Xcad Network, the platform that provides people with the tools to become successful content creators across YouTube and other social media channels, has announced that it has raised $3,900,000 (£2,800,000) in a private round, led by blockchain technology and venture builder Zilliqa. Following high demand from investors that included venture capital firms LD Capital, Genesis Block Ventures and AU21 Capital, the funding was capped at a valuation of $20 million (£14.5 million). Funds were also raised by the DAO Maker launchpad where registrations for a single project reached a record high on the platform.
The capital will be used to build a DeFi plugin for YouTube, allowing content creators to tokenise themselves and earn rewards from their content, while also enabling viewers to earn rewards from watching videos and engaging with the content. A new NFT marketplace will also be built allowing content creators to make their own NFTs in one click, which can then be traded.
Oliver Bell, CEO and co-founder of Xcad Network, said: The unprecedented interest from investors, YouTubers and our community shows that the Xcad Network will see considerable demand from content creators and viewers of content, as it monetises people’s usage by rewarding their engagement.
“This is an exciting step in Xcad’s journey to becoming an integral part of YouTube that will allow YouTubers to monetise their content above and beyond what they can already do. By creating an environment where both content creators and viewers can monetise their engagement, we expect to see an explosion of activity from both new aspiring YouTubers as well as established ones.”
The new enhancements will allow for greater engagement amongst YouTubers and their viewers, with the ability to monetise activity via a tokenised economy that rewards users for popular content and viewer loyalty. The YouTubers will become part of an ecosystem that will reward content creators according to various criteria such as subscriber size, views and watch time. NTFs will also become an integral part of the ecosystem, allowing users to create unique memorabilia that people can buy and trade amongst each other.
How does it work?
The Xcad Network technology will act as a plugin for YouTube users and monetisation will be powered by the DeFi ecosystem’s XCAD token.
When a YouTuber joins the Xcad Network, which is achieved by applying to Xcad Network’s governance portal, a fixed amount of creator tokens will be minted and a portion of the tokens are assigned to the creator and vested until they hit performance milestones. YouTubers will be able to track and analyse their token value at the website
Joel Morris, co-founder of Xcad Network and a YouTuber with over 2.5 million subscribers said: “As a YouTuber myself, I know how inconsistent monetisation can be. Due to being at the mercy of advertisers and YouTube itself, earnings can dramatically change month on month. Xcad Network provides a clear roadmap and is something content creators can rely upon, providing their performance hits their milestones. The benefits to watch time and increasing engagement and loyalty of viewers makes it a win-win for creators and viewers.”
