"First of its kind" collaboration between Liithos and CoinZoom, built on the Hedera network, reinvents Sunday Comics for a Web3 generation

Mega-TikTok Influencer Michael Le Partners with Liithos to create Ashfall, The TikTok Creator Series and Innovative 5-Episode Digital Collectible, Premiering Sunday, January 29

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, Liithos, a AAA gaming and entertainment studio led by PlayStation veterans Michael Mumbauer (The Last of Us) and John Garvin (Days Gone) and Web3 marketplace CoinZoom have partnered with mega-influencer Michael Le (52.2 million followers on TikTok) to create an innovative narrative series to launch exclusively on TikTok. Starring Le along with TikTok influencer Slider Jesus (257k followers on Instagram), the epic adventure will introduce the world to Ashfall, the first transmedia IP announced by the Liithos team earlier this year that will launch as a comic book series in March and with a AAA video game currently in development,  built on the highly respected, low-cost, and sustainable Hedera network.

"Today's superstars are elevated by millions of real fans and followers on TikTok where we find our new heroes and villains," said Mumbauer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Liithos. "We are looking to collaborate, integrate, and elevate multimedia experiences with superstars like Michael Le for the next generation. The Liithos TikTok Creators series is the first of many experiences Liithos is looking to launch to create easily traversable pathways between media and the evolving web space."

Fully embracing the opportunities that Web3 opens for gamers and creators alike, this initial series creates 5 free digital collectibles, each including an "easter egg" of 3 pages of the upcoming comic for enthusiasts to collect - all featuring legendary comic book talent.

Built on the Hedera network, Liithos see this as the start of a fully actualized vision where all the benefits of decentralization, social gaming and narrative-led content collide beautifully.

"We were very particular about who we wanted to make Ashfall with." Mumbauer continued "We believe in sustainable ecosystems and want a healthy planet, but also love innovation. Hedera allows for both. We can innovate but not at the expense of our planet. They were the only choice for us. CoinZoom brings the simplicity and user experience that opens the door to all, not just the web3 crowd – so anyone can get in at the start of this new franchise."

Beginning January 29, the five-episode digital series can be viewed on Le's highly-trafficked TikTok and, in a throwback to the appointment viewing of the Sunday Comics of old, will feature a new episode every Sunday. Liithos will celebrate each episode by releasing a unique free digital collectible that will be available only through CoinZoom, with collectors paying just a small processing fee. Fans who collect all five digital collectibles can return to claim a bonus sixth mystery digital collectible available only to those who've participated in the entire event!

Adding extra value, the digital collectibles will give fans access to a sneak preview of the upcoming Ashfall comic series. Written and drawn by a who's who of comic talent including Garvin, who conceived and wrote the story, along with art from Marvel and DC artist Paul Pelletier (Aquaman, Guardians of the Galaxy, et al), Brett Booth (Backlash, Gunslinger), and Eisner Award winner Tony Harris (Starman, Ex Machina), the comic book series introduces fans for the first time to the Ashfall Universe, which takes place in the climate-change ravaged Pacific Northwest where Seattle has been submerged beneath the ocean for hundreds of years.

Todd Crosland, CEO and Co-Founder of CoinZoom,which is hosting the Marketplace for the collectibles, said "Our part is to bridge Web 2 to Web 3 with the easiest, fastest way to sign up, claim and trade digital assets. A simple sign-on, super-easy claim process and paying the small processing fee with Apple Pay or Google Pay opens up access to anyone to get involved. This is not just for the crypto-forward or NFT fanatics – anyone who follows Michael Le, or loves comics, or wants to get in at the beginning of the next big gaming franchise, can get their Ashfall episode in a few quick steps." Crosland added, " Building  on Hedera has been great – we are big fans of their network and it was built for mass-scale, content-rich engagements like this."

"Web3 opens up a new frontier for engaging content with true ownership of creative assets," said Alex Russman, Head of the Metaverse Fund at the HBAR Foundation, supporting the growth of the Hedera ecosystem. "The Liithos team, combined with Michael Le, present unparalleled expertise and achievements in pushing boundaries to advance the Creator Economy - it is fantastic to see this activated at scale on the Hedera network."     

About Liithos

Liithos is creating immersive multimedia universes with gaming at their core. The team is composed of industry veterans and talent from around the world including Days Gone creator, John Garvin, Last of Us executive, Michael Mumbauer, Fallout's, Trammel Isaac, Thor's Love and Thunder concept artist, Marco Iozzi and many more. Liithos first IP, Ashfall, was announced in late June 2022. The Ashfall universe currently contains a comic and game under development.

Liithos is pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve, using industry-standard tools and cutting-edge technology. Liithos is harnessing technologies like Hedera Hashgraph to bring deeper experiences to gamers and media consumers. Beyond creation, Liithos is breaking long outdated industry standards with initiatives like no crunch and fully remote opportunities.

For more information, visit https://liithos.com , or follow us on Twitter at @liithosent, or Discord at https://discord.gg/liithos.

About The HBAR Foundation

The HBAR Foundation supports the creation of Web3 communities built on the Hedera network, by empowering and funding the builders developing these communities. The Foundation's six funds - focused on the Crypto Economy, Metaverse, Sustainability, Fintech, Privacy, and Female Founders - each support communities within those areas, and the interconnectedness enables applications to participate as part of a larger ecosystem.   

The collective power of these funds enables entrepreneurs, developers, and enterprises of all sizes to tackle some of the world's largest problems, and create and control their own economies, all built on the Hedera public network. Whether you're building something new or migrating an existing EVM-based application and community, the HBAR Foundation is here to support you.

For additional information, please visit https://hbarfoundation.org.     

About CoinZoom

CoinZoom is a trusted Web 3 fintech platform, based, audited and regulated licensed in the US, offering a range of international financial and digital asset services utilizing cash, debit and crypto payments. This includes a secure trading exchange, specializing in buying, selling, sending and spending Bitcoin, Ethereum, and over 40 top digital currencies. To support bringing the benefits of blockchain technology to millions, CoinZoom offers instant cash deposits at over 30,000 retail locations in the US. Its unique international peer-to-peer payment system, called ZoomMe, is part of its cash-to-crypto ecosystem for its customers in over almost 200 countries, allowing them to deposit cash and send it or crypto almost anywhere in the world, instantly for free – saving potentially millions of dollars in remittance fees. The CoinZoom Visa debit card, allows customers the ability to instantly convert crypto to fiat and spend it at over 53M merchants globally while earning up to 5% back in crypto on each purchase. There is also an end-to-end NFT Marketplace solution where anyone can buy NFTs with cash, debit, credit or crypto within seconds and then easily trade their digital assets on the secondary market. The CoinZoom platform was built with a multi-layered security approach, and the team's decades of experience in financial technology security are equally important in safeguarding customer funds and personal information. CoinZoom is a U.S. registered Money Services Business with FinCen and holds a SOC2 Type I Certification, which is highly regarded as the most rigorous test for the trustworthiness of a company's processes, best practices and diligence around securing customer data. CoinZoom is also a U.S. registered Money Transmitter, available for trading in 48 states and has subsidiaries in Australia and Ireland. CoinZoom Australia PTY LTD is registered as a Digital Currency Exchange with AUSTRAC and CoinZoom Europe Limited and is pending registration as a VASP in Ireland.

CoinZoom contact: [email protected]

SOURCE The HBAR Foundation