In November 2015, when one bitcoin cost $400, the general manager of J.P. Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, stated that this currency will not survive. Two years later, its price reached $10,000. “Digital gold” has risen more than 20 times. This is a fantastic increase in capitalization. And behind it stands a community of crypto-enthusiasts with their own philosophy and unique technology, the benefits of which go far beyond the currency market.

Blockchain technology enables commercial contracts, patents, insurance policies and even marriages. Georgia, almost a year ago, abandoned paper work and registers land ownership through smart contracts. Microsoft is developing a digital identification system based on blockchain, and the EU parliament is going to use this technology in elections.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the augmented reality is starting to use blockchain too. The development potential of AR is comparable to that of cryptomarket. Marketers from “CCS Insight” predict that the annual sales of AR and VR headsets will reach 99 million units with revenue of $ 11.9 billion by 2021. This means that at the beginning of the next decade, users will have hundreds of millions of headsets, not counting billions of smartphones.

The integration of two such mass and popular technologies (AR and blockchain) has an explosive potential. Of course, today, on the wave of hype, not all projects manage to make full use of this advantage. For example, imagine a mobile AR game like Pokemon Go. The use of AR here is clear: it enriches the gameplay. And what about blockchain? Just for crowdfunding? Another example is the system for storage and distribution of 3D models, the developers of which emphasize the use of augmented reality. Monetizing the work of content creators with the help of crypto-currency is a good goal. Nevertheless, mentioning the AR here seems strange. 3D-content is universal, there are no obvious benefits for augmented reality. Blockchain is the financial basis of relationships between sellers and customers, but the word “AR” is added here just to raise popularity.

However, a competent combination of blockchain and AR can ensure the success of any quality product. Thus, creating the Arcona platform, we were using our 4+ experience in the market of augmented reality and a thorough analysis of all the opportunities that blockchain opens for global multi-user projects.

The very concept of the ecosystem was born from the idea of ​​decentralization. Blockchain is an integral part of the platform, since the smart contract is the guarantee of distributed ownership and management of digital territories. The Arcona augmented reality layer, as well as the real earth, is divided into many plots in different parts of the world. Some of them are in the property, others in the lease, others remain in the system for the implementation of test and infrastructure projects. Check the status of each site, track the legitimacy of its use — this is a very complex task, which is made easy thanks to blockchain registries. Moreover, the system becomes transparent with uniform and clear rules for all participants.

The internal arcona token provides free circulation of content and services between users from different countries. It eliminates endless exchange transactions and guarantees the reliability of transactions.

And most importantly, the blockchain protocols reliably protect the intellectual property of software developers and artists who create content for Arcona. This is an opportunity to earn on their creativity. Each product is automatically assigned authorship, and the artist himself sets the price for his work. Instant and open payment system excludes any attempt to dishonestly use the content and get out of the system any intermediaries.

The Arcona ecosystem is a whole universe of augmented reality. A variety of projects will run on its Digital Lands: games and shops, travel and educational services, art entertainment and advertising shows. And this means that people of any creative professions will find new jobs here: creators of 3D models and animators, writers and copywriters, programmers and SMM-specialists. And the blockchain technology will be a guarantee of their copyrights and earnings.

And what about the user? What he gets from Arcona? The incredible experience of interaction with augmented reality anywhere in the world. And all he needs is just a standard smartphone, supporting AR, and a universal ecosystem application. This is the portal to the world of Digital Lands, where the most exciting adventures created by the participants of the platform await him. Additionally, having Arcona tokens, the user can make purchases in local digital stores, take part in games and competitions and get additional system services.

Basic Arcona solutions will appear as early as 2018. Within a few months, a special SDK and beta version of the user application on ARKit (iOS) and ARCore (Android) will be published. The release of a full-featured digital world will be held in 2019. This timeframe was premeditated. Both technologies — augmented reality and blockchain — will need another couple of years to take root in the consumer horizon. By this time, the market of crypto currency will be more settled, with a lot of failed projects from the first wave of ICO. Confidence, backed by reasonable use of technology, will allow Arcona to occupy the niche which, until now, was only used for experiments.