Introduction
On 9th January 2018, Kodak ( NYSE : KODK ) and WENN Digital announced that they will be launching the KODAKOne and KODAKCoin in the near future. The announcement stated Initial Coin Offering ( ICO ) for the KODAKCoin would begin on 31st January 2018. This announcement skyrocketed Kodak ‘s shares, which has increased the price from $ 3.13 per share to $ 12.75 in a matter of hours. 
visualize 1 : Share price of Kodak ( Morningstar ) This article would cover the stick to few components :
- What are ICOs?
- A brief history of Kodak.
- Dynamics between Kodak and WENN Digital.
- Future potential of KODAKOne and KODAKCoin.
What are ICOs?
initial Coin Offerings ( ICOs ) are used by companies to raise funds for a new cryptocurrency. Companies that are developing a new cryptocurrency would often sell a helping of their raw tokens in exchange for decree currency or other more established cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin ( OTC : GBTC ). The funds generated are much used to fund research, infrastructure development, operations, etc. ICOs are often used because there is presently a miss of regulations, which can be used to circumvent the many red-tapes associated with other forms of capital-raising processes.
History of Kodak
In recent history, Kodak was once a colossus, dominating the printing and photography commercialize. At its top out in 1996, Kodak was held more than two-thirds of ball-shaped grocery store share, with the company valued at $ 31 billion. The second largest company in that industry at that time was Fuji and it was far behind Kodak. however, Kodak started to shrink from 2004 onwards, ineffective to generate enough cash to sustain its operations. This ultimately led to Kodak file for bankruptcy in January 2012. many people attributed Kodak ‘s fall to its lackluster adoption of digital photography. however, during the heighten of digital photography, Kodak had invested a ample measure of resources into developing digital photography technology. Another major disturbance in the photography industry is the wax of on-line photograph sharing and cell earphone photography. Kodak, once again, invested money in developing on-line platforms, such as the buy of Ofoto, an on-line photo-sharing locate. indeed, what went improper ? Kodak anticipated that these raw technologies were a major dislocation to its business ; however, it did not realize that these fresh platforms were the new industry. Kodak viewed them as a supplement to its original photograph impression commercial enterprise and failed to account for the changing tide in the photography diligence. In 2013, Kodak returned with a newfangled concenter on commercial and packaging printing. In these few years, Kodak has been licensing its brand to other companies, allowing its name to be used on early companies ‘ intersection. The name “ Kodak ” placid holds “ capital significance and measure “, and Kodak takes advantage of that by using its mention to hand out licenses. In fact, most commercial products that consumers see are not manufactured by Kodak, but by other companies. This license creates a mutually beneficial relationship as Kodak can promote its brand name and gets profits from licensing. Companies that use the license can take advantage of the Kodak brand name to increase the sensed trustworthiness of their products. There are many such collaborations between companies such as with JK Imaging, Prinics, Twindom, Paper Trade Network, etc. In this article ‘s case, the license of the KODAKOne chopine and the KODAKCoin was between Kodak and WENN Digital.
KODAKOne and KODAKCoin
According to the press secrete by Kodak, KODAKOne is a platform that can create a digital daybook that helps photographers register their exercise and can license their photograph using that platform. KODAKOne would besides scour the internet to identify any unaccredited images and manage all the licensed photograph on the platform. KODAKCoin is a digital cryptocurrency that is to be used in conjunction with the KODAKOne platform, and photographers are able to receive payment using KODAKCoins. WENN Digital’s purpose for creating KODAKCoin and KODAKOne World Entertainment News Network ( WENN ) Digital is a new company which has bought over a paparazzo photography firm called WENN Media. According to the Kodak web site :
“ WENN Digital leverages the marketplace situation of its 30-year old auxiliary WENN Media, which works with approximately 2,500 professional photographers. ”
however, before this license partnership between these two entities, WENN Digital tried a crowdfunding for a project called RYDE on a crowdfunding web site called Get Started Engine. however, the visualize only attracted a meager 10 backers with a total of $ 875 raised. 
image 2 : Screenshot of RYDE crowdfunding page ( Source ) This is where Kodak comes in. As stated above, by partnering up with Kodak, it gives the project a sense of credibility. This would propel the project past its minuscule $ 875 to potentially thousands and millions of dollars.
Benefits for Kodak
As for Kodak, it gives the company the exposure that it desperately needs to promote its company, potentially increasing its plowshare price. This could, therefore, assign to the names being KODAKOne and KODAKCoin, which basically plasters the Kodak name to increase the trade name presence. Furthermore, with the increasing hype for cryptocurrencies, this gives Kodak the arrant limelight in the media. even the chief executive officer of Kodak, Jeff Clarke, acknowledges that words relating to cryptocurrencies are “ hot buzzwords ”.
