Roll is an NYC-based social token infrastructure provider offering developer APIs and Ethereum smart-contract tools to create and integrate branded digital currencies. Co-founded by CEO Bradley Miles and CTO Sid Kalla and launched in 2019, Roll enables tokens to interact with traditional web platforms and smart-contract applications, including DeFi protocols. The platform supports use cases such as marketplaces, streaming, audio, gaming, chat and DAOs and is used by about 350 creators, from NFT innovators like Whaleshark to household names like Terry Crews. In the past month Roll's social tokens eclipsed $250MM in market value and saw over $2MM in daily trading volume. Roll emphasizes interoperability with DeFi protocols that collectively hold over $90 billion in total locked value. The company plans to open its APIs to more developers early next year and has raised $12.7M to date. Roll is a personal token/social money platform launched in summer 2019 that allows people with followings to create their own currency and define its usefulness. Creators can redeem tokens for perks such as guest-list access, and early buyers can speculate on a creator's future success. The company has integrations—such as a partnership with blockchain development platform Abridged—that enable use cases like gating Discord communities by token ownership. As of the article, Roll is used by 250 creators and processes about $500,000 of daily volume. One example token, $FIRST, trades for roughly $0.05 in ETH on Uniswap. Co-founder Sid Kalla said the platform represents a shift toward user-generated capital as the basis for the evolution of the social web. Roll builds a blockchain protocol and platform that creates “social money,” letting content creators mint branded tokens on Ethereum with supply limits enforced by smart contracts. Creators can distribute tokens to incentivize actions (for example, rewarding fans for posting about an episode) and redeem tokens for experiences like private video chats, line privileges at live events, or autographs. Roll holds a small pool of tokens minted by each creator as part of its business model and is currently facilitating token issuance and the formation of creator-token markets. The company positions social tokens as a way for creators to gain more control over monetization and reduce dependence on platform-controlled mechanisms, addressing de-platforming concerns. Roll expects early adopters among highly interactive verticals such as beauty vloggers, gaming streamers, and fitness personalities. Down the road, the company may seek to get creator tokens listed on exchanges or create its own exchange, though for now it is focused on enabling token creation and market activity.

Total raised

$13M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Sep 2021