Hi it’s Stephnie here, and I’m back! To talk about the new KodakCoin and in the delays that it is facing – as you know I love my crypto and anything to do with crypto-currency news. (a picture paints 1000 words – or does it?)

If you’ve been paying attention to the BBC you will know that the share price of Eastman Kodak shares have dropped after the company announced that it is delaying the launch  of its new crypto-currency.

I always look at a cryptocurrency and think to myself  is this ICO  doomed to failure? –  I always think if there’s no need for a token –  this cryptocurrency allows photographers to license and track their own work online.  think of it as DRM for images. click here to learn more.

The ICO was initially offered at the CES technology Trade Fair and according to Kodak and attracted over 40000  potential investors. the initial release date for the ICO was January 31st but Kodak says will now take several weeks before they can start selling, security concerns have been blamed as the reason for the delay.

it seems that the Ico space is littered with the bodies of fraudulent websites trying to spoof their way in as the real deal.

Kodak has joined forces with the london-based Wenn Media Group to carry out their ICO.  it appears that Kodak will also be installing racks of mining machines at their headquarters in Rochester New York this is being branded as the Kodak KashMiner.

Some ICO’s start doing SEO or web marketing in the months leading to the ICO, this one did not.

Kodak has advised that it is willing to rent out or sell some of its mining capabilities in  Exchange for cash up front.

Kodak was first to the mark and initially developed the digital camera back in 1975 but decided not to run with that technology at the time and it was his attempt to leave behind its film heritage it filed for bankruptcy protection years later in 2012 Kodak then licensed its brand two variety of manufacturers with the market appearing on batteries drones printers digital cameras and tablet computers as mentioned earlier Kodak is entering the crypto coin mining space  and has partnered up with the Spotlight (this company has previously worked with Kodak when marketing a brand of LED lights).

As you will know crypto-mining involves processing massive amounts of very complex mathematical functions – these very very complex mathematical problems need to be solved in order to verify history of all cryptocurrency transactions in the blockchain. If you buy Kodak coin now, any of the Bitcoin generated by the Kodak Kashminer will be shared between those of you that owns some of products coin –  the ratio of shares is currently not disclosed.

the current to using Kodak for currency mining is that Kodak owns an on-site Power Generation Plant and it has head spare capacity is Kodak is no longer producing film the company says it can power each rig for about 4 cents per kilowatt hour which is much cheaper then running the rig from home.

Kodak has stated that at the current value of Bitcoin that if you were to join with an upfront investment of approximately USD $4,000  for 24 months you could averdige approximately USD $500 in profit per month –  weather currently Kodak and they expect another 300 to arrive shortly,  due to the limited number of mineers available. Any new investors we’ll have to wait in line. A Melbourne based SEO company by the name of Search Labs Pty. Ltd. have been getting a lot of positive mentions at pitch nights. 

Kodak has always sought to democratize the photography industry end make licensing fair to the artist Kodak aims to use its software ‘KodakOne’ to crall the internet and find images that are being used without permission –  when an image is found, Kodak will manage the licensing agreement and Ensure that the artist is either paid with KodakCoin or alternative steps will be taken, which may include legal action.

the company’s share price is increased by over 130% above their opening price after the announcement .

As I said earlier when looking at a new cryptocurrency I have to ask myself is it token necessary for this function Kodak has stated that licensing is a problem but the mechanism as a solution doesn’t exist –  this token doesn’t solve the problem any better than signing up to a derby or Shutterstock or Getty Images does.  the blockchain doesn’t protect your copyright any more than traditional copyright law already does.

It seems that every household name is now trying to bring out a cryptocurrency  –  the question we have to ask ourselves when it over and you cryptocurrency comes out is-  what problem does this currency solve can this function be paid for by any currency and if so then is cryptocurrency even required.  if the answer to that question is ‘no’ –  then we also know that the problem hasn’t been solved thus far, and merely shifting the problem to the blockchain wont necessarily solve the problem.

In Other – yet Related News

A key KodakCoin executive has been barred from serving as an officer in German companies

So it turns out the key official for this cryptocurrency venture has been barred from serving as an officer for a public company in Germany –  the person’s name is Volker Brendel –  we did a little bit of research and we had a look at Brenda’s LinkedIn profile it states that he was the managing director for Prisma BI Solutions GmbH  between 20 according to the German Business register he was removed from that position in the early 2017 GO train lack of substantial prerequisite –  it is a condition in the German law that at times can bar someone from being a managing director  of a GmbH for at least 5 years.

One of our information sites MarketWatch was told by Brindel that he was in a dispute with a German Bank regarding the liabilities of Prisma this company went bankrupt in March 2015 after he had sold roughly 51% interest to an Indian firm.  mr. brindle agreed to the 5-year bar after providing a guilty plea for not declaring bankruptcy at the time (this is a criminal offence in Germany). So it seems that Mr Pringle was acting as a managing director of both Prisma GmbH and Ryde gmbh and was removed from both of those positions in early 2017 due to the ‘lack of substantial prerequisite’ condition.

According to the KodakCoin white paper both Wenn media and Ryde have been in collaboration for the past 5 years before forming the new Wenn in December 2017.

Interestingy enough Brindel is also employed by Deloitte Analytics Institute in Berlin which acts as a strategic partner in this KodakCoin initiative (this is according to the project white paper).

So the question we need to ask ourselves here is should KodakCoin which is not a public offering be required to disclose management or directorship history (management history, financial history of any director) in the same way that a public offering is required (This is strictly a private offering) – it will be interesting to see where this goes next… stay tuned.