Interview with Adriaan Brink FUNToken CEO On The Future Of Online gaming
September 21 2021 - 5:47AM
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Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology have continued their
rapid expansion throughout 2021. These assets and their underlying
technology seem to have countless use cases and applications for
the benefit of its users. Online gaming has benefited from the rise
of this new asset class. Funtoken.io, an online gaming platform
leveraging the power of blockchain technology to offer multiple
gaming products. Adriaan Brink, FunToken CEO, talked to us about
the platform, its objectives, vision, and opportunities as the
crypto industry is constantly has a bigger role in the mainstream.
This is what he had to tell us. Q: Can you tell us more about
yourself, how did you first got involved with cryptocurrencies, and
for those unfamiliar, what is FUN Token.io? A: I have been involved
in online gaming since 1995 when I launched the Liechtenstein
lotteries and more recently in crypto with the ICO of BETR – Better
Betting in 2017. With BETR we build a completely on-chain sports
betting solution – removing the custodial elements of sports
betting. With the merger of BETR and FUN earlier this year we
are now able to bring some of this technology to FUN. Q: The
Ethereum network has experienced high levels of congestions and
expensive transactions fees, how does FUN Token improve the user
experience? Have you considered migrating to another blockchain,
such as Solana or Polkadot? A: FUN is an Ethereum based gambling
token that has also been around for the past 4 years. Given
the gas costs and latency on the Ethereum blockchain, a decision
was made earlier this year to create a new “wrapped” token on the
Polygon blockchain so that we could enable our visions for removing
custodial elements from gambling. The new token is branded
“XFUN” and will go live later this month. It will be minted on a
1:1 basis with an escrow of FUN, so the more XFUN that exists the
less FUN will be available in trading circulation. Q: How do you
envision the future of online gaming, and what role will
FUNToken.io play in that context? A: The current crypto environment
is in many ways reminiscent of the early internet years (1995)
where access was for geeks and the whole system was to many seen as
niche. That all changed and today the internet is a part of
everyone’s lives. I see crypto in the same light – we will
work toward removing the technical challenges so that the average
non-tech user can participate. Ultimately it will be the way
that things happen. FUN is well-positioned as the leading
gambling crypto to pave the way in this respect. Q: In recent
months, non-fungible tokens (NFT) led a new wave of crypto
adoption, do you think there is room to integrate these assets into
your platform? What is the next step for FUN Token that will
contribute to the disruption of online gaming? A: It is not clear
to me at this stage how NFTs fit within our ecosystem, but of
course, we keep an open mind and will be quick to adopt new
technologies as they mature. Right now our focus is on adding
entertainment and betting opportunities to the FUN/XFUN ecosystem
and building the user base. Ultimately the value of any
crypto ecosystem is dependent on the level of adoption. Q: How many
people hold FUN, and how do they benefit from your token burn
strategy? What are the incentives to keep holding the token? A:
There are currently around 87,000 holders of FUN. In addition
to this, there are 190,000 holders in the Freebitco.in premium
membership program (a custodial solution). With the move to
XFUN, these holders will be encouraged to move their tokens to
non-custodial wallets and join in the fun across a network of
casinos and other gaming sites. All sites that are operated
through Funtoken have pledged to contribute 50% of net profits to a
token burn event to be held quarterly, the first of these burns
take place at the end of September 2021. Most importantly – the
value of the token will ultimately be determined by the amount that
is being used for the underlying utility – playing on casinos and
other games. As this utility supply (which will be directly related
to the number of XFUN on issue) increases the token value will need
to increase to match demand. Q: NFTs, gaming, real state, what do
you think will trigger the final move for crypto and blockchain
technology to be fully embraced by the world? Do you believe FUN
Token is a platform that could onboard millions of users? A: I
believe it’s all about usability. This means providing
opportunities for the tokens to be used in verticals that are
synergistic and leveraging partnerships such as our relationship
with Freebitco.in to bring in participants. With nearly 50M
players they provide access to a substantial user base and traffic
which will help FUN get to mass adoption rapidly. Q: In the past
days, the U.S. SEC Chair, and other politicians have expressed
concerns about Bitcoin, stablecoins, and cryptocurrencies in
general. They referred to the crypto market as “The Wild West”, as
the head of a crypto project, what do you think about the
possibility of new regulations coming into the industry? What do
you think it’s the best approach for the regulator? A: I am not a
regulator and so would rather not comment on what they should
do. Ultimately the crypto markets are already becoming more
and more regulated where they touch on the “real world” in areas
such as cashiers and exchanges relating to banking. No doubt
this will continue. Q: FUNToken has been expanding in the past
months, with important partnerships with Free Bitco.in, Travala and
Binance, what can your community expect in the coming months in
terms of partnerships? And where do you think the platform will be
in 2022? A: We will be adding more gambling opportunities and
fine-tuning the user interface for XFUN. By creating a
user-friendly, zero gas environment on the Polygon network we
enable the seamless interchange of funds between our users and
participating entities. We will be launching a B2B drive
later this year to substantially increase the places where XFUN can
be used and drive liquidity and users into the token. It is
important to remember that XFUN=FUN – for every XFUN issued one FUN
will be escrowed, so the increase in usage of XFUN will directly
impact the tokenomics for FUN.
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