Arcona, a blockchain-based augmented reality (AR) platform, has closed its token sale. The project successfully raised over 3,000 ETH during its pre-ICO. The funds came from the European real estate companies, advertisement industry and crypto enthusiasts around the globe.

In Asia, Gatecoin, a Hong Kong based Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange became Arcona’s exclusive pre-ICO partner. “We chose Gatecoin as a partner both because of its impressive history and for security reasons,” said Ilya Korguzalov, Arcona’s co-founder. “It was not only the first exchange in the world to list Ethereum’s token, Ether (ETH) in August 2015, but also one of the first regulated money service operators in Hong Kong.”

This status of a money service operator requires Gatecoin to keep its own assets separate from its clients’ assets. One advantage is that in the case of bankruptcy, money service operators will be able to pay out funds belonging to clients.

As part of an agreement reached at the Asian Financial Forum (AFF 2018) in January, the Arcona token was hosted exclusively on Gatecoin. The project is holding ICO in April , 15 aiming to collect $25 mln.

Arcona integrates the virtual and real worlds, providing a link between an AR layer called the Digital Land and natural landmarks on the Earth’s surface. Investors can purchase land using the arcona token and landowners are protected by the Ethereum smart contract on the blockchain.

Owners can arrange their land as they please by building digital buildings, organizing events, shows and presentations, developing games and opening virtual stores. Arcona’s creator, Piligrim XXI, launched the world’s first AR park, a reconstructed Teutonic Knights’ castle, in Latvia in 2014. The company has now designed eight AR parks in France, Italy, Latvia, Estonia and Bulgaria.

Arcona has recently introduced a new set of algorithms that will allow for the creation of an AR layer called the Digital Land in the most popular tourist districts around the world by the end of 2018.

“Until recently, new AR projects were built on the basis of standard solutions offered by libraries for AR apps, such as OpenCV, and inherited their drawbacks,” said Dr. Alexander Emelyanov, R&D lead at Arcona. “Our algorithms, based on neural networks and artificial intelligence, allow for a much faster analysis of a huge amount of data and images to create the most accurate virtual impressions of any physical environment in real time.”

Digital Land is a truly revolutionary asset created at the crossroads of the most advanced and fast-growing AR and blockchain technologies. Thousands of people have already joined the Arcona community. They are excited to create a brave new world of mixed reality.

In the next few years Arcona users will be able to share thousands virtual excursions, training programs and AR ads. The company is a leading contributor to the development of the AR industry, including headsets and smartphones, and will change the structure of the market by expanding its reach around the globe.

The first digitized zones are expected to appear in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, Rome, Mexico City, St. Petersburg, Istanbul and Barcelona.

Participants of Arcona’s ICO, scheduled for April 15, 2018, will become the first Digital Land owners. The arcona token gives the right to all investors to buy and lease land plots, create their own AR projects and receive rewards for their creative work.