Mintable, a Singapore-based non-fungible token platform, this week closed a US$13 million series-A funding round, with U.S. payments technology company Ripple Labs investing.
Fast facts
- Mintable, currently built on the Ethereum and Zilliqa blockchains, enables users to create, buy and sell NFTs using fiat or cryptocurrency. Mintable intends to use the fresh capital to scale its operations and boost its growth and user acquisition initiatives, according to a company announcement.
- Mintable CEO and founder Zach Burks told Forkast.News in an email: “2021 has been the year where NFTs really took off and we’ve since seen some highs and lows. On our platform, we’re starting to see more and more creators utilizing the technology to further engage with their community through airdrops, unlockables, etc, more than just as a means of authenticating a piece of art on the blockchain.”
- “We are also starting to see interest from brands and more importantly, businesses, in exploring NFTs as a means for them to engage more with their community. And that is a segment we have been closely monitoring and are in the process of developing a dedicated solution for,” Burks added.
- In a blog post, Ripple said: “As tokenization launches into the mainstream, we believe the ability to digitally sign an asset, sell it on a blockchain, and receive real income from its subsequent sales will create the tipping point for widespread crypto adoption.” As part of its growth plans to support more blockchains, Mintable plans to integrate with the XRP Ledger, an open-source, permissionless and decentralized blockchain, which offers a low transaction fee of US$0.0004.
- “NFTs are giving rise to powerful new business models for creators,” said Monica Long, general manager of RippleX at Ripple. “Accelerating the growth of this creator economy starts with an infrastructure that removes the barriers to entry — such as high gas fees and environmental costs of creating NFTs — faced by many today.”
- Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based mobile and blockchain gaming developer, Metapurse, an NFT investment fund backed by Singapore-based Metakovan, and Doug Band, an American businessman and former adviser to ex-president Bill Clinton, are among the investors that participated in Mintable’s latest funding round. Earlier high-profile investors in Mintable include U.S. billionaire Mark Cuban, Guy Oseary and Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures, Marc Benioff’s Time Ventures, Hong Kong-based Crypto.com and LongHash Ventures.