Tech
Hong Kong Cryptocurrency Gaming Unicorn Animoca Brands Invests $30 Million in Cryptocurrency Exchange Start-up Hello During Web3 Winter
Hi’s namesake app combines cryptocurrency trading features and mobile banking features, the company said. The platform also facilitates cryptocurrency trading and allows users to sign up for a Mastercard debit card that allows them to make cryptocurrency payments. Most users will receive an electronic card, while those in some European countries will also receive a physical card.
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Hong Kong’s latest tech unicorn, Animoca Brands, is betting big on video game NFTs
Hong Kong’s latest tech unicorn, Animoca Brands, is betting big on video game NFTs
Since last month, cryptocurrency exchanges have been required to apply for a license from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to sell and market their products to consumers in the city. Exchanges that already had a major presence in Hong Kong have a one-year window to continue operations as they prepare to comply with the new rules or exit the market.
Hi said it has completed pre-registration activities under the supervision of the SFC to secure the license as a virtual asset trading platform. The company’s global platform now has more than 3.5 million users, 1 million of whom have passed so-called “know your customer” checks.
As part of the new partnership with Animoca, Hi users will be able to spend and receive Animoca tokens, such as Sand, among other initiatives.
Animoca’s capital injection comes despite growing caution from investors around the world, as the United States steps up scrutiny of the cryptocurrency sector and as interest rates reach their highest point in more than two decades.
According to Pitchbook Data, the value of cryptocurrency-related venture capital investments plummeted 78% year-on-year in the first quarter to $2.6 billion, while the number of deals fell 64%.
The value of funding fell further to $2.34 billion in the second quarter, according to TechCrunch, citing Pitchbook data that was not made public.
Animoca, which has more than 450 startups in its investment portfolio, was valued at nearly $6 billion last July in a funding round led by Singapore state investment firm Temasek.
Since then, its valuation has fallen below $2 billion, according to a Reuters report in March, while sales offers published earlier this month on Chinese technology news site 36Kr valued the company at $4 billion .
“Trading our shares on secondary markets does not provide a reliable indication of value, as the total volume of such transactions is very small,” an Animoca spokesperson said on Thursday.
Animoca’s valuation has decreased due to weakening sentiment in the market NFTs market. According to the Forkast 500 NFT Index, the average price of NFT tokens has dropped 91.7% since the start of 2022. tracks data in real time on 21 blockchains including Ethereum, Solana, Polygon and Cardano.
Animoca said in May it held $194 million in cash and stablecoins – a type of cryptocurrency pegged to an asset, usually fiat money – as well as $566 million in liquid digital assets. It also held $2.7 billion in tokens from all of its majority-owned Web3 subsidiaries.