Esports platform Plair completes $22 million ICO

If you’ve never heard of Plair, this is just the right time to learn a little more about this epic platform – it’s a decentralised gaming platform built on the VeChain blockchain. That in and of itself would be pretty cool, but given that the platform just achieved over $22 million with its initial coin offering, and in just a month, there is clearly more at work here.

The Hong-Kong based company behind it aims to create a platform for users, in order to allow amateurs easier interactions with content. The decentralised nature of the system means that transactions are safe and completely transparent, preventing misuse or fraud.

The currency used will be the Plair tokens – they can be earned and used in a variety of different ways, including through playing games, taking on sponsor challenges, referrals and so on. In the future, additional ways of acquiring and spending these tokens will be added – they will mostly focus around supporting the network.

Launched at the end of October, Plair sold out and distributed its tokens just at the end of last week, leading to the successful completion of its funding round. The platform is going to launch in Alpha March next year, so you won’t have to wait too long to see it in action. Full release will take a little longer – the project road-map is set out until the end of 2021 at the moment.

© Plair

As for what it will actually do – the plan is to combine features from existing platforms into one comprehensive one. This includes features from Discord, Twitch and even Steam. The end-goal is to allow users to join esports tournaments, share and create content and interact with community members in a decentralised gaming environment within the blockchain ecosystem.

For now, Plair’s scope includes 1v1 tournaments as well as team-based competitions for games like Dota 2, League of Legends, CS:GO, PUBG and Fortnite. The tournaments will be paid for and fueled by tokens – the first lot of which has already been distributed to participants.

Plair isn’t just relying on token sales for its funding though – as if $22 million wasn’t enough, they are also partnering with various other companies and big names to aid them in their goal of creating the best possible gaming platform. One such partner is Bitrep – a platform that connects influencers with brands – with the goal of easing their way into esports as a company. Other partners and investors include several big names such as Alphabit, IDG Capital and Spark Capital.

VeChain, the blockchain the platform will be based on is plenty big already – it has a $408 market cap and, at the time of writing this article, it is the 20^th largest coin among large-cap cryptocurrencies. That’s a pretty solid footing for the new platform.

Don’t worry if you didn’t participate in the initial ICO – there will be plenty of opportunities to invest and take part later down the line. A demo of the platform has already been released, demonstrating some of its features.