Gifto

Gifto operates as a decentralized universal gifting protocol, aiming to reshape the monetization model for online content creators. Launched in December 2017 by Asia Innovations Group (AIG), the project was spearheaded by co-founders Andy Tian and Charles Thach. Tian, a serial entrepreneur with a Master's in Computer Science from MIT, was previously the general manager for Zynga China and played a role in introducing Google's Android to the Chinese market. His experience in mobile entertainment and social gaming heavily influenced Gifto's direction. The project was born from the success of Uplive, AIG's live-streaming platform, which already demonstrated a robust virtual gifting economy.

The core of Gifto's business is to provide an alternative revenue stream for content creators on major platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, moving away from a dependence on advertising. It allows fans to directly support creators by purchasing and sending virtual gifts using the platform's native token, originally GTO and later swapped to GFT. These transactions are executed via smart contracts on the blockchain, initially Ethereum and later the BNB Smart Chain, ensuring direct and transparent payment from fan to creator. The business model fosters a self-sustaining ecosystem involving content creators, fans, and virtual gift designers, who can also earn tokens for their creations.

Gifto's product is a multi-faceted Web3 platform. It features a wallet for managing GFT tokens and other digital assets, including NFTs. A key component is the ability for users to create, store, and trade NFTs, which can be offered as virtual gifts. The platform also includes a marketplace for these assets, a staking function for users to earn rewards on their GFT holdings, and even a charitable donation feature. By leveraging the pre-existing 20-million-user base of Uplive for initial testing, Gifto achieved rapid early adoption, raising $10 million in its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in seconds on December 14, 2017.

Keywords: virtual gifting, content monetization, blockchain protocol, creator economy, Andy Tian, Asia Innovations Group, GFT token, Uplive, decentralized application, smart contracts, NFT marketplace, crypto wallet, live streaming, digital collectibles, fan engagement, BEP20, ERC20, staking, direct-to-creator, social media monetization