TA’ XBIEX, Malta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Virtue Poker, a multi-chain, Ethereum-based decentralized poker platform has now completed a strategic investment round of $5 million. Virtue Poker was part of Coinlist’s Seed Winter 2021 Batch and is funded by notable investors, including Pantera Capital, Consensys, DFG Group, Jez San from FunFair. Poker Hall of Famer Phil Ivey is a stakeholder as well as a public spokesperson for the company.
“I’ve been working with the Virtue Poker team for nearly 3 years, watching them build a next generation poker platform” said Phil Ivey. “Using a blockchain based system creates a more secure and globally accessible payment system. I’m excited to continue my partnership with the Virtue Poker team and work to bring the platform to poker communities worldwide”.
Virtue Poker is the first and only blockchain-based company to be issued a license by the Malta Gaming Authority. The Virtue Poker team and the Malta Gaming Authority worked together over nearly two years in establishing a regulatory framework suitable for blockchain based gambling applications. The company can now legally operate and compete in most global markets worldwide to deliver the promise of fair playing and transparency to mainstream adoption.
“After years of consultation, in person meetings, and effort - Virtue Poker can proudly say we are the only licensed blockchain based poker application in the market” said CEO Ryan Gittleson. “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.”
The funds raised will be used to bootstrap Virtue Poker's mainnet launch, which is scheduled for May 2021. Virtue Poker will be hosting an exhibition tournament with players like Phil Ivey, Joe Lubin and others as the official launch.
One of the oldest projects in the blockchain space and one of the first to have been incubated by Consensys, Virtue Poker was founded shortly after the Ethereum network debuted. Consensys founder Joe Lubin identified online gambling as an industry that was ripe for blockchain disruption, prompting him to take Virtue Poker into his Ethereum-centered family of projects.
"I'm excited to see the Virtue Poker team realize its mission in bringing transparency and trust to the online poker industry” said Joe Lubin, Founder of Consensys. “By working with regulators in becoming the first licensed blockchain based platform, Virtue Poker legitimizes the use of this technology in the industry long term going forward."
Through a combination of P2P networking and the verifiable nature of blockchain, Virtue Poker brings an unprecedented degree of trust and transparency to the online poker industry, which is thought to be plagued by shady and dishonest algorithms and costly third-party payment processor middlemen, especially for withdrawals. Virtue Poker uses both Ethereum smart contracts and sidechain infrastructure to provide next-generation security and transparency for players.
About Virtue Poker
Virtue Poker is a decentralized poker platform that uses the Ethereum blockchain and peer-to-peer networking to provide an online poker site that's safe, honest and fun. It was founded in 2016 within Consensys, the leading full stack Ethereum software engineering company and incubator founded by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin in 2014. Backed by Consensys and stakeholder Phil Ivey, Virtue Poker is on a mission to make blockchain-based betting mainstream.
Learn more: https://virtue.poker/
