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Live streaming services, where content creators can broadcast their talents to a worldwide live audience, have taken social media by storm in recent years. By 2022, it’s expected that up to 82% of all internet traffic will be video-based, most of which will be live-streamed content.

Andy Tian, CEO of Gifto and Asia Innovations Group In Asia, the popularity of live-streaming services is sky-high. User demand for live-streaming platforms is expected to grow the industry to over US$71 billion by 2023 in the Asian markets alone.

Despite this, monetizing live streaming services has remained particularly problematic, especially when attempting to make payments fair and transparent for content creators.

Blokt caught up with Andy Tian who is the CEO of Gifto and Asia Innovations Group, a blockchain project that is challenging current content creation monetization models, to discuss what makes virtual gifting such a unique value proposition, and find out Gifto’s vision for the future.

Creating the Gifto Protocol Established in Taiwan in 2017, Gifto is a decentralized virtual gifting protocol, which incentivizes its users to buy and send gifts to content creators worldwide. By building a large pool of content creators, Gifto aims to be the world’s most widely-used application token.

Gifto is accomplishing this by making it fun and simple for mainstream internet users to acquire and use GTO, the native token of the Gifto platform, in popular social and streaming apps; especially to reward content creators through virtual and e-commerce gifts.

On what makes the Gifto unique, Tian explains:

“We’re different from most projects in that we’re backed by the Asia Innovations Group, the company behind Uplive, a global live streaming platform with over 100 million users, so we already have the user base to drive mass adoption with.”

Gifto aims to take the current gifting model within its popular live streaming partner app Uplive, and implement it across platforms globally, including on huge industry giants like Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat.

Current Flaws in Content Monetization Although there are currently ways for online creatives and talented content creators to monetize their content online, Gifto believes that most current models of content monetization are flawed.

Of Regarding the current monetization models, Tian comments:

“Simply put, it’s impossible for most content creators, even fairly popular ones, to make a consistent living from their outstanding shared content.”

Instead, Tian explains, most content creators are heavily dependent on view-based advertising revenue from streaming platforms such as YouTube. As these platforms reward content creators with the largest audiences in a merit-based system, the algorithms which dictate monetization make it very difficult for creatives who are just starting out.

Platforms such as Instagram and YouTube generate high revenue and profit margins through their content creators, while only significantly rewarding the top percentile of their content publishers.

Explaining how Gifto is different, Tian says:

“Gifto’s virtual gifting in UpLive not only rewards content creators, but deepens the connection between fans and creatives, by making gifting fun and memorable.”

So, what is virtual gifting with Gifto, and how exactly does it differ from traditional content monetization?

The Gifto Token (GTO) The Gifto token (GTO) is the native token of the Gifto Protocol, and features especially highly within the Gifto Wallet, a user-friendly web wallet integrated into Uplive, Gifto’s Universal Gifting protocol, the Giftomon blockchain collectibles game, and the CoinUP Network.

Explaining how Gifto works on the Uplive platform, Tian says:

“Users can send an animation to their favorite broadcaster, and the content creator will receive 80% of the cost of the animated gift deposited directly to their Gifto wallet, in the form of Gifto tokens.”

As blockchain based Gifto transactions incur lower fees than the pre-existing virtual currency of Uplive, called ‘uDiamonds,’ it has been successfully integrated as a superior transfer of value from the audience to the broadcaster.

The Gifto token is currently listed on major crypto exchanges such as Binance, Bittrex, OKEx, Bithumb, UpBit and more.

Universal Gifting with Gifto Virtual Gifts are essentially tokens of appreciation, sent to support artists and content creators for their work. Instead of creators asking for donations, or trying to monetize their channels through adverts as is currently common, creatives can instead use Gifto’s virtual gifts to receive tangible value for their content.

Types of Virtual Gifts Virtual gifts come in many shapes and sizes, and also – many values. Users can buy virtual gifts, and send them to their favorite content creators.

Gifts include animated virtual gifts, 3D gifts, or gifts which have a special theme. Eventually, the Gifto wallet will also support the gifting of virtually anything that can be gifted online, for example, gift cards, or limited-edition digital collectibles.

Most importantly, with blockchain technology integration, virtual gifts have intrinsic value as non-fungible assets, tied to the value of the Gifto token.

