Bessie Liu

Crypto funding continues to gain momentum in the third week of the new year.



Among the recipients was Candy Digital, an NFT collectibles company. A recent US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1886975/000188697523000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filing</a> shows that the startup had secured $38.5 million from 14 different investors.



Candy Digital is the creation of sports merchandising giant Fanatics, entrepreneur and internet celebrity Gary Vaynerchuk, and Galaxy Digital. The startup was born during the NFT boom in 2021 and secured a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211021005313/en/Candy-Digital-Secures-100-Million-Investment-in-Series-A-Round-Values-Company-At-1.5bn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$100 million</a> Series A in October of that same year. The company was previously valued at <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211021005313/en/Candy-Digital-Secures-100-Million-Investment-in-Series-A-Round-Values-Company-At-1.5bn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$1.5 billion</a>, though that number has likely dipped in the bear market.&nbsp;



“The current environment offers a strong opportunity to build, and we look forward to continuing to scale our platform, form new partnerships with leading brands and institutions, and deliver best-in-class digital products to our customers,” Scott Lawin, CEO of Candy Digital said in a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230105005756/en/Leading-Digital-Collectible-Platform-Candy-Digital-Announces-Series-A1-Fundraise" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>.



Another company that gained the interest of venture capitalists this week was Web3 gaming platform Intella X.



The South Korean startup secured $12 million from prominent investors including Polygon, Animoca Brands and Magic Eden and has plans to launch on Polygon in the first quarter of 2023.



Funding will likely be spent on the Polygon launch and development of Intella X’s other products including a Web3 wallet, decentralized exchange (DEX), NFT marketplace and other games.



The Latin American region is also receiving interest. Web3 infrastructure provider Parfin landed a $15 million investment led by Framework Ventures. Other investors including Alexia Ventures, Valor Capital Group and L4 Venture Builder also participated in the round.&nbsp;



L4 Venture Builder is an investment fund owned by the Brazilian stock exchange, and its investment is still subject to approval, the company said.&nbsp;



“Raising these funds in such a complex and challenging market deepens our confidence in Parfin’s market strategy, technology, and products,” Marcos Viriato CEO and co-founder of Parfin said in a statement. “We plan on using these funds to both solidify our lead and accelerate our global expansion during this crucial building period.”



Other notable raises this week include:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Ulvetanna a zero-knowledge proof startup secured $15 million from Bain Capital Crypto, Paradigm and Jump Crypto.</li>



<li>Nil Foundation, another zero-knowledge tech startup, landed $22 million in a round led by Polychain Capital with participation from investors at Blockchain Capital, Starkware and <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/mina">Mina Protocol</a>.</li>



<li>Web3 fashion startup SYKY landed $9.5 million from a round led by Seven Seven Six, other investors including Brevan Howard Digital, Leadout Capital, First Light Capital Group and Polygon Ventures also participated in the round.</li>
</ul>



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Funding Roundup: Gaming and NFT Startups Gain Momentum

Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_61d73db6ee07b" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>“We want to connect fans at a league level, team level and player level and build out an ecosystem that’s not just a single product, but a series of products,” Lawin said</li>
 <li>Candy plans to add dynamic statistics to its digital icon trading cards, so that users can see new stats like home runs, hits and bases stolen, updated in real time</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Candy Digital’s NFT business hit a grand slam in 2021 thanks to an official partnership with Major League Baseball, CEO Scott Lawin told Blockworks in an exclusive interview.



Looking ahead, the company wants to tie fans to their favorite sports even further through the digital world.&nbsp;



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="271" height="300" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/candy-digital-CEO-271x300.jpeg" alt="Candy Digital CEO Scott Lawin" class="wp-image-13602" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/candy-digital-CEO-271x300.jpeg?w=271 271w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/candy-digital-CEO-271x300.jpeg?w=232 232w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/candy-digital-CEO-271x300.jpeg?w=236 236w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/candy-digital-CEO-271x300.jpeg?w=198 198w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/candy-digital-CEO-271x300.jpeg?w=72 72w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/candy-digital-CEO-271x300.jpeg?w=463 463w" sizes="(max-width: 271px) 100vw, 271px" /><figcaption>Candy Digital CEO Scott Lawin. Source: Candy Digital</figcaption></figure></div>



