Blockchain entertainment company Animoca Brands has acquired a majority stake in non-fungible token (NFT) solution provider Bondly. The investment is looking to use Bondly’s solutions to promote the adoption of NFTs across Animoca’s portfolio.
Animoca has an extensive investment portfolio in the NFT industry ranging from infrastructure platforms such as Flow and Polygon, play-to-earn initiatives Yield Guild and amasa, decentralized finance solutions, digital marketplaces, esports, art, and blockchain gaming.
The investment in Bondly is strategic beyond its market reach because Bondly is working on NFT swap protocols and cross-chain NFT minting and bridges that will enable NFT owners to move their digital assets from one blockchain to another. This feature should enhance the utility of ownership of an NFT and consequently make Animoca digital assets more attractive.
“Bondly has developed powerful tools to help onboard brands and individuals to the world of NFTs, and has built valuable relationships with many leading brands and artists,” said Animoca’s co-founder Yat Siu. “These products and relationships will be of great assistance to Animoca Brands and our portfolio companies, including the Launchpad Luna accelerator, as we drive the shift to the true digital ownership model made possible by NFTs.”
Despite its technological success, Bondly is in a vulnerable position, which might have contributed to Animoca’s acquiring a majority stake. In July of this year, Bondly experienced an attack on corporate wallets that held tokens and NFTs. The attack involved compromising a password of Bondly’s then CEO Brandon Smith that enabled the hacker to recreate the corporate wallets. That’s the sort of thing decentralized solutions usually try to guard against.
With a unicorn valuation, backing from Samsung, and over 100 names in the NFT industry within its network, Animoca is in a good position to bring Bondly back from the setback.
Meanwhile, Bondly has had some success spreading NFTs in Mexico’s top football league Liga MX. The platform launched an NFT collection in partnership with the league and supported the auction of a 1% team ownership stake in Club Necaxa as an NFT.
