Solana ticketing platform XP raises $6.2M
The resale exchange has expansion plans involving fan perks
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XP, a ticketing resale exchange built with Solana rails, has raised $6.2 million in a seed round led by Blockchange, the platform tells Lightspeed exclusively.
L1D and Reflexive also participated in the round. XP uses Solana rails for discounted ticket sales, but hints at grander ambitions surrounding fan experience down the road.
XP is one of a number of upstart ticketing exchanges seeking to disrupt the popular but widely-disliked incumbents such as TicketMaster and SeatGeek. These ticketing titans caught the ire of the Biden administration, which just had a rule banning hidden so-called junk fees from ticketing platforms go into effect on Monday.
XP lists all-in prices by default. Its listed prices for tickets to upcoming New York Mets games roughly track with prices on TickPick, another popular resale ticketing app.
The Solana of it all comes from the ticketing codes, which are encrypted as NFTs. You wouldn’t know that from browsing the website, though — the only apparent crypto mention is the option to connect a crypto wallet and pay for tickets in USDC.
“XP has sold millions of dollars in annualized ticket sales to thousands of customers,” XP founder and CEO Mike Saunders said when I asked about the platform’s traction. He did not give a firm answer when I asked if XP would be launching a token.
Saunders has been around the block: His 1990s food ordering and menu website company was acquired by GrubHub in 2011. Saunders went on to found a tech development shop named Blueprint before starting XP, which is his first foray into blockchain.
I actually met Saunders briefly at the Solana Boston conference in October, where I recall him saying he thinks about his startup constantly and obsessively.
But whether all that thinking creates venture-scale returns following this fundraise may depend on XP’s coming expansion. Ticketing marketplaces are a crowded field, and with the Biden junk fees rule in effect, transparent pricing may become a bit less of a selling point.
On its site, XP teases that the platform will soon be about “more” than just tickets. Saunders also added that XP has plans in the works for users to be able to list and resell their own tickets.
“Fandom is deeply personal, and we believe blockchain unlocks a whole slew of opportunities for fans to be recognized, celebrated and rewarded,” Saunders said. “Our goal is to leverage verified fandom to provide access to special rewards, epic experiences and exclusive perks to members of the XP community.”
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