Bitcoin Gaming Company ZEBEDEE hæver $35 millioner til virtuelle økonomier

• ZEBEDEE secured a $35 million investment to scale operations in order to meet growing demand.
• The bitcoin-only gaming developer has witnessed a 10x increase in its user base since September of last year.
• Lead investors included Square Enix, the AAA gaming studio behind multiple global video game IP’s such as FInal Fantasy and Tomb Raider.

ZEBEDÆ, a bitcoin-only gaming developer, has secured $35 million in a series B fundraising event to scale circular economies in virtual worlds, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine.

Finansieringen vil blive brugt til at skalere ZEBEDEE's team, så de kan imødekomme behovene hos dets stigende brugerbase, som oplevede en 10x stigning siden opstartens første finansieringsrunde i september sidste år. Den hurtige vækst, som virksomheden forklarer, skyldes til dels innovation partnerskaber med eksisterende spilstudier , integrationer med blockchain industrieksperter.

"Vi er glade for at være i en position, hvor vi trygt kan skalere vores team og vokse vores forretning, selvom den makroøkonomiske baggrund bliver mere og mere usikker," sagde Simon Cowell, CEO for ZEBEDEE. "Denne finansieringsrunde giver os muligheden for at opfylde vores meget ambitiøse køreplan både med hensyn til at opbygge vores infrastruktur for at understøtte de hundredvis af millioner af brugere, der spiller vores partneres spil, samt ansætte de talenter på topniveau, der er nødvendige for at sikre, at alle partner har den bedst mulige erfaring med at arbejde med ZEBEDEE."

ZEBEDEE creates a circular economy allowing its users to earn bitcoin across multiple video games by leveraging the Lightning Network, a layer two application built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain which enables users to have access to instant, low-cost micropayments in bitcoin.

ZEBEDEE tilbyder en suite af applikationsprogrammeringsgrænseflader (API) suiter, samt applikationer til udviklere which can allow any gaming developer to create a virtual bitcoin economy. Examples of a virtual economy would be earning bitcoin every time you collect a coin as Mario, or each time you shoot someone in a CS:GO match.

“We have seen new monetization methods disrupt the gaming industry in the past, and we believe the integration of Bitcoin directly into games is a new way to expand the connection with players and engage them in ways that were never possible before,” said Kenny Lee, VP at Raine Group. “The wide range of use cases for ZEBEDEE’s platform provides flexibility for the game designer and allows ZEBEDEE to partner with any developer, from AAA console and PC to hyper-casual mobile.”

Ledende investorer omfattede Square Enix Holdings, Kingsway Capital og The Raine Group.