In Brief:
- ARC is a NFT-based social networking app that will be open to anyone who owns their non-fungible token.
- The start-up aims to bring together individuals from Taiwan to Australia to network.
- ARC will conduct thorough authentication of its members to ensure that they are who they profess to be.
Kiat Lim, the 28-year-old son of reclusive investor Peter Lim, and Elroy Cheo, of the Mewah International Inc. edible oil dynasty, created ARC to construct the exclusive society. From entrepreneurs to social media influencers, the duo envisions an online club where anyone holding the startup’s non-fungible tokens (NFT) can join.
They’re part of a global rush to profit from the burgeoning crypto-mania that’s driving up digital coin prices and startup valuations. ARC is an NFT-based social networking app that will be open to anyone who owns their non-fungible token, Bloomberg News reported. They plan to eventually create an “ARC metaverse,” a huge virtual community that includes a gaming element.
“We are a networking ecosystem that encompasses online and offline experiences, and pushing online boundaries,” Lim said in an interview in Singapore.
ARC’s initial goal is to create an app-based community that will connect people from Taipei to South Korea and Australia together to network, cooperate on projects, and exchange stories. Those who refuse to use their NFTs will be charged an annual subscription fee. ARC will conduct thorough authentication of its members to ensure that they are who they profess to be.
“We want to create a community that Asia has never seen before,” said Cheo. “We see the world change a lot, especially after Covid. People in this target segment now all want a sense of belonging.”
The name was chosen in part to symbolise the founders’ desire to connect the physical and virtual worlds, as well as the transition to Web3. The ARC app as of now only is available for iPhones, but an Android version is in the pipeline.
Asian countries are typically more used to cashless and digitized systems than western ones, so this could be why their adoption of NFTs has been so widespread. Recently, a South Korean Presidential candidate announced NFT rewards in lieu of funds for his election campaign.
