- The LimeWire NFT marketplace will focus on music, and prices will be listed in US dollars.
- LimeWire hopes to attract users by creating a more accessible approach to NFTs.
- The firm aims to launch a token and conduct a VC funding round to secure more capital.
LimeWire, a discontinued free software peer-to-peer file sharing platform, is looking to make a comeback as a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. A report unveiled this news earlier today, noting that the firm seeks to launch its revamped platform in May. The new LimeWire platform will focus on music, allowing users to buy and trade rare items.
According to the report, LimeWire’s plans to venture into NFTs come after two Austrian brothers, Julian and Paul Zehetmayr, bought the company’s intellectual property and other assets in 2021. Since then, they have been keen on bringing the platform back on its feet.
Unlike most NFT marketplaces, LimeWire will list NFTs in US dollars instead of crypto. The platform’s users will purchase digital collectibles using credit cards. LimeWire teamed up with Wyre to create this payment functionality.
The company seeks to attract users by offering a more accessible approach to NFTs. On top of this, LimeWire plans to create an advisory board that features Tareef Michael, the manager of Wu-Tang Clan, the greatest rap group.
Explaining why LimeWire decided to come back as an NFT marketplace, Julian Zehetmayr said,
The issue with the NFT market is that most platforms are decentralized. If you look at bitcoin, all the exchanges are making it really easy to buy, trade and sell bitcoin. There’s no one really doing the same in the NFT space.
He added that LimeWire is well suited for solving this problem because it is a mainstream brand that everyone is nostalgic about.
Rising from the ashes
Launched on May 3, 2000, LimeWire quickly became popular across the globe because it allowed users to download music for free. However, the service shut down in 2010 following a prolonged legal battle with the Recording Industry Association of America, which alleged music piracy. A federal judge found the platform guilty of copyright infringement on a massive scale.
Julian and Paul raised funds to help LimeWire bounce back by selling their previous ventures. An example is the sale of their software firm Apilayer in the past year. However, the two brothers plan to secure additional capital by launching a LimeWire token.
The company will sell this token to a select few investors in a private sale before availing the token to the public later on. Reportedly, the LimeWire token will offer holders the power to vote on different matters, including changes to the platform’s policies and artists that will feature in the marketplace’s music charts.
The Zehetmayr brothers are also mulling a venture capital financing round later this year.
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