Chain of Points Launches New Blockchain Loyalty Platform to Revolutionize the Rewards Industry

Chain of Points, creators of the groundbreaking blockchain-based platform incentivizing participation in loyalty programs, today announced its upcoming token offering sale, which will begin on February 9, 2017 and run until March 9. The Toronto-based startup aims to reinvigorate interest in the loyalty and gift card industries through a new cryptocurrency, called Points, which can be used to transfer and redeem loyalty rewards between merchants and customers. Blockchain technology enables each transfer and redemption to be secure and tracked, while Points enable a liquid marketplace between merchant to customer, customer to customer, and even merchant to merchant.

Irene Katzela, Ph.D. and CEO of Chain of Points said, “Over 50% of loyalty-accumulated rewards are never redeemed and overall interest in these programs among the younger generations is low and decreasing. A multibillion dollar rewards-oriented industry is shrinking fast. Chain of Points is the best solution for merchants and customers; it is easy to understand, and can be implemented in a matter of minutes. To meet the demands of industry, we have built our own blockchain and have developed a stable and scalable solution that benefits the merchants and their customers.”

Small business owners usually do not have the time and money to spend on loyalty programs, resulting in a lack of implementation and a loss of business. Chain of Points is designed with these problems in mind; it is a platform that allows small and home business owners to focus on their business goals, allowing entrepreneurs the opportunity to create or participate in a valuable loyalty program through easy-to-use-technology. A robust API also makes Chain of Points compatible with more sophisticated workflows, making it beneficial for medium to large businesses as well.

“Chain of Points solves a large problem many merchants face: how to encourage customers to actively participate in rewards programs,” said Shidan Gouran, President of Gulf Pearl Limited and an investor in Chain of Points. “We need to move away from traditional loyalty programs, and cater to the younger, digital generation. Millennials have a peer-to-peer mindset that puts a greater value on self-regulation and sharing.”

Unlike first-generation cryptocurrencies, Chain of Points is designed to be as undemanding as possible, utilizing a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm. A main disadvantage of first-generation cryptocurrencies is their use of Proof-of-Work-based consensus algorithms which require burning an external resource, such as electricity. For instance, bitcoin mining reaches the extremes of wasting power; the demand to generate a single block is the equivalent of powering 280,000 American households for 10 minutes. With the Chain of Points blockchain, no electricity is wasted and a new block can be generated every 10 seconds. Chain of Points blockchain avoids hashing altogether when produce trust, passing the significantly reduced workload on to democratically elected delegates within the system. The choice to use a Proof-of-Stake-based consensus algorithm allows for global and scalable throughput at no cost for miners.

“Chain of Points incentivizes customers to reclaim their rewards in quick and user-friendly ways,” said Katzela. “But if the customer is uninterested in cashing in their points, they can still receive value for their loyalty, and merchants will be compensated as well. With Chain of Points, we can finally start thinking win-win.”

Starting February 9, 2017 and running until March 9, 21 million Points will be offered in an Initial Crowd Sale on TokenMarket. For more information, please see the Chain of Points whitepaper.