Content creators can then view their virtual gifts including the fan who sent them, and if they choose, turn the gifts into Gifto tokens to trade on secondary markets. Through the Gifto Wallet, creators can spend their GTO from gifts on entertainment apps, or real products via Gifto’s e-commerce plugin, which is currently being tested for Taiwanese users.

Commenting on the viability of the virtual gifting business model, Tian adds:

“Virtual gifting is a proven business model popular in live streaming. Uplive brought in over $122 million during 2018, mostly from tens of millions of virtual items gifted by Uplive users to streamers each month.”

Tian also added that virtual gifting is more than just a form of monetization, it’s fun too – as users aren’t just giving money, but personalized gifts.

Multi-Platform Gifting Gifto is aiming to allow virtual gifting on any social, sharing, or streaming platform, including existing social media giants like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram.

Asked how Gifto will integrate with existing platforms, Tian explains:

“Our virtual gifting is powered by the Gifto wallet, which is web-based and works across platforms. Content creators simply send a link to their Gift Dashboard to receive gifts, regardless of platform.”

Tian added that Gifto is constantly exploring ways to make gifting easier for users, including by adding more fiat top-up options for its users.

Uplive will be one of the first streaming platforms to integrate Gifto Giftomon – Crypto Collectibles Giftomon is another element of the Gifto protocol, and was the first cryptocurrency based online collectibles game, reaching several thousand daily average users.

Giftomon allows users to spend GTO to train Giftomon creatures and compete in battles to acquire more GTOs, which has proven to be a successful proof of concept for GTO holders to develop their holdings while testing the network.

On developing Giftomon, Tian remarks:

“Becoming one of the first highly engaging games for the crypto-community taught us a lot about what users really want out of blockchain in their games, and Giftomon will benefit from further development of the Gifto Wallet and our collectibles infrastructure”

Gifto’s Outlook for the Future Moving forward, Gifto has a detailed roadmap for the future and a positive view of the wider blockchain industry.

Commenting on the crypto bear-market through most of 2018, Tian says:

“Overall we’re happy to see that a lot of the noise has died down as crypto markets have gone through a correction, with real projects deployed and usable tech, such as the Gifto Wallet, getting more of the attention.”

Tian continues that despite this, some of the major challenges for the widespread adoption of cryptos, such as regulatory issues or risk aversion by payment gateways, remain major barriers for new capital and new users entering crypto among many jurisdictions.

On navigating cryptocurrency regulation, Tian explains:

“Like many projects, this has impacted our roadmap, but we are pioneers and see several paths forward for mainstream adoption. For example, we expect our strategic partnership with InfiniteX Exchange in Australia will open up new fiat-to-Gifto gateways for mainstream users.”

Gifto believes that by facilitating the easy purchase of crypto for everyone, it can drive adoption, and make it easier for content creators and fans to send and receive unique gifts.

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Is Coinbase Going the Binance Way With Plans of IEO and STO Platforms?

Is the BNB Token a security or a utility token? It’s a question that Binance appears keen to answer, if a recent blog post and a new hashtag, #UseBNB, are anything to go by.

In the post, Binance published an exploration of its multiple use-cases for BNB, which already number over 120 in total.

In SIMETRI’s recently-updated BNB report, researchers highlighted that the number of use cases had “increased substantially”: although BNB began as a means to receive discounted trading fees, it cam now be used throughout the Binance ecosystem as well as with dozens of external providers.

“Since its inception, BNB has increasingly developed its functions and use cases, and has cemented its role as one of the most widely-used utility tokens in the blockchain space,” said a Binance spokesperson.

“BNB has been added and applied in various use cases, both within and beyond the Binance ecosystem.”

BNB can now be used in multiple products including a lending platform, derivatives, margin trading, staking program and futures. The Binance Chain ecosystem has also expanded dramatically, and with it, opportunities for BNB holders to participate in payments across many merchants.

