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LimeWire Is About To Make A Comeback As An NFT Marketplace
LimeWire has launched an invite-only private token sale as the last major milestone before officially launching the marketplace itself in May 2022.
If you were on the internet between 2000 and 2010, the chances are that you have experience with using LimeWire to download content of a questionable legal status.
Now, the name of the popular peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing application is making a comeback as an NFT marketplace powered by the Algorand blockchain, which is also home to ZestBloom, Abrist, Dartroom, Blocsport, Asolp, and other NFT and digital art marketplaces.
“LimeWire is back to bring digital collectibles to everybody” states the official website, which currently features a waitlist for early access. LimeWire’s unexpected resurrection as an NFT marketplace can be traced to the 2021 purchase of intellectual property rights to LimeWire by Austrian brothers Julian and Paul Zehetmayr.
“The issue with the NFT market is that most platforms are decentralized” Julian told CNBC. “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”.
Determined to fill the hole in the market, Julian and Paul established a core team in Q3 2021, and they’re now ready to launch an invite-only private token sale as the last major milestone before officially launching the marketplace itself in May 2022.
Also Read: 5 Gaming Cryptos That Will Explode In 2023
To be as user-friendly as possible, the LimeWire NFT marketplace will show prices in US dollars, instead of a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Even the choice of the Algorand blockchain is meant to increase the project’s mainstream appeal because Algorand relies on a low-energy consensus mechanism called Proof-of-Stake to address major concerns around the energy consumed by cryptocurrencies.
It will be interesting to see how many of the millennials who remember LimeWire from their childhood years will react positively to the platform’s comeback when it launches in the near future.
News
UAE Prepares To Launch Two Satellites: Thuraya-2 And MBZ-SAT
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chaired the first meeting of the Supreme Space Council yesterday.
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, chaired the first meeting of the Supreme Space Council in Dubai on December 16, 2024. The session highlighted the UAE’s ambitious space plans and took stock of the sector’s economic progress.
The council emphasized the growing role of private companies in advancing space technologies, noting that their contributions are now equal to that of the public sector. Members also praised initiatives like the Space Economic Zones Programme, which are designed to fuel innovation and investment in the space industry.
خلال ترؤسنا الاجتماع الأول للمجلس الأعلى للفضاء، بحثنا الاستثمارات الوطنية والمشاريع المقبلة في قطاع الفضاء والذي يشهد تطوراً مستمراً… وجددنا التزامنا بدعم ومواصلة تنفيذ برامج طموحة لاستكشاف الفضاء الخارجي حيث وصل حجم الاستثمارات في هذا القطاع إلى 40 مليار درهم خلال السنوات… pic.twitter.com/etJ33OnuSu
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) December 16, 2024
Discussing the UAE’s space journey, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum remarked, “The national space sector continues to grow and advance, and we take immense pride in the remarkable achievements we have accomplished over the years”.
Sheikh Hamdan also received updates on two upcoming satellite projects: Thuraya-2 and MBZ-SAT. Thuraya-2, developed by Space42, is slated for launch this December. Meanwhile, the MBZ-SAT, created by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), will soon follow. MBRSC, a major driver of the UAE National Space Programme, continues to lead the nation’s space-related developments.
Space42 took the opportunity to showcase its advancements, including ongoing collaborations between public and private entities. The company also outlined strategies to promote innovation, boost revenue streams, and create new opportunities for growth in the sector.
Also Read: IBM Opens New Doha Office To Support Qatar’s Digital Growth
The UAE’s current projects build on a growing legacy of space exploration. Back in 2020, the nation made headlines with its Mars mission, successfully sending a probe into the planet’s orbit in 2021. This mission, which is now in its second phase as of June 2024, has been collecting critical data to develop a comprehensive diurnal image of Mars.
The UAE also ventured into lunar exploration with an unmanned mission aimed at studying untouched regions of the Moon’s surface. While the probe ultimately crashed during its landing attempt after communication was lost seconds before touchdown, the effort represented a significant step in the country’s exploration ambitions.