By
Temitope Olatunji
April 18th, 2024
Using the new funds, Virtue Poker plans to finally launch its mainnet in May 2021.
Ethereum-based Consensys poker platform Virtue Poker has successfully pulled in a total of $5 million in a strategic investment round it recently concluded. The multi-chain decentralized platform received funding from several known investors such as Consensys, Pantera Capital, Jez San from Funfair, and the DFG Group.
Currently, Virtue Poker is the first and also the only blockchain-based entity to receive operational approval from the Malta Gaming Authority. The license is a B2C – Gaming Service Licence, which allows the platform to engage directly with end customers. For more than two years, both entities collaborated on a regulatory framework befitting enough for blockchain gambling platforms. Following these regulations, the company can fully operate, ensuring that all gaming activity it handles is free, fair, and transparent.
Speaking on these regulations, CEO and co-founder Ryan Gittleson said the platform promises unmatched infrastructural security and increased accessibility. He said:
“Blockchain technology provides modern and secure payment infrastructure that provides global accessibility to consumers, unlike our competitors. By working with regulators to become a licensed online gambling company, Virtue Poker now has legitimacy to crossover and compete for customers from legacy providers to bring blockchain based wagering mainstream.”
Virtue Poker expects its transparency to attract gaming communities all over the world. Ambassador and stakeholder, Phil Ivey, has stated that the company will expand its offerings, leading to global mainstream adoption.
Consensys’ Virtue Poker to Launch Mainnet
Using the new funds, Virtue Poker plans to finally launch its mainnet in May 2021. As part of the event, Ivey, who is a Poker Hall of Famer, along with Consensys Founder Joe Lubin, will partake in an exhibition tournament.
The platform has plans to properly exploit its transparency offerings, as well as its collaboration with regulators. Lubin says that Virtue Poker’s work with regulators, along with its position as the first licensed blockchain-basing platform, already “legitimizes” the use of blockchain technology in the gaming industry.
At the moment, many people consider the online poker industry considerably corrupt. Gamers believe that the online space is rife with duplicitous and untrustworthy algorithms, which remove the much-need element of transparency. Furthermore, withdrawals are currently a big headache for players. Most of the time, partakers must pay unreasonable withdrawal fees to third-party intermediaries before receiving their funds.
Virtue Poker hopes to solve these problems with its soon-to-be-launched mainnet and blockchain gaming. Since the blockchain is open, transparent, and verifiable, shadiness on the platform will no longer be a concern. Furthermore, the mainnet promises advanced security and openness through the Ethereum smart contracts that power the platform.
Founded in 2016 within Consensys, Virtue Poker’s mission is to provide a safe and honest online poker option. The Virtue Poker team boasts of accomplished veterans from the poker and blockchain industries. The platform has Ryan Gittleson and Jim Berry as cofounders.