AQUA Launches Chuck E. Cheese Token On Liquid To Attract Younger Users
Chuck E. Cheese parent company CEC Entertainment on Monday announced the company’s first digital currency partnership bringing their gaming token to the blockchain via AQUA wallet. AQUA leverages Bitcoin layer 2 protocol Liquid, a low cost alternative to the Lightning network.
The token (Cheez) will be Chuck E. Cheese branded and users will be able to acquire the token through the AQUA wallet by purchasing with Bitcoin, Liquid Bitcoin, or the USDT stablecoin issued by Tether. Outside AQUA, Cheez will be available via Atomic Swaps using any form of cryptocurrency supported by decentralized swap providers and exchanges. Jan3 CEO Samson Mow quipped that children looking to acquire Cheez tokens without their parents finding out could theoretically mine the private cryptocurrency Monero and swap it for Cheez tokens. "Teach them at a young age how to evade chainalysis. They'll thank you when they get older." Mow said with his signature grin.
“I am absolutely thrilled to partner with AQUA and the Liquid Network,” said David McKillips, CEC CEO. “In nearly 50 years, Chuck E. Cheese has hosted more than one billion guests and is one of the most popular children’s properties in and outside our fun centers. Evolving our IP in new areas is another exciting and natural step for our iconic family-friendly brand. With this move, Chuck E. Cheese enters the digital space. We can now expand our reach to the metaverse.”
When McKillips was searching for the right blockchain technology for the Cheez token, Liquid was not his first choice. The CEC CEO started his research on a different blockchain, Doge. "My gut told me this fun meme coin was perfect for our brand. It's cheap, abundant, and has excellent brand recognition." But after further investigation, he became concerned about the lack of development support and liquidity. He decided it would likely need to be built on Bitcoin if the initiative was going to work in the long term. "I realized quickly that Bitcoin's layer 1 was too expensive and slow for this product. That's when I discovered Stacks," (Stacks is the the NFT focused, smart contract enabling layer 2 built by Muneeb Ali) "However, since Ordinals gained popularity last year, Stacks seems like a ghost town. We needed something nascent but trending in the right direction. Experiencing tangible growth. That's when found Liquid." McKillips explained.
Mow hopes the Chuck E. Cheese partnership will bring thousands of new users to the network in the next 12-18 months. "This will be many of these users' first touchpoint with Bitcoin and the broader digital currency space. By providing them with utility, security, and a good user experience, we believe we will be creating users and customers for life. There any many roads to hyperbitcoinization, and we think this is one of those roads."
