LONDON, Feb. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DigitalTown, Inc. (OTC:DGTW), the leading provider of People-centric Solutions for Smart Cities, is pleased to announce the launch of Smart.London, a groundbreaking cooperative ecosystem where residents and visitors improve quality of life in London as they search, connect, share and shop locally, transacting directly with local merchants.
With the introduction of Smart.London, residents of London have their very own Google, Expedia, AirBnB, OpenTable, PayPal and Bitcoin, all in one, accessible 24/7 via the Smart.London web portal. Best of all, Smart.London can be owned by Londoners through the distribution and sale of CityShares, a Blockchain-based solution for managing shared ownership of city cooperatives.
Starting today, residents can claim their free CityShares -- ownership stakes of the Smart.London city platform. The free CityShares are limited to 10 shares for each legal resident of the Greater London area, last estimated at 8,869,898 as of 30th June, 2016. Unclaimed CityShares are also available for purchase while they last.
London merchants can sign up for a free storefront. There are no setup fees, no service fees, and no requirement for a conventional bank account or merchant account. Merchants simply pay a low commission on actual sales, thereby making it easy for merchants of all sizes to be accessible via web and mobile. Verified merchants have the option of redeeming sale proceeds to a variety of outlets, as well as major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
Rob Monster, CEO of DigitalTown commented on the announcement, explaining: “AirBnB and Uber have shown the world the power of the Sharing Economy to tap the productive capacity of individual citizens in a community. Blockchain, and in particular Bitcoin, has shown the world the power of distributed ledgers as an efficient medium of exchange. With Smart.London, we are making it easier than ever for residents and visitors to search local, shop local and think local.”
James Roper, Chairman & Founder of IMRG, the UK e-commerce association said: “Digital innovations have severely disrupted traditional high streets and much else, so there is an urgent need to help towns and cities recover their vibrancy and create new earning potential by cooperating collectively as a digital marketplace. IMRG’s work on the Digital High Street Advisory Board clearly showed what needs to be done. Only ambitious, joined-up and highly scalable approaches will meet this challenge. We therefore welcome the emergence of DigitalTown with its bold ambition to give local economies access to a new era of prosperity.”
Faris Oweis, DigitalTown Vice President and UN Smart City Commissioner for Blockchain for Impact, said: "Corporations are already looking at how blockchain technologies can help them grow. Local economies globally need to be asking similar questions. DigitalTown's cooperative ecosystem harnesses blockchain to put people and places at the heart of the digital economy, giving them the means to explore, connect, invest and transact in cities. This is the future of local co-creation, culture and economic success."
To claim a CityShare in Smart.London, residents of the Greater London area should visit Smart.London, click on “CityShares,” and complete the free claim. To find out more about DigitalTown, visit DigitalTown.com or download the DigitalTown Smart City App on iOS or Android.
About DigitalTown
Smart.London is a service of DigitalTown. DigitalTown, Inc. (DGTW) powers Smart Cities to succeed in the Digital Age. The company provides turn-key hosted solutions to power "Digital Towns," which improve Quality of Life for residents and visitors through locally owned solutions for economic development, civic engagement and digital inclusion for cities around the world. For more information about the company, please visit www.digitaltown.com.
Safe Harbor Language: Any statements contained herein related to future events are forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. DigitalTown, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any such statements to reflect actual events.
Media Contact:
Rob Monster, Chief Executive Officer
+1 (425) 295-4564; rob@digitaltown.com
Froi Legaspi, Country Manager UK
+44 7480 067471; froi@digitaltown.com