Unikrn

Founded in November 2014, Unikrn primarily offers real money^[3][4] and token-based wagering on competitive video game tournaments, otherwise known as esports.^[5] Unikrn creates betting markets on esports (organized video game competitions) matches akin to traditional betting.^[6]

The company was founded by Rahul Sood and Karl Flores in November 2014.

In 2016, Unikrn became an investor in BIG (Berlin International Gaming),^[7] a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. Unikrn also has an investment in MAINGEAR,^[8] a high-end PC manufacturer.

In the second quarter of 2017, Unikrn acquired LEET,^[9] an esports startup based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unikrn also owns an Indian-based esports company, DotaProHub.^[10]

In November 2017, the company released UnikoinGold, an ERC-20 cryptocurrency, running on the Ethereum blockchain.^[11][12][13]

In September 2020, Unikrn agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after raising $31 million via a digital asset called UnikoinGold in an unregistered 2019 token sale of digital.^[14] Unikrn volunteered to settle without a determination of guilt by paying a $6.1 million penalty to be paid via a Fair Fund to its token holders. Unikrn also undertook to disable UnikoinGold ^[15] Unikrn settled despite lack of consensus within the SEC that Unikoingold constituted a security, with Commissioner Hester M. Peirce saying, "I do not concur in my colleagues’ opinion that Unikrn’s token offering constituted a securities offering[...] By failing to challenge ourselves to experiment with new approaches to regulation, we, and those whose interests we are pledged to serve, risk surrendering the fruits of innovation. I respectfully dissent from the Commission’s actions today relating to Unikrn."^[16] She further clarified, "[Unikrn] is not alleged to have engaged in any fraud."

In 2021, Unikrn partnered with FYX Gaming to work jointly on development of an updated monetization structure.