Limewire has officially relaunched as an NFT marketplace

Back in March, we reported on the return of Limewire – but an updated, NFT-focused version of the once beloved “file sharing service”. And today, the renovated Limewire has officially relaunched as a marketplace for them.

Resurrected by Paul and Julian Zehetmayr, a couple of Austrian entrepreneurs, Limewire now plans to “bring digital collectibles to everyone”. The launch of the platform in its new and improved (?) State comes along with the announcement of some pretty great artists releasing NFTs on the platform, including Blink-182 drummer (and Mr. Kourtney Kardashian) Travis Barker.

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Others in the lineup include musician Dillon Francis, singer and actor Nicky Jam, Grammy-winning singer Brandy, A $ AP Mobs A $ AP TyY and British rapper Aitch. The influx of celebrities and personalities into the crypto world is nothing new, but Limewire’s announcement only shows that the trend is not slowing down.

With a focus on music (in a strange nod to the former company’s not-so-legal download history), the new marketplace offers a variety of original songs, visual artwork, backstage passes and other personal opportunities. Barker’s NFT, for example, is a real drum kit, while Brandy offers a “collaborative flower bouquet NFT with accompanying spoken words.” The possibilities are endless.

The first release will be on July 7, with a release from Grammy-winning producer 7 Aurelius.

The company focuses on “Originals”, which is a limited collection of 10,000 original NFTs that live on the Ethereum blockchain. Owning one of these will provide access to events only for invitations, token rewards and early access to NFT releases. These NFTs are made in stages, and there is a waiting list to join. To our understanding, Limewire Originals aims to serve as a membership level in the Limewire community.

According to Limewire, the company wants to appeal to a wider range of consumers by eliminating the need for a crypto wallet. Instead, potential buyers will be allowed to use credit card payments. The alleged focus on user experience lies behind other features of the site: Limewire will handle the NFT gas charges, or the fees required to compensate for the computational energy needed to process transactions when it comes to blockchain. Puh.

Limewire will also handle any “technical barriers on behalf of users” – whatever they end up being.

It’s not quite like Limewire in the 2000s, but it’s here … as long as NFTs are, that is.