Companies all over the world are suddenly looking to get involved with blockchain and cryptocurrency. This is an unexpected yet rather worrisome trend to contend with. When giants such as Kodak are suddenly planning to organize an ICO for their own cryptocurrency and set up a mining operation, you know the bubble is very real. Whether any of these ventures will be even remotely successful in the long run remains to be determined. The company’s goals are very ambitious, to say the very least.
What is Kodak up to These Days?
It seems a lifetime ago that people last heard anything significant about Kodak. Although the corporation had been successful throughout the decades, it almost went bankrupt in 2013. Ever since, it seems Kodak has been making far fewer headlines. That is not entirely surprising, but it’s good to know the company is still around and looking toward the future.
Big was people’s surprise when Kodak suddenly announced it wanted to develop its own cryptocurrency. After all, it seemingly makes very little sense for a company of this magnitude to enter this industry without any prior experience. At the same time, the company isn’t going about it alone, as it is partnering with London-based Wenn Media Group. Although specifics regarding this currency remain hard to come by, we do know that an initial coin offering will be organized at some point in the future.
Furthermore, the camera giant also wants to enter the world of cryptocurrency mining. Again, this announcement shocked a lot of people, as Kodak seemingly has no business getting involved in the mining industry at this point in time. Nevertheless, the company will install a few Bitcoin mining rigs at its Rochester headquarters. This initiative is known as the Kodak KashMiner, and it seems to be mainly focused on promoting Bitcoin and creating more interest in the company’s shares.
Moreover, Kodak wants to let customers rent Bitcoin mining power using these units. That in itself is a pretty interesting decision, as the company will effectively operate some sort of cloud mining business, by the look of things. The images which have surfaced so far seemingly indicate the company has been buying Antminer’s S9 hardware and slapping its own logo on it. It’s a remarkable approach, although it will be interesting to see how this mining venture plays out in the long run. Kodak certainly is a reputable name, but it has little experience when it comes to cryptocurrencies.
It is evident that any company’s stock can soar in value when it announces something blockchain-related. One could easily argue that all of this is evidence of a major bubble surrounding cryptocurrency and blockchain right now. When mainstream companies suddenly feel the need to get involved in this industry, things have taken a rather interesting turn.
With the KashMiner and KodakCoin plans on the table, the big question is how things will play out for this company. Entering the cryptocurrency mining business appears to be the riskier of the two ventures, as it requires a lot of specific knowledge. Hosting an ICO is not without risks either, depending on how the SEC wants to label the new tokens. Rest assured both of these plans will take some time to come to fruition, even though they both present exciting opportunities.