BitMaker 2.0 launched, gives users chance to win free bitcoin, ether

Downtown Seattle from Queen Anne Hill, with Mount Rainier on the right

Seattle, Washington-based blockchain adtech and payments firm CakeCodes announced in a press release CoinReport received the launch of BitMaker 2.0, an Android app that incentivizes users to engage with cell phone products via modern gamification and free bitcoin and ether rewards.

The app has been in stealth mode since its launch in September 2014, but has still managed to become a viral sensation, surpassing 250,000 active monthly users across 187 countries. It currently offers rewards for more than 100 apps featured on the platform, including Game of War: Fire Age and Mobile Strike.

The company also said it aims to increase the user base by enhancing the Android app with new features, including payouts in additional forms of cryptocurrency, and to fast-track the development of an iOS app.

App users are rewarded with free ether and bitcoin for trying new products, games and apps. A user can claim blocks and transfer to an ether or a bitcoin wallet at any time.

CakeCodes CEO Simon Yu commented on the occasion, “Nearly $600 billion is spent on global advertising, and yet many ads are simply ineffective. Advertisements are everywhere and people automatically tune them out. The CakeCodes team had a mission to make advertisements more effective and less annoying.”

“Traditional advertising methods include pushing unsolicited ads onto people. We wanted to combat this by giving consumers the option to opt in and get paid for their time used on trying a new product. With Bitmaker, end-users get paid, businesses only pay upon engagement, and customer acquisition costs are dramatically decreased. Everyone wins. What we’ve done is create a simple, fun way for consumers to be rewarded for trying cool new products.”

BitMaker connects marketers and advertisers to more than 250,000 monthly users willing to perform small tasks for their businesses for a fraction of the cost of a conventional advertising campaign. Advertisers pay only for users who have tried the product, eradicating false impressions, clicks or installs while driving user retention.

“We are able to understand what the customer needs because we’re also the audience: our team is made of app developers and gamers,” said Calvin Hsieh, founder and CTO of CakeCodes. “That’s why we crafted our app based off the mechanisms behind popular role-playing games, including World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy. While playing, gamers are rewarded for completing a mission for items like digital swords or in-game gold. We made this experience tangible by tying it to the real world; when a user completes a mission on our app, they receive real money. After 700,000 installs, we are proud to state that our business model works.”

After initially starting CakeCodes and Bitmaker as a class project in his dorm room at the University of Washington, Hseih went on to expand the firm and bring Yu on board after graduation.

Image credit – Public domain image by Rattlhed