Formerly ASX-listed Animoca Brands has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Bondly Finance, an NFT launchpad that counts YouTube influencer Logan Paul and Canadian rapper Tory Lanez among its customers.

Bondly is developing an NFT swap protocol, a marketplace, cross-chain NFT minting and bridges, enabling gamers to easily move NFTs from one blockchain to another. It has also launched its own NFT collection, Polka Pets, a collectible card game.

“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 Brands co-founder and chairman 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.”

Animoca has made more than 100 investments in some of the world’s leading NFT-related companies, including OpenSea and Dapper Labs. It has raised US$138.88 million in two capital raisings this year, at a valuation of US$1 billion.

Bondly said Animoca’s focus on NFTs synergizes well with Bondly’s vision to introduce NFT owners to the opportunities presented by DeFi ecosystems.

“Joining forces with Animoca Brands is a game-changing strategic alignment that will propel GameFi to the next level,” said Bondly Finance chief executive and co-founder Harry Liu.

“As a pioneer in the NFT space, we will bring our extensive know-how in delivering high-quality, high-utility NFT experiences to the Animoca Brands portfolio companies.”

Paul used Bondly to distribute his first-ever limited series of NFT collectives for fans, which sold out within 30 minutes. Two-time BRIT award winner Lewis Capaldi used the platform to launch his “Big Fat Sexy Card Collection” of holographic collectible cards.

The company has 21 employees listed on LinkedIn, across the United States, Canada and the UK.

It’s led by Liu and chief operating officer Rob Tran, who have a combined 30 years of experience in blockchain and e-commerce sectors.

 

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