by Sergio Goschenko
Cryptoys, an NFT-based startup, announced it has raised $23 million in a Series A funding round led by a16z. The company, which seeks to mix NFTs with the world of gaming and virtual toys, will create what it calls a “cryptoyverse,” in which it will also implement play-to-earn features and issue its own tokens.
The NFT market is facing a slump phase that is affecting prices and the popularity of NFT projects recently. However, there are projects that have managed to stay afloat and even thrive. One of them is Cryptoys, an NFT startup that has announced the completion of a successful funding round.
The Series A funding round, which raised $23 million, was led by a16z crypto, with the participation of other companies and firms including Mattel, Dapper Labs, Draper & Associates, Acrew Capital, Coinfund, Animoca Brands, and Sound Ventures.
The company will use these funds to further develop its own platform, dubbed “cryptoyverse,” which aims to entice a younger crown to engage with NFTs and play-to-earn services on top of the Flow blockchain, the same tech used by Dapper Labs to deploy its well known NBA Top Shot app.
About the inclusion of younger users in this play-to-earn and gaming platform, Cryptoys’ CEO Will Weinraub stated:
You have to take a step back from all of this Web3 maximalism. You’ve got to take baby steps to getting millions and millions of people to these new paradigms.
Arianna Simpson, a general partner of a16z, who also participated in the seed round of the company, stated:
The high caliber of creative and storytelling from the Cryptoys team is primed to delight and excite the next generation of consumers and collectors.
The company also announced that it would pursue alternative activities, including gaming activities where users can win NFTs to get onto the platform. For monetization, the platform is planning to issue a pair of tokens, Toyken and Binary Dust.
Cryptoys recently entered a partnership with Mattel, which also contributed to this funding round, to bring some of the classic toy lines of the company into its world. According to reports, these IPs might include toys like Hot Wheels, Barbie, and Masters of the Universe, but none have been confirmed as of yet by the company. These will be sold as avatars to be used in Cryptoys’ cryptoyverse.
What do you think about Cryptoys’ $23 million Series A funding round? Tell us in the comments section below.
Sergio is a cryptocurrency journalist based in Venezuela. He describes himself as late to the game, entering the cryptosphere when the price rise happened during December 2017. Having a computer engineering background, living in Venezuela, and being impacted by the cryptocurrency boom at a social level, he offers a different point of view about crypto success and how it helps the unbanked and underserved.
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