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Dallas Mavericks And Mark Cuban Partner To Launch Blockchain Fitness App Lympo

This article is more than 5 years old.

Lympo

[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]

Blockchain and specifically cryptocurrencies captivated the world throughout 2017 and attracted a lot of new consumers interested in the space.  The opposite, however, has mainly been the case in 2018 as the major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have lost 80-90% of their overall value.  Despite the unfavorable price action, innovation in the space has continued to forge ahead and last week a familiar name in the sports and technology space made his latest investment, as Mark Cuban launched the “nation’s first” blockchain fitness app with partner Lympo.

Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner, has been a serial entrepreneur since he sold his first startup, Broadcast.com, to Yahoo in 1999 for $5.7 billion. Despite the sale occurring almost 20 years ago, it remains the largest investment Yahoo ever made and, miraculously, exceeds the $4.4 billion that telecommunications giant Verizon paid to acquire Yahoo itself last year.

Cuban is always looking for the next big opportunity and it is clear he sees blockchain falling in that category.  Earlier this year he was part of an investment in cryptocurrency hedge fund 1confirmation and Unikrn Gold, a virtual currency used for betting on sports and gaming events.

His latest project is an app self-titled Lympo after their partner, is designed to be a cryptocurrency token intended to incentivize users to lead healthier lifestyles by rewarding such behavior. Cuban, along with Lympo Co-Founder Antanas Guoga, has said that the application will be the first to directly incentivize and reward exercise with a token that provides monetary value and not just speculative value. Gamification has been much more common in attempts by startups to attract users and Lympo will use this method to reward potential users with cryptocurrency tokens as they complete walking and running challenges that will be displayed on the website.

The token will have the title “LYM” utility token and will be exchangeable for goods that can be valued in fiat currency. With many current cryptocurrencies being traded and exchanged for other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, it is a step forward in the space to have a potentially niche token that directly provides fiat currency value on its own.

Users will be able to exchange their accrued LYM tokens for sports and fitness products in the Lympo Shop, which will be available on the app. It is being billed as the “first online store” that will accept the tokens as payment. The app anticipates that a broader range of items will eventually be available in the store, such as personal training sessions, gym memberships and plans for users to keep on their diet and exercise routines. The Ethereum blockchain-based token, while exchangeable for goods and services, can also be traded on a number of exchanges listed on the Lympo website and therefore is still susceptible to the very volatile conditions of the very green cryptocurrency market.

The crypto space has been quite negative, so I love doing things when people give up., said Guoga. "That’s

the best time to be in this industry. I love it. We’re doing it at a tough time. It’s very difficult to convince people. But that’s the best thing about it all. If something is easy and everybody is getting into it, it’s not that rewarding. These are tough times in this industry, but health apps are booming. So, within our own space, if we’re successful at what we’re trying to achieve, it’s going to be absolutely massive."

While the feature isn’t yet available, Lympo is planning to eventually provide an option to sync data with fitness and health trackers which will then be able to offer personalized health and fitness advice to users of the platform. While the transaction at hand isn’t readily out in the open, the way the platform will work for both parties is users selling their fitness data in and return receiving LYM tokens.

“Lympo is all about making positive changes by taking small steps towards a more active lifestyle,” said Cuban. “Lympo doesn’t require you to drastically change your daily habits, but it’s a great incentive to gain real rewards, like Mavs tickets and gear, for fitness efforts.”

With Lympo in the early stages of its development, it is looking for partners to build its ecosystem by promising opportunities for partner businesses to build awareness through sponsored challenges, while offering their product/services as a reward on the platform. Their efforts will certainly be aided with the Mavericks already in the fold as a partner and being able to provide challenges on the platform that will soon be exchanged for Mavericks prizes such as tickets to games or team merchandise.

Cuban is also not the only big name in the sports industry throwing support behind the project. Professional tennis player Caroline Wozniacki and world champion discus thrower Andrius Gudzius have also partnered with the project and users were able to get rewards for finishing the Vilnius Marathon earlier this year in Lithuania.

So far, their efforts to break into the very crowded space of sports and fitness technology seem promising. Securing the Mavericks as a strategic partner and Mark Cuban as a backer gives the company a big head start, providing opportunities that most companies of its size couldn't afford. That said, there,s lots of work ahead to make Lympo viable and it remains to be seen how eager users will be to earn the LYM tokens, given the very small percentage of the population currently familiar and trading cryptocurrencies. 

For complete information on the LYM token and project, the white paper is available here.

Forbes contributor Mike Buteau contributed to this story. 

This article’s contents do not represent an endorsement of the LYM token. The cryptocurrency markets are extremely volatile and any individual thinking of investing should consult with a financial professional before doing so.

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