of January
The initial coin offering (ICO) for KODAKCoin is scheduled for January 31, 2018 and is open to accredited investors from the U.S., UK, Canada and other select countries. Unlike many other ICOs, this one is issued under SEC guidelines as a security token under Regulation 506 (c) as an exempt offering.
Even before that, a pre-ICO has started with Vancouver-based Global Blockchain Technologies Corp. investing $2 million in KODAKCoin.
“The Company has subscribed for all 8 million Kodak Coins that were available in the Pre ICO Stage I. Stage II Pre ICO opens tomorrow January 10th,” the firm said in a press release. “The Coins are being offered by WENN Digital, in conjunction with its licensing partnership with Eastman Kodak.”
UPDATE: The token sale has been delayed by “several weeks” as they are moving into “accredited investor” verification phase. There were more investors than expected and this verification will take some time.
Kodak KashMiner
KODAKCoin is not the only blockchain-related announcement from the company; it has also unveiled the Kodak KashMiner, which — as its name says — is used for mining cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin.
That product was developed by California-based Spotlite Energy Systems, with Kodak borrowing its (good) name to get the media excited — and as you can see, this strategy seems to be working. 😉
The KashMiner is available with an upfront payment of $3,400, and once in operation – it would produce $375 worth of bitcoin per month, boasting a two-year income of $9,000. I’m not sure I get the math here and for the reference, you may want to check out the original Business Insider article.
Back to the KashMiner… It is said to bear a resemblance to the S9 mining product from China-based hardware maker Bitmain. That, however, doesn’t seem to mind some customers who are reportedly lining up to pay for the miners, with Spotlite’s representative saying they will have to add additional capacity to meet the demand.
“At this time we have 80 miners, and we expect another 300 to arrive shortly. There is a big pile-up of demand,” the rep explained.
The market reacts positively
These days, blockchain and cryptocurrency are among those head-turning buzzwords, and unsurprisingly (or not) — following Kodak’s announcement, the company’s stock doubled in value.
While we like to see the “old giants” adopting new technologies, we are not that confident that Kodak “going crypto” justifies such big appreciation in its share price. Then again, we have seen something similar with another company, Long Island Iced Tea company, which has just changed its name to Long Blockchain and saw its value increase five-fold.
There is also someone else who’s not that confident about Kodak’s “crypto move” — the Financial Times, which called it a “last desperate bid for relevance.”
Also, there were those who accused Kodak of looking for a short-term stock boost after it exited bankruptcy.
We are not that skeptical though, and when you think about it – it’s not like we expected Kodak to blow our mind in any foreseeable future. And in that sense, “going crypto” could be a viable way for the company to reinvent yourself.
But I said it enough. We want to know what you think – so feel free to drop your two cents in the comments form below…
