The Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:KODK) is the latest to join the blockchain craze with its blockchain-powered KODAKOne platform and KODAKCoin crypto coin. KODAKCoin will be launched via an ICO (initial coin offering) on January 31, 2018.
Eastman Kodak is looking to use cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology as a way to help photographers license their work. It is also meant to be a way to help photographers be recognized, and therefore paid, for their work any time their work is used.
“For photographers who’ve long struggled to assert control over their work and how it’s used, [blockchain and cryptocurrency] are the keys to solving what felt like an unsolvable problem,” commented Jeff Clarke, the CEO of Eastman Kodak.
KODAKOne is intended to be the image rights management platform, with KODAKCoin operating as the photo-centric cryptocurrency that runs on it. By putting the photo licensing operation on distributed-ledger technology, it will hopefully help to reduce the unlicensed usage of photos, if not stop it altogether.
This is a great step for photographers and artists everywhere. Blockchain has serious potential to eliminate illegal downloads of art in any form (photos, music, film, writing, etc.), so it’s nice to see a company looking into new ways to try and help the creators. Without creators, there wouldn’t be art and there wouldn’t be evolving technology either for that matter.
On the news of Eastman Kodak moving into the crypto-sphere, the company’s stock has taken off, mirroring the movement of other company stocks when announcing entrance into the blockchain sector. Currently, at the time of writing, Eastman Kodak stock is trading at $6.00 putting it up $2.90, or 93.55%, from the previous closing price of $3.10 and the stock is still actively moving. So far, the day’s trading has ranged from $3.05 to $6.65, while the market cap for the company went from $46.8 million to $251.6 million over the course of the day.
For an update on Kodak, click here.
Featured Image: twitter
