Matchpool

What Matchpool does

Matchpool is a private blockchain startup building a decentralized matchmaking protocol on Ethereum. Founded around 2016–2017 by Yonatan Ben Shimon (CEO), Max Richardson (CCO), and Or Demri (CTO), the company operates with a small team of approximately 11 members spanning co-founders, CTO, community management, communications, legal, UX, and international operations. The platform positions itself as both a dating-focused application and a generic protocol for any paid-membership community with two clearly defined sides — explicitly targeting Dating, Membership Clubs, Leisure/Lifestyle, Businesses, Recruitment, Education, and Health verticals.

The core product is the Matchpool Protocol, which uses Ethereum smart contracts to handle trust-sensitive ownership and reward structures. Anyone can create a community "pool" for free, set custom rules and terms, and invite members; the protocol's algorithm automatically distributes Guppy (GUP) token rewards to pool owners and participants when matches are made. The GUP ERC-20 token is the integral value-transfer and incentive mechanism and can be purchased or sold with real money. Distribution is via a web/desktop application, an iOS mobile app, and viral peer-to-peer pool creation.

Matchpool's business model is unconventional: there is no traditional SaaS pricing, and pool creation is free. Revenue to date has been generated exclusively through a public ETH crowdfunding campaign in late March / early April 2017 that raised 125,000 ETH (~$5.7M) in under two days; intended future revenue is to flow through token-mediated transaction fees and value transfer within the protocol economy. Go-to-market is community-led and product-led, amplified across crypto-native channels (Medium, Telegram, Slack, Reddit, GitHub, QQ, WeChat, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) and PR in major crypto outlets (Forbes, CoinDesk, Coin Telegraph, CoinFund, SiliconAngle, Finance Magnates). The advisor bench — including Ethereum co-founder Dr. Gavin Wood, CoinFund co-founder Jake Brukhman, Steem CEO Ned Scott, and ex-Tinder Head of European Communications Hermione Way — provides disproportionate ecosystem and industry credibility for a company of this size.

Name

Matchpool

Legal name

Matchpool

Website

https://matchpool.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Matchpool is a decentralized matchmaking protocol on Ethereum that lets anyone create community "pools" for free, with the Guppy (GUP) token powering automated rewards. It serves community builders, pool owners, and end users across dating, membership clubs, and other two-sided marketplace verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Israelândia

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Guppy (GUP) Token Sale / Crowdfunding: Pre-launch revenue via public token sale; raised 125,000 ETH in just under two days during crowdfunding campaign. Tokens (Guppies) can be purchased or sold with real money.
2. Free Pool Creation (Future Monetization via Token Economy): Pool creation is free for users; future revenue expected from token-mediated transaction fees, pool reward mechanics, and value transfer within the protocol economy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Matchpool is a decentralized matchmaking protocol built on Ethereum that lets any user create and manage community "pools" for free, define their own pool rules, and earn Guppy (GUP) token rewards when matches are made inside their pool. The platform uses algorithmic group dynamics to facilitate connections across use cases including dating, membership clubs, leisure/lifestyle, businesses, recruitment, education, and health, and can be used as a generic two-sided paid membership community framework. The GUP token powers the reward and incentive economy, with trust-sensitive ownership and reward logic enforced by Ethereum smart contracts.

Product overview

Matchpool is a single unified decentralized matchmaking platform with a token-incentivized module architecture. The core platform is the Matchpool Protocol, which uses Ethereum smart contracts to enforce trust-sensitive ownership and reward structures; built on top of it are community "Pools" (user-created matchmaker communities with custom rules), and the Guppy (GUP) cryptographic token that powers reward distribution and a paid-membership marketplace spanning dating, clubs, lifestyle, business, recruitment, education, and health use cases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Matchpool Platform Decentralized matchmaking protocol built on Ethereum that lets anyone create and manage community "pools" for free, with a trusted algorithm automating match rewards across the network. It is intended for end users joining pools, pool owners operating communities, and any two-sided paid membership community across dating, clubs, lifestyle, business, recruitment, education, and health use cases.
• Guppy (GUP) Token ERC-style cryptographic token that powers the Matchpool economy; can be purchased or sold with real money and serves as the integral reward and incentive mechanism for matchmakers, pool owners, and participants.

