To fund the project, the company plans to launch an ICO pre-sale on November 6th, opening up its tokens for pre-sale to the Aptoide community and other exclusive groups.

Aptoide App Store, the social Android app store, announces the launch of AppCoins, the first open and distributed protocol for App Stores, creating a new currency within the App economy: AppCoins (APPC). The blockchain based protocol will be integrated into Aptoide’s App Store to serve its 200 million users, and can be adopted by app stores using any operating system.

First App Store To Completely Run On The Blockchain, Using Ethereum

Following the Initial Coin Offering (ICO), AppCoins, a new cryptocurrency that users can earn and spend in app stores will become available to anyone visiting the Aptoide App Store. Users will also be able to transfer AppCoins to each other, increasing purchasing possibilities and incentives for users to discover and enjoy apps. Users will be incentivized to engage with advertising to earn currency, allowing the world’s 2 billion individuals without online payment methods to make in-app purchases.

Once the AppCoins protocol is implemented, it can be adopted by any app store – regardless of its operating system. The protocol creates a new shared ecosystem among all app stores, powered by the blockchain and a new framework within which App Stores can choose to operate.

For developers, the model removes any payment or advertisement intermediaries, promising greater returns on investment and increasing the monetization potential. Additionally, all information is stored on the blockchain, where app developers’ reputations are built through their transactional history across app stores. This eliminates the current opacity around app approval across different stores.

The protocol addresses the app economy’s shortcomings, offering an overall safer and more transparent system which benefits app stores, users and developers. Today only 5% of smartphone users are making in-app purchases (IAP), buying third-party apps or products through native advertising. AppCoins removes any barriers to entry for users and developers alike, by offering a universal language and tackling the ecosystem’s three main issues: inefficiencies within the advertising models, inaccessibility of in-app purchases and lack of transparency in the app approval process.

“Aptoide has been working on decentralizing the app economy for the past 5 years,” said Ren Tang, VP of Product at Aptoide. “Today, with blockchain technology and smart contracts, we can unlock all potential value in app distribution and app monetization for developers. By reducing Adtech intermediaries, AppCoins only takes a 15% cut on developer benefits, compared to an industry average ranging from 40 to 70%.”

With AppCoins, Aptoide becomes the first app store run completely on the blockchain, using the Ethereum platform. It offers a new app environment believed to create an entirely new app ecosystem. The app ecosystem is one of the fastest growing online space today and set to reach over 6 billion users and 5.4€ trillion in revenue by 2021.

“Our vision at Aptoide is to create a decentralized solution that will disrupt the current model, offering greater choice and value for app developers, app store owners and users alike,” said Paulo Trezentos, Aptoide CEO. “With today’s launch, we are taking a major step in that direction. AppCoins is set to profoundly change the app economy as we know it today, by offering a radically new environment to create and consume apps at scale.”

Aptoide ICO Pre-Sale Starts November 6

To raise funds for the new cryptocurrency venture, Aptoide will launch an ICO pre-sale on November 6th 2017 live from the Web Summit in Lisbon, opening up 12% of the total number of AppCoin tokens to investors. During the pre-sale phase which runs from November 6th 2017 00:00 UTC to November 15th 2017 23:59 UTC, members of the Aptoide community and other exclusive groups will get the chance to buy the first AppCoin tokens. Through the pre-sale alone, Aptoide plans to raise 24€ million by the end of the Web Summit.

Aptoide’s fundraising exercise is the first ever ICO in Portugal, as this new approach rapidly becomes the main avenue for startups to raise money from users. ICO fundings hit a record 690€ million in Q2 2017 and recently surpassed early stage venture capital funding.

Launched in 2011 by Paulo Trezentos and Alvaro Pinto, Aptoide has 200 million users and 4 billion downloads to date. The company raised 862.000€ in Seed funding from Portugal Ventures (2013) and 3.4€ million Series A financing by e.Ventures, Gobi Partners & Golden Gate Ventures (2016).

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