Animoca Brands made a strategic investment in Igloo, Inc., the parent company of Pudgy Penguins. The fund aims to expand NFT as a consumer crypto, alongside its Mocaverse platform.
Igloo, Inc., the parent company behind the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection, will receive a strategic funding round from Animoca Brands. The fund, which remains one of the most active investors in Web3 and NFT, is looking for projects that complement the Mocaverse brand. The Mocaverse includes NFT, digital identity and metaverse features, aiming to reinvigorate consumer crypto with a gamified element.
Animoca Brands has continued its support for Web3 features despite the prolonged bear market and loss of popularity. Its main subsidiary, the Sandbox, remains one of the most successful games with Web3 elements, while Pudgy Penguins has stood out from less active NFT collections.
Pudgy Penguins tries to stay relevant
The investment comes at a time when Pudgy Penguins is trying to maintain its relevance and community. Interest in NFT has increased slightly in recent weeks, with Pudgy Penguins remaining the third most active collection. Penguins are still selling at a floor price of 11.90 ETH or higher, surpassed only by BAYC and Crypto Punks.
Animoca Brand’s investment will focus on Pudgy Penguins as one of the best examples of consumer crypto. The collection’s fame also depends on Luca Schnetzler, known as @LucaNetz, who acts as a brand ambassador and influencer. Even after NFT delays, Schnetzler supports the Penguins project for its community-building capabilities.
“This investment from Animoca Brands is a testament to our vision and commitment to building a thriving ecosystem. It will continue to help us create the largest onchain community and drive the next wave of consumer crypto.Schnetzler said.
The Pudgy Penguins brand also extends beyond the digital world, offering physical toys and other merchandise. The Pudgy Penguins brand has reached an agreement with holders to retain the rights to merchandise based on their digital collectibles.
The platform is one of the first to leverage Web3’s intellectual property and expand into content, plush toys and mystery boxes. Each physical toy is a collectible in itself, but buyers can also customize their digital image and receive a blockchain record that serves as a certificate of uniqueness. Pudgy Penguin collections are spreading in mainstream toy stores and serving as a tool for Web3 onboarding.
The original Penguins collection contains only 8,888 items, with an additional 22,222 Lil Pudgys. The rarity is key to building the community, with its Discord communication and side platforms. The NFT collection meets the strategy of Igloo, Inc. to encourage broader consumer adoption of cryptocurrency.
Penguins maintained their ownership in a similar way to meme token communities, albeit with the added complexity of digital items. Blue chip NFT have much lower activity, but they are not completely forgotten and can be tapped for their value. While BAYC runs on exclusivity and rare physical items, while Punks and Miladys are completely digital, Pudgy Penguins is the only brand to spread into mainstream consciousness and product design.
Animoca Brands supports Igloo’s Abstract chain
Animoca Brands will focus on supporting Abstract, a new consumer crypto chain from Igloo. The investment will be made together with subsidiary The Sandbox and Animoca Brands Japan.
The investment will take the form of a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), a similar approach to Animoca Brands’ previous strategic rounds. Igloo has picked up two so far financing rounds for an unknown value. The previous funding round for Igloo was on October 30, with Newman Capital as the sole leader and participant.
The Abstract chain will be another L2 EVM compatible chain, allowing a broader user base to join Web3 with minimal hurdles and costs. For NFT, a scalable, low-cost layer is especially important, as transfers on Ethereum can be prohibitively expensive.
The Abstract L2 is still underway, with no mainnet or tokens launched. The chain will be a ZK rollupwithout details on native tokens, speed or costs. Igloo will look to create a chain for its specific Web3 purposes, specifically under the Pudgy Penguins brand.
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