Among the use-cases detailed by Binance in the post:

Merchant payments with BNB. People can pay for goods and services in BNB via TravelbyBit or Pundi X merchant POS systems around the world. In the last month, about 12% of the merchant transactions were in BNB via TravelbyBit POS system. Traveling with BNB. On travel booking platforms such as TravelbyBit and Trip.io, people can use BNB to pay for hotels and flight bookings. On TravelbyBit alone, more than US$700,000 worth flights and hotels were booked between 2018 and 2019. Buying virtual gifts. People can use BNB to pay for virtual gifts on websites such as Gifto. Hiring freelancers. Using platforms like CanWork (with the CanYa coin), you can hire freelancers and pay the fees in BNB. Earning in-game rewards. Get rewarded or pay in BNB for games on VIBEHub Buying property. Pay for real estate assets using BNB on property listing websites such as Propy. Storing BNB using major smartphones. You can store and use BNB through built-in wallets on some of the latest smartphones from Samsung and HTC. But why now discuss BNB utility now? Reading between the lines, Binance seems to be looking to avoid a security classification in the US for BNB.

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Following a recent no-fault agreement between EOS and the SEC, which resulted in a $24M fine, it could be argued that Binance sees this as the perfect time to illustrate that it’s grown into a genuine network in which the BNB token drives true utility beyond speculation.

In a report published late last year, eToro’s senior market analyst, Mati Greenspan, wrote that the coin “may contain elements of a Security Token” and although he accepted the coin had certain utilities, he pointed out that the “value of BNB is tied to the performance of the company” with the token burn process comparable to a stock buyback.

Although the contraction in supply may be intended to reduce the concentration of BNB ownership, SIMETRI researchers also suggested that it “may actually increase the likelihood of BNB being considered a security in the US, as token holders directly profit from Binance’s actions.”

However, SIMETRI analysts also noted that utility alone is not the only element examined the by the SEC: the DAO Report represented a watershed moment for cryptocurrency offerings in the USA: those that came before its issuance on July 25th 2017 appear to have been treated more leniently than those that ignored its findings: Binance’s BNB token was offered prior to the DAO Report.

Marc Powers, a partner at BakerHostetler who specializes in blockchain and securities law, told Crypto Briefing that “It was not an active ICO at the time of the SEC report, which to me is critical in analyzing which ICOs the SEC will likely give a pass on unregistered securities offerings.”

EOS, it should be noted, continued to conduct their ICO after the DAO Report guidance.

Binance And The US Market Binance has always been sensitive to the US market. It designed its Binance.US platform, which only opened last month, to be fully compliant with the country’s strict securities laws; seeking approval from state financial regulators, and listing coins that appear likely be classified as utility tokens under American law.

In September, the exchange announced its dollar-backed stablecoin in the U.S, which received regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services.

In addition, unlike many tokens that the SEC has taken action against, Binance does not appear to have explicitly promoted BNB as a speculative asset: the white paper does not mention the possibility that it might rise in value; and it has already been listed on Binance.US – operated by BAM Trading Services.

Against the backdrop of turning Binance.US from a toehold into a major subsidiary, the publication of a report delineating every one of BNB’s use cases appears designed to hone their argument that BNB is not a security.

Should the SEC concur, the exchange will be able to begin introducing all of its other services, through its subsidiary, to the American market.

What does this all mean? It’s no secret that the exchange game isn’t as big as it used to be. Trading volumes are a shadow of what they used to be in 2017, meaning many platforms have taken a hit to their profits.

In a saturated market, providers, including Binance, have generally attempted to diversify their offerings, such as by adding derivatives or lending facilities.

Today’s development shows a new tactic on display: by looking to disarm regulatory intervention in the US, Binance is seeking to capture and hold onto a prize markets

Binance has always had a reputation for outflanking its competitors.

Focusing on the utility of the BNB token shows they’re still working to build the world’s #1 crypto ecosystem.

The full BNB Token Digital Asset Report Update by SIMETRI is available without charge.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Paddy Baker. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao made international news headlines recently when he announced he was issuing his own cryptocurrency, the PAC token. Now, the PAC token is following the 2019 crypto crowdfunding trend by engaging in an initial exchange offering (IEO), courtesy of Singaporean exchange GCOX. The sale will open on November 12.

Pacquiao initially declared his intentions to release a digital token at a free concert for fans in Manila during early September. In between serenading his fans with love songs, the boxer informed them that they could soon buy his merchandise and interact with him on social media using the PAC token.

