Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based producer of blockchain games and investor in non-fungible tokens, has hit a $2.2 billion valuation after securing capital from investors including Sequoia China and France’s Ubisoft Entertainment.
According to an announcement made Wednesday, Animoca raised $65 million in its most recent funding round, which included Liberty City Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, and Justin Sun, a protégé of Jack Ma and the brains behind cryptocurrency platform, Tron.
Animoca had secured $88.9 million in a May investment round, elevating the seven-year-old company to unicorn status.
The company established a reputation for itself through its play-to-earn blockchain games, which enable players to acquire and exchange NFTs on its platforms.
NFT in simple terms
An NFT is a blockchain-based digital asset that certifies ownership of items such as art, music, films, or in-game objects.
The Sandbox, a game akin to the world-building computer game Minecraft, is one of Animoca’s most popular products. Players can build and commercialize in-game assets such as lands, wearables, and equipment in The Sandbox.
Animoca stated that the fresh capital will be used to fund strategic initiatives, acquisitions, product development, and intellectual property licensing.
“The future has already arrived,” Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of Animoca, said in quotes by Forbes.
“With the support of our new strategic investors, Animoca Brands will continue to expand blockchain technology in gaming—and beyond—in order to provide actual digital ownership to billions of gamers and internet users,” Siu added.
NFT trade volume soars
The company’s most recent investment round demonstrates the NFTs’ burgeoning appeal.
According to an industry analysis provided by DappRadar, trading volume for the tokens increased to $10.7 billion in the third quarter — a 705% increase over the previous quarter.
Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has joined the bandwagon by selling a song as an NFT, while celebrities and athletes such as Lionel Messi and Lindsay Lohan have launched their own NFT collections.
Image courtesy of Cointelegraph News/YouTube
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