Read more: Could These Altcoins Be Ethereum Killers?
persona 3 : Kodak CEO Quote ( Kodak Website ) From these points, it is relatively certain that Kodak ‘s purpose in partnering up with WENN Digital is to gain the exposure that it needs, particularly when its share prices have been on the downhill since its comeback in 2013. This is a arrant opportunity to raise its contribution prices, specially when early companies experience huge jumps in their lineage prices after they announced partnerships with cryptocurrencies. 
image 4 : Kodak ‘s downhill share price ( source : Google )
The Problems
even though cryptocurrency is the new ballyhoo, there is no doubt there are huge risks in going into cryptocurrencies. The succeed list is some of the reasons why I believe investing in Kodak, or the KODAKCoin, is not the wisest decision :
- Kodak’s purpose
- Kodak’s lack of involvement
- Leadership of WENN Digital
- Unclear roadmap and lack of information
1. Kodak’s Purpose
As mentioned above, Kodak had been using its diagnose as a way of generating profit, specially in the case of license. Furthermore, with the advent of the cryptocurrency hype, it gives the company a fantastic opportunity to further broadcast its name, deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as gaining profits from the huge jump in share prices. however, let ‘s not forget that Kodak ‘s function. Like many other companies, Kodak ‘s main aim is to generate cash, and this is an opportunity that it decided to grasp. however, the agent that sets Kodak apart from other companies that adopt cryptocurrency is that the KODAKCoin and KODAKOne do not directly affect its daily commercial enterprise. Kodak is chiefly a company that provides commercial and packaging print, and these two platforms are not directly related to its casual operations. however, early companies that adopt cryptocurrencies have a direct impact on its everyday operations. An exercise would be the adoption of Ripple Protocol and Ripple Token by banks, which would reduce transaction costs and speed up cross-border transactions. As this newfangled technology benefits their casual operations, it provides an incredibly attractive incentive to adopt cryptocurrencies. however, because the adoption of KODAKOne and KODAKCoin does not affect Kodak ‘s daily operations, it is more likely that their exclusive determination is to generate income through the hype around cryptocurrencies and through license.
2. Kodak’s Lack of Involvement
Another issue raised is the miss of engagement by Kodak. As Kodak and WENN Digital have not released details on how their partnership works, it is impossible to provide an accurate estimate regarding the level of affair by Kodak. however, there are some clues that might give an reading that Kodak is not a involved as one might think. first, from the wardrobe passing by Kodak, it announced that WENN Digital and Kodak are in a “ Licensing Partnership “. This suggests that WENN Digital would be the main workhorse in the growth and execution of KODAKOne and KODAKCoin. It gives a hard impression that Kodak would only provide WENN Digital with the license to use its name and contribute nothing more. second, from previous licensing partnerships, such as in JK Imaging, the cameras did not include any of the television camera imaging technology that Kodak possesses. The lenses used were besides not what was used by the previous generation Kodak television camera. This shows that Kodak ‘s interest with its license projects is minimal, and Kodak would be unlikely to help in the development. last, it is likely that Kodak does not possess any engineering that would assist it in the creation of the KODAKOne and KODAKCoin. This far alienates Kodak from the electric potential development of these new technologies.
3. Leadership of WENN Digital
The current CEO of WENN Digital, Jan Denecke, was a initiation partner of a relatively modest german law firm called Denecke Priess & Partner. It is a party that was founded in 2005 that specializes in media, copyright and IT laws. Jan Denecke would consequently be quite well versed in assorted legal issues regarding internet copyright law. however, that can not be said about his cognition about cryptocurrency and the platform it will use. His ability to lead a fast that specializes in entertainment photography would besides be in interrogate. There is a possibility Denecke might be able to perform well ; however, it is a massive gamble to invest in a firm that is led by person that specializes in a different airfield. As information is scarce, we are however unable to know who the rest of the team are and therefore unable to assess the quality of the team. As more information is released, a more accurate sagacity can then be made.
4. Unclear roadmap and lack of information
There is presently a lack of information regarding the advancement of KODAKCoin and KODAKOne. information regarding WENN Digital, its development team and how the system would be implemented is besides lacking due to the miss of the whitepaper. possibly more data would be released closer to the ICO, and that might give us a better understand of what investors are getting themselves into.
Future Potential of KODAKOne and KODAKCoin
According to Kodak, these platforms are a fast and effective way to reduce the unauthorized use of a accredited image. If the system does work, it would provide a great convenience for photographers. One potential appeal of this system is for amateurish photographers to upload their persona and get paid. however, the measure of data and processing power needed to scan through the stallion internet for an unaccredited double could be a potential overestimate of their abilities. furthermore, even if this technology is effective, new pirating sites and downloading sites would constantly pop up, thus rendering the technology disused.
Conclusion
Without the whitepaper, it is very unmanageable to assess the level of growth, the engineering and the team at hand. however, from the above points mentioned, it is about certain that Kodak is in this project fair to increase its share price, particularly during the cryptocurrency hype. other benefits that come with KODAKOne and KODAKCoin include greater exposure in the media limelight and license money. WENN Digital, on the other hand, is using Kodak as a stepping stone in arrange to revive its fail RYDE project. however, there are a few loss flags that were raised, including the purpose of Kodak, its miss of engagement, the leadership of WENN Digital, and the miss of a proper roadmap. As mentioned before, Kodak is a dying company, with its plowshare prices continuously dropping for the past five years. It is identical unlikely that this project would be able to have a sustained positive affect on the parcel price. As KODAKCoin and KODAKOne are unlikely to be Kodak ‘s saving seemliness, one should not consider purchasing Kodak shares or invest in KODAKCoin ‘s ICO. Disclaimer: I am not, and do not claim to be, an expert in cryptocurrencies or stocks. This article is meant to be a guide, and further research should be done before investing in cryptocurrencies, especially in ICOs. There are constantly risk with regards to investing, particularly with regards to cryptocurrencies, where the price fluctuations could be very drastic. One needs to remember to ONLY invest in what they can afford to lose, and should not rely on cryptocurrencies as a reliable source of income .
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