At this point in 2019, conducting an IEO is a well-proven method of drumming up support and interest in a project. Although Binance first kicked off the trend back in 2017 with IEOs for Bread and Gifto, it was in the first quarter of this year that the idea really took hold. The high-profile launch of Bittorrent ignited a new era of crowdfunding, with a reported $3.4 billion now raised through IEOs to date.

An Exchange for Celebrity Tokens Although many exchanges now offer the opportunity for projects to launch their tokens via an IEO, GCOX provides a slightly different twist on the average launchpad. The exchange is the first to offer an IEO platform specifically for celebrities wanting to launch their own digital currencies. Although Pacquiao is one of the first to blaze a trail in this regard, it seems that there are others likely to follow, with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki and singer Jason Derulo reportedly set to follow in his footsteps.

GCOX is providing a full suite of services for these “celebrity tokens” which includes the creation and listing of tokens on the exchange itself. It will also allow fans to trade their tokens for products such as branded merchandise, or services including exclusive live streaming of events, or shout-outs on social media. There will also be a service whereby fans can donate to charitable causes endorsed by their favorite celebrities, with funds allocated on the blockchain for added transparency and security.

Old Concept, New Twist Although it seems like a novel idea, a celebrity-backed cryptocurrency isn’t necessarily so much a new idea as the next iteration in the long and successful marriage of celebrities and merchandise. All the way back in 1850, the “Greatest Showman” P.T. Barnum was promoting a Swedish opera singer named Jenny Lind with branded clothing, including gloves and bonnets.

This evolved into the ubiquity of band tour t-shirts, and then into celebrity-brand partnership, such as Nike and Michael Jordan. Eventually, the advent of social media introduced a digital element to the idea of celebrity branding and endorsements, ushering in the age of the influencer. Now, with the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies and all the possibilities that blockchain brings, celebrity-branded tokens seem to be the inevitable next step of this evolution.

Of course, Pacquiao isn’t the first celebrity to jump on the crypto train – or even the first boxer for that matter. The SEC fined Floyd Mayweather last year for having promoted scam ICO Centratech in exchange for $100,000.

However, other celebrities have made more successful forays into the space. Rapper Akon has launched his own cryptocurrency and blockchain-based ecosystem called Akoin. Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher operates his own investment company for blockchain startups, and Lionel Messi has served as brand ambassador for Sirin Labs, the Israeli blockchain phone producer.

That said, Manny Pacquiao is one of the first to market with his own branded cryptocurrency token. GCOX clearly believes in the long-term potential of celebrity tokens. If Pacquiao and GCOX make a success of the endeavor, then other celebrities may start to follow the lead. Based on the long and successful history of celebrity branding, it’s entirely possible that celebrity tokens end up being one of the next big trends in crypto.

Binance, a leading cryptocurrency exchange has announced plans to remove Gifto (GFT), IRISnet (IRIS), SelfKey (KEY), OAX (OAX), and Ren (REN) from all trading pairs. The decision follows a routine review to ensure listed assets maintain high standards and meet evolving industry requirements.

The announcement has triggered 25 to 40% price drops for the affected tokens. The exchange remains committed to fostering a secure and transparent trading environment, adapting to dynamic market and regulatory conditions.

Binance to Remove GFT, IRIS, KEY, OAX, and REN Binance announced on November 26 that it would delist multiple tokens, including Gifto (GFT), IRISnet (IRIS), SelfKey (KEY), OAX (OAX), and Ren (REN). This announcement triggered a 25 to 40% decline in the prices of these coins as traders rushed to liquidate their positions, fearing further losses.

The impacted pairs, such as GFT/USDT, IRIS/USDT, KEY/USDT, OAX/BTC, OAX/USDT, REN/BTC, and REN/USDT, will cease trading as of the scheduled cutoff. One of the top crypto exchanges has warned users that pending orders will be automatically canceled once trading ends. Furthermore, deposits for these tokens will not be credited to accounts after the delisting date, while withdrawals will cease after February 2025.

This decision follows Binance’s routine asset review process, which evaluates factors like trading volume, project development, and network stability. The move reflects its commitment to maintaining high listing standards while adapting to shifting market conditions. Traders holding these tokens are encouraged to act before the delisting deadline to avoid potential disruptions in their portfolios.

