First Blood Technologies
A platform that lets eSports players challenge each other in the field and win rewards.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor | €0.0 | round |
| N/A | €0.0 | round | |
* | N/A | - | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
First Blood Technologies, Inc. operates as a decentralized esports platform, founded in Boston in 2016 by Joe Zhou, Anik Dang, Zack Coburn, and Marco Cuesta. The company emerged from a team of gaming enthusiasts with backgrounds in finance and computer science, aiming to integrate blockchain technology into the competitive gaming world. A significant milestone was achieved on September 26, 2016, when the company raised $5.5 million in a Series A funding round through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), selling its "1SŦ" token. This event was notable for its speed, securing the entire amount in just a few minutes.
The business centers on a peer-to-peer (P2P) gaming platform built on the Ethereum blockchain, allowing esports players to compete against each other and earn rewards. The platform initially supported popular titles like Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and later expanded to include PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Call of Duty: Warzone. Revenue is generated through the use of its native tokens, which are required to play matches, host tournaments, and claim rewards. The platform's core product is a fully automated system for skill-based competitions, where players can challenge others, and the match outcomes are verified and recorded on the blockchain through smart contracts. To ensure integrity and resolve disputes, First Blood developed a decentralized witness and jury system, where community members are rewarded with tokens for verifying game data and adjudicating contested results. In 2020, the company introduced the Dawn Protocol, built on the Cosmos Network, and initiated a token swap from the original 1ST token to the new DAWN token. This upgrade was designed to enable faster transactions and support wagering with various crypto assets. The platform also integrated the DAI stablecoin to offer more stable reward options for its global user base, which exceeded 120,000 monthly active users in late 2020.
Keywords: First Blood Technologies, Joe Zhou, Anik Dang, esports platform, blockchain gaming, Ethereum, decentralized application, Dota 2, peer-to-peer gaming, smart contracts, 1SŦ token, ICO, competitive gaming, Dawn Protocol, cryptocurrency rewards, skill-based gaming, automated tournaments, Call of Duty, PUBG, gaming integrity system, jury voting pool, Marco Cuesta, Zack Coburn, Cosmos Network