TechFlow news, on February 28, according to CoinDesk, Blackbird, a restaurant loyalty platform founded by Ben Leventhal, co-founder of Resy and Eater, announced the mainnet launch of Flynet, its Layer-3 blockchain network built on Coinbase's Base chain, bringing restaurant payments on-chain.
The Blackbird team stated that the Layer-3 network brings significant advantages to the foodservice industry: "By fully processing payments and loyalty programs on Flynet, Blackbird eliminates traditional intermediaries, reduces transaction costs, and introduces new reward models for diners and partners."
Previously, Blackbird launched a payment platform allowing users to pay for meals using its native token $FLY. Users can earn $FLY tokens by dining at participating restaurants or purchasing them with USDC stablecoins within the app. With the launch of Flynet, $FLY will continue serving the same purposes, while restaurants can now also use the token to pay platform fees. Additionally, the team has introduced a new token, $F2, to cover network gas fees.
Blackbird has raised $85 million in funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coinbase, Spark Capital, and American Express. In 2023, a16z led the platform’s Series A round, raising over $24 million.