Price Movements and Volume Trends Amid Delisting Following the Binance delisting announcement, prices of affected cryptocurrencies have seen significant drops. Gifto (GFT) is currently trading at $0.01212, down 32% in the past 24 hours. Its 24-hour low and high range from $0.01176 to $0.01814. IRISnet (IRIS) dropped to $0.01058, crashing 36% since the announcement. Its 24-hour low reached $0.009892, and the high hit $0.01735.

SelfKey (KEY) has dropped 30% in 24 hours, trading at $0.002651, with a range of $0.002565 to $0.004157. OAX has also suffered a 31% drop, now at $0.114, with its low at $0.1096 and high at $0.1692. Ren (REN) is priced at $0.03942, down 32%. Its 24-hour range is $0.0352 to $0.05911. Despite this drop, Ren has gained 15% over the past month.

Binance’s delisting decision triggered a broader market sell-off. Investors reacted quickly, causing significant price drops across multiple tokens.

Binance delisting sends five tokens tumbling 40% 

Allegations surfaced against Gifto’s team for secretly minting 1.2 billion tokens, doubling the supply a day after Binance announced GFT’s delisting.

Concerns over Gifto’s transparency intensified this week as market dynamics shifted abruptly following a controversial move by the project’s team. The price of Gifto (GFT) plunged 35% on Thursday, Nov. 28, following allegations that the token’s supply was abruptly doubled, just a day after Binance announced plans to delist the asset.

It was announced that Binance would delist GFT on Nov 26, 2024.

A few hours ago the Gifto team minted another 1.2B GFT on BSC which more than doubled the total supply.

GFT was then deposited to Kucoin, MEXC HTX, Bitget, Binance, OKX, & Gate.

Binance… pic.twitter.com/buvG9l88Yc

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) November 28, 2024 In an X post, blockchain sleuth ZachXBT revealed that the Gifto team quietly minted 1.2 billion in new GFT tokens on BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain), increasing the total supply to over 2.2 billion. The newly minted tokens were subsequently deposited on multiple exchanges, including KuCoin, OKX, Gate.io, and Binance itself, as well as MEXC, HTX, and Bitget.

As of press time, Gifto had not issued a public statement, with its most recent X post dated Nov. 24, two days before Binance announced GFT’s delisting. In a press release, Binance said that GFT and four other tokens would be delisted by Dec. 10 due to concerns over development activity, liquidity, and project commitment.

Founded in 2017 by Andy Tian, Gifto is a blockchain protocol focused on digital gifting and content monetization. In January 2023, the decentralized cross-chain IDO platform Poolz invested $2.5 million in Gifto tokens to back its updated roadmap. A month later, reports emerged that Tian had passed away suddenly at the age of 47. The project’s official X account remained silent on the matter, leaving questions about leadership and the project’s future unresolved.

The GFT token is down 75% in the last seven days.

Gifto, a blockchain-based gifting platform, has come under severe scrutiny on social media following its move to mint and dump 1.2 billion GFT tokens, worth approximately $8.6 million, after Binance announced that it would delist the token.

On November 29th, Binance announced that it had suspended GFT token deposits on the platform and would delist it entirely by December 3rd, citing potential security issues with the GFT smart contract.

“To protect users, deposits for Gifto (GFT) were suspended on 2024-11-29 due to a potential security issue involving the GFT smart contract. Binance may reopen deposits for GFT if it is deemed to be safe, but no separate announcement will be issued,” Binance said.

The announcement caused GFT’s price to fall by around 25%. The token is down 32% in the past 24 hours and 75.29% in the last week.

GFT PriceAftermath of the DelistingAs expected, the Binance delisting announcement triggered a wave of panic selling among GFT holders, causing its price to fall by around 25%.

However, the real drama began when Lookonchain, a blockchain analyst, revealed that the GFT team had potentially dumped massive amounts of its own token.

In an X post, Lookonchain said that the Gifto team minted 1.2 billion GFT tokens worth $8.6 million and deposited them into various crypto exchanges, causing the token to drop by 40%.

At the time of writing, the Gifto team has not commented on the matter.