Seattle Startup Raises $14M to Fuel Ambitious Plan for Social Network Built on Blockchain – GeekWire
Summary
Peter has it all.The Seattle-based startup using the latest technology trends recently raised $14 million to pursue an ambitious plan for a blockchain-based social network.Founded about a year ago, Peer offers features similar to Facebook, where people can interact with user-generated content, but is entirely built on top of the blockchain. It also offers its own cryptocurrency, Peer Metaverse Coin, which allows users to trade NFTs on the platform and reward content creators. The coin is currently worth one US dollar and its total supply will be capped at 2.1 billion.Peer will start by launching its social network, move on to building hardware and eventually developing artificial intelligence, according to its master plan.There are a variety of big tech companies that are heavily invested in the so-called metaverse, which describes an immersive and interactive virtual world. Microsoft has also announced its own metaverse feature, Mesh for Teams, which allows users to navigate virtual work environments as an avatar.But cryptocurrency-related startups, which rely on blockchain technology, have proven to be a risky bet for investors amid the biggest economic downturn. And cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital has filed for bankruptcy.When asked about the recent negative sentiment around cryptocurrency-related companies, Peer CEO Tony Tran argued that there has yet to be a use case like Peer, where blockchain has utility.This blockchain technology, if we can add a user experience to it and allow people to use it, then it will be able to create all kinds of new media, he said.