YouNow’s Regulated Crypto Project Props Will Migrate to Algorand Blockchain

The cryptocurrency project launched by video live-streaming platform YouNow is ditching its private network and migrating onto public blockchain Algorand.

The move comes as the Props project seeks higher throughput for its continued expansion, according to an announcement Thursday.

Props said it has now raised $2 million in a funding round led by Union Square Ventures (USV) and Borderless Capital that will fund the chain migration. GSR, Lvna Capital and the Dating.com Group also invested.

A wholly owned subsidiary of YouNow, Props hopes the shift to Algorand will allow it to better scale. Unveiled in 2017 as a way for users to support content creators, some independent projects – such as Listia earlier this year – have moved onto the PropsChain, citing its functionality and large network of users.

Props co-founder Adi Sideman told CoinDesk the number of users has tripled to more than three million since January. With a new Dating.com integration, the company expects its user base could grow to as many as five million users by May.

The current private chain “would have difficulties supporting the scale Props is set to reach and required continuous maintenance,” Sideman said. “Algorand provides an out-of-the-box solution that handles the usage level and relieves the Props team from the need to maintain a chain themselves.”

The migration also means Props can dispense with its own network validators and rely instead on the larger pool of stakers that validate the Algorand public chain.

Props hit the headlines after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted the project a Reg A + sale qualification last July, giving it the regulatory green light to raise a maximum of $50 million from retail investors.

The news is the latest in a series of positive developments for Algorand, which has been attracting notable crypto and blockchain projects interested in leveraging the chain’s high throughput potential.

Monerium, an Icelandic settlements provider with a European Union e-money license, said it had formed a partnership with Algorand back in January to see if fiat currency transactions can be moved onto the blockchain to create cost savings.

The Marshallese central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative is also built on top of Algorand. The project’s technology provider told CoinDesk at the time that Algorand had the tech stack needed to facilitate fast and secure payments on an everyday basis.

As it looks to capitalize on its momentum, the Algorand Foundation announced just over two weeks ago it was setting aside $50 million worth of Algos, the protocol’s native token, for a new fund to finance ecosystem development.

It isn’t clear whether Props is still planning on raising money through the retail investor route. A spokesperson hadn’t responded to a request for information by press time.