Quantifiable outcome

• 125,000 ETH raised in crowdfunding in under two days
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EthereumcoreTechnology or IntegrationMatchpool's decentralized matchmaking protocol is built on Ethereum. Smart contracts handle trust-sensitive ownership and reward structures on-chain. Advisor Dr. Gavin Wood is co-founder and former CTO of Ethereum.
• ICO365minorGTM or Marketing PartnerICO365 is listed alongside the whitepaper as a featured partner/platform, indicating a token-sale listing or distribution collaboration.
• 8BTCminorGTM or Marketing Partner8BTC (a leading Chinese crypto media outlet) is featured alongside the whitepaper, supporting Matchpool's China-market visibility.
• Wings.aiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLegal advisor Lior Zysman also advises Wings.ai, suggesting overlapping advisor relationships and potential strategic alignment within the Ethereum ecosystem.
• Smith+CrownminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLegal advisor Lior Zysman is also a legal contributor to Smith+Crown, a crypto research and advisory platform, providing content/thought-leadership support.
• DevPool (Matchpool Developers)coreTechnology or IntegrationDevPool is Matchpool's developer community hosted at matchpool.org, with a dedicated Slack channel (#C4TB4504V) for technical contributors and developers building on the protocol.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Steemit: Decentralized content/social platform with token rewards (Steem). Comparable to Matchpool as a pioneer token-incentivized social protocol, and shares advisor overlap (Ned Scott as Steem CEO was a Matchpool advisor).
• Bumble: Major mainstream dating app with a freemium, women-first model. Direct incumbent competitor for the same end-user dating audience that Matchpool targets with its token-incentivized pools.
• Match Group (Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid): Largest subscription dating platform operator globally. The dominant incumbent Matchpool positions itself against, and the category where Hermione Way (Matchpool advisor) previously held a senior comms role.

Others

• Wings DAO (Wings.ai): Ethereum-based forecasting and DAO platform that shared Matchpool's legal advisor (Lior Zysman). Comparable as a 2017-era Ethereum token-issuance project, illustrating the broader ICO-era peer set.
• ConsenSys: Ethereum development studio and venture studio. An enabling ecosystem player — Katherine Bai (Matchpool's China Community Manager) was a ConsenSys intern — providing developer talent, tooling, and ecosystem support relevant to Matchpool's stack.

Direct peers

• DateCoin (DTC): ERC-20-tokenized dating platform that raised via 2018 ICO. Same playbook as Matchpool: Ethereum smart-contract-based matchmaking, token-incentivized rewards, and freemium pool/community model targeting mainstream dating.
• Hicky: Blockchain dating app using cryptographic tokens for user verification and incentive alignment. Smaller-scale direct competitor in the same 'crypto + dating' niche as Matchpool.
• Luna (Luna Dating): Crypto-incentivized dating platform rewarding users in tokens for engagement and successful matches. Closely aligned with Matchpool's algorithmic, token-rewarded matchmaking thesis.
• Viola.AI: Blockchain- and AI-powered dating and relationship platform by Lunch Actually. Directly comparable to Matchpool in combining a dating product with a cryptographic token economy and white-label matchmaking tools.

Emerging players

• Minds: Open-source, decentralized social network with token rewards for engagement. Comparable as a token-incentivized community platform that competes for the same crypto-native, free-pool community-builder audience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/matchpool
• GitHubgithub.com/matchpool
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCcf_IzeuDxTl9X4f72Y3XYw
• Facebookfacebook.com/matchpoolhq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/matchpool

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Matchpool