Atari is the latest company to turn to cryptocurrency. The game making company will introduce two new tokens, the Atari Token and the Pong Token. Atari will also invest in cryptocurrency and other blockchain enterprises. According to Bloomberg, the company’s stock rose by 60% following the announcement.
A giant in the gaming industry back in the day, Atari is responsible for iconic games like Tetris and Pac man which are still very popular today. It’s not the only company who used to be a big name in other industries but now looks to benefit from the crypto boom.
Kodak is another example of a company who used to be a big deal in the past which shifted to cryptocurrency. Kodak recently unveiled plans for their platform which will use their own crypto token known as the KodakCoin. Atari will be taking a similar path.
The famous game company recently announced its plans for investing in a company that will be building a blockchain based entertainment platform. They also announced the expansion of the casino gaming partnership with Pariplay, which will allow people to gamble using cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrency that’ll be used for gambling will be called the Pong Token. Atari will release details regarding the token soon.
Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from Atari’s announcement was the Atari Token. This unique token will be a cryptocurrency that will work with digital gaming platforms. How will a company like Atari get their own cryptocurrency?
Atari has acquired a minority stake in infinity networks which develops decentralized blockchain technology for digital entertainment platforms.
Thus, Atari’s working with the right people for something which could possibly make cryptocurrency even more accessible to the regular user.
For now, Atari hasn’t released many details regarding both of its crypto tokens, so we’ll have to wait and see what they come up with.
“Blockchain technology is poised to take a very important place in our environment and to transform, if not revolutionize, the current economic ecosystem, especially in the areas of the vide game industry and online transactions,” commented Atari Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Frederic Chesnais. “Our aim is to take strategic positions with a limited cash risk, in order to best create value with the assets and the Atari brand,” he finished.“
Following the company’s announcement, shares of the company started skyrocketing in price. Last year, Atari’s shares were valued between 0.2 and 0.4 Euros. After the announcement, they had reached 0.9 Euros. Increased investment towards the company will only help the company in marching forward in its new direction, which might turn out to be a win-win for everyone.
Given that the shares of other companies that decided to take a new direction towards crypto rose exponentially, Atari’s latest announcement isn’t surprising at all. The company did make some headlines recently when it announced a new console and a new hat which would have built-in Bluetooth speakers. However, the console was delayed and it hasn’t been mentioned since.
Therefore, it’s safe to assume that Atari’s plans for gaming aren’t working out that well and it’s time to explore new things. The crypto boom has helped many companies get a second chance. Already mentioned Kodak is one of them, another one is Long Island Iced Tea Corp which is now known as Long Blockchain corp.
Thanks to many firms turning towards blockchain and cryptocurrency for different purposes, cryptocurrency is becoming more and more mainstream. This will eventually be beneficial in the long run as it helps cryptocurrency gain more legitimacy as a proper form of currency being used for real transactions. Atari’s gambling token will introduce even more people to the cryptocurrency market.
It remains to be seen how Atari does all of this since details haven’t been released. However, it’s only a matter of time before we find out.