The new Limewire will not allow users to access copyrighted movies and music files, but instead, it will launch a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFT) technology.
Limewire to Return with an NFT Marketplace Platform
Limewire will make a comeback in May. The new owners of Limewire’s intellectual property (IP), plan to transform the platform into an NFT marketplace. Paul Zehetmayr and Julian Zehetmayr, brothers from Austria, own Limewire’s IP. The two have explained that they have been working in stealth mode on the platform. Limewire was nearly as popular as Napster, a file-sharing platform that was discontinued. Limewire software was downloaded millions of times worldwide during its peak.
After Napster’s collapse, Limewire was forced to close its doors. On October 26, 2010, U.S. Federal Court Judge Kimba Wood issued an injunction against Limewire. The record companies’ pressure, and specifically the court case Arista Records LLC against Lime Group LLC, led to the injunction. The Lime Group rights were purchased by the Zehetmayr brothers last year. However, the service will continue to be centered on music. Julian Zehetmayr, a member of the Zehetmayr brothers, said that the team had worked with Wyre. NFT prices will be listed in USD.
NFT enthusiasts who want to buy NFTs on the Limewire platform can use a credit card because Limewire has partnered with Wyre, a payment processor. Zehetmayr told the media that Tareef Michael is the manager of Wu-Tang Clan’s advisory board. Zehetmayr stated that the NFT market has a problem because most platforms are not centralized. Limewire’s executive said:
All the bitcoin exchanges make it easy to trade, buy and sell bitcoin. No one is doing it the same way in the NFT space.
Limewire’s Mainstream Brand Leveraging
CNBC reported that the Zehetmayr brothers stated that they have raised funds through other ventures, and Limewire was funded entirely by them. They are considering venture capital funding for this year, and plan to launch a Limewire-centric token. After the private sale, the crypto asset will first be sold to investors. Then the team will go public. The Zehetmayr brothers believe that they have a well-known brand.
Julian Zehetmayr stated, “We have obviously got this fantastic mainstream brand that everyone’s nostalgic about.” “We felt we had to create a mainstream user experience.”