“We really see the NFTs we’re designing as objects that aren’t just digital collectibles sitting in the digital wallet but are things that are actually engaging [and] tie you back to the game and the team that you love,” Lawin said.&nbsp;



Last year, Candy’s marketplace grew from zero to 80,000 customers, created over 750 unique non-fungible token designs across seven product lines and released over 200,000 unique digital assets, he said.&nbsp;



The company also closed a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211021005313/en/Candy-Digital-Secures-100-Million-Investment-in-Series-A-Round-Values-Company-At-1.5bn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$100 million Series A</a> round in October 2021, which valued it at $1.5 billion. The round was co-led by Insight Partners and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 with additional investors, including current and retired athletes from MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL as well as NFL’s Peyton Manning.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Candy makes new strides&nbsp;</h3>



Candy Digital was <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/vaynerchuck-novogratz-partner-with-fanatics-for-new-nft-company-candy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">founded</a> in 2020 by Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, Galaxy Digital CEO <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/novogratz-galaxy-digital-starts-nft-collection-with-cryptopunk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mike Novogratz</a> and investor and entrepreneur, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/gary-vaynerchuk-how-he-bought-59-cryptopunks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gary Vaynerchuk</a>. <a href="https://www.fanatics.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fanatics</a> is a majority owner of Candy.&nbsp;



When Candy partnered with the MLB, it wasn’t about licensing its intellectual property or a cash grab in a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/defiance-co-founder-nfts-will-be-bigger-than-the-internet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hot NFT market</a>, but an exciting opportunity to connect fans differently, Lawin noted. “We want to connect fans at a league level, team level and player level and build out an ecosystem that’s not just a single product, but a series of products,” Lawin added.&nbsp;



The company launched its MLB partnership at the end of June 2021 and launched its platform in October. Since then, it introduced four products: trading cards, video-based products, a commemorative trophy product for the World Series and NFT-based digital apparel.



On Jan. 15, it is launching its secondary <a href="https://blog.candy.com/blogposts/candy-marketplace-launches-jan-15" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marketplace</a> where users can trade NFTs and list previously purchased digital assets.&nbsp;



Going forward, Candy plans to add dynamic statistics to its digital icon trading cards, so that users can see new stats like home runs, hits and bases stolen, updated in real-time. Other organizations like the <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/australian-open-serves-up-nfts-linked-to-live-matches/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Australian Open</a> also are launching a similar product with NFTs and metadata linked to real-time updates to reflect match outcomes.&nbsp;



The company is also eyeing additional sports partnerships as well as considering expansion into new sectors like art, entertainment and music, even though “sports is the core of Candy’s DNA,” Lawin said.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Expanding beyond the crypto-native fans&nbsp;</h3>



Candy’s core customer base has been crypto-native so far. However, a handful of collectors are simply sports fans exploring new ways to connect with their favorite MLB teams and sports.



For non-crypto natives, accessing digital marketplaces hasn’t always been smooth, <meta charset="utf-8">Lawin noted. Candy stands out from other NFT marketplaces because its customers can buy NFTs with US dollars instead of cryptocurrency.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“What’s holding people back is setting up a digital wallet, funding an account with Ethereum, Bitcoin or your token of choice. That process is still not a really transparent, easy or quick process for a lot of folks,” Lawin said. “But we try to break down that entire process of traditional crypto on-ramps and turn it upside down to make it easy for folks to come into the space and purchase crypto assets.&#8221;</blockquote>



Candy’s customers view NFTs as a new way to express their passion, collect and build their identity as a fan, Lawin said. “We’re very bullish on the potential to continue to grow that marketplace with folks who are coming to the crypto community for the first time,” he commented.&nbsp;



The site has users ranging from 12-year-olds to 70-year-olds. “We have Candy collectors in their 60s who have been baseball collectors for their whole lives and are coming into this space because they see it as interesting and engaging,” he added.&nbsp;



In general, the sports industry has meshed deep into the crypto