Limewire has come back… as an NFT marketplace

Disappointing comeback, truly.

Remember LimeWire? The program that you use to download that one Linkin Park song that would take a year to download? Remember the days when your computer would be infected by malware just so you downloaded music? Yep, those were the days. It was essentially the YouTube-to-MP3 downloader before they were a thing. Due to legal issues, LimeWire has shut down and now is reserved as a memory

Oh, wait no, it has come back. And it’s a comeback that’s unexpected and quite a disappointment in my eyes. It’s basically now an OpenSea competitor. It hasn’t even started and we’re already seeing it as if it will go downhill from here.

The company will officially relaunch this May. Two Austrian brothers Julian and Paul Zehetmayr have bought the intellectual property rights of LimeWire and restructured it so it would compete with niche marketplaces like OpenSea. If you live under a rock, NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens) is a term for a digital asset that keeps a record of ownership through a blockchain. Buying an NFT does not mean you have the rights to manipulate said digital property, it’s just that it’s now written on the blockchain that you now own it. In comparison to buying actual artwork, NFTs are less valuable simply because they can easily be copied over and over. Some even screenshotted NFTs and it would provide for a similar effect buying the digital good, all for free.

While LimeWire is now an NFT marketplace, the company will focus on their roots — music! It will let users buy and trade rare music items such as old recordings, limited edition records, unreleased demos, and digital merchandise.

Normally, NFT marketplaces use cryptocurrency like Ethereum to allow users to purchase NFTs. However, LimeWire is listing products using US Dollars. This will make it easier for those who have no knowledge on crypto to buy the NFT, and it also makes it quite flexible since US dollars are a generally accepted form of currency used everywhere in the United States. One downside is that it’s less secure. Users will be able to purchase tokens through credit cards.

As mentioned, the platform is expected to launch May of this year. If you’re interested, head over to the new LimeWire website and be part of the waiting list!

Source: CNBC