Bitcoin startup, Bitnplay is developing a new and innovative bitcoin-only online poker platform that it expects to launch in early 2015. The company aims to use the bitcoin blockchain to usher in a new age of poker with a fair, secure, decentralized and friendly environment for all online poker players.
Currently, online poker is constrained by the limitations of third-party risk, and the large-scale centralization of users’ funds, tied up in deposit accounts. Bitnplay plans to address this by using Bitcoin’s blockchain technology to eliminate any counter-party risk a player would traditionally have with an operator.
Speaking on their company vision, Bitnplay states,
Our vision is to decentralize online poker, and offer the first trust-free platform. You do not need to trust Bitnplay with managing your funds. Our payment system is revolutionary in its transparency, security and simplicity. On Bitnplay, there are no deposits required—buy-in to the tournament of your choice, directly through your Bitcoin wallet. Upon finishing the tournament, you’ll earn your winnings back to your wallet.
In order to fund its initial marketing campaign to promote Bitnplay, the company has announced a crowdsale on the Counterparty platform in which 200 tokens will be sold for two bitcoins a piece. Buying a token is as simple as creating a Counterwallet and sending two bitcoin from it to Bitnplay’s specified receiving address.
Those who participate in the crowdsale will receive added benefits of holding the Bitnplay token. Each of the 200 tokens will entitle its owner to 100% rakeback for life. In poker terminology ‘the rake’ is the service fee charged by the house for each hand played – this means the token effectively offers its owner the ability use Bitnplay without ever paying any fees.
As gambling continues to be a popular Bitcoin use case, Bitnplay hopes its service will extend crypto-gambling beyond dice and slots and into poker. Bitnplay is due to launch in February 2015.
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