According to Reuters, which quoted persons familiar with the situation, Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, a creator of blockchain gaming technology, has allegedly trimmed its objective for its metaverse fund by a further 20% to $800 million.
The blockchain gaming technology startup apparently cut back a billion-dollar aim because of the turbulence in the cryptocurrency market. Before cutting that aim in half to $1 billion in January 2023, the business had stated in November 2022 that it was working on a new Animoca Capital fund with a target of $2 billion.
Recent developments revealed that the corporation has again decreased its aim by another 20% to $800 million, according to those acquainted with the situation. According to Reuters, the sources requested not to be identified since they were not allowed to speak to the media.
Animoca’s market capitalization, which was originally estimated at over $6 billion following a Temasek-led fundraising round in July 2022, has allegedly dropped to below $2 billion, with company shares selling at a significantly lower price in secondary markets, according to two people who spoke to Reuters.
The lower fundraising goal and falling valuation indicate a shift in opinion toward the cryptocurrency sector, as interest in such technologies has waned as a result of scandals ranging from FTX’s demise to the insolvency of several crypto lenders.
According to a Nasdaq report from 2022, Animoca Brand was the creator of the metaverse with the greatest funding. According to the study, Animoca closed 15 agreements in the metaverse in 2022 and received more than $564 million in investment.
One of the top metaverse platforms, The Sandbox, is primarily owned by Animoca, a significant participant in the sector. Aside from this investment, the firm has actively contributed to the development of GameFi and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). One of the co-founders of Animoca, Yat Siu, predicted that GameFi will emerge as one of the primary entry points for the general public to the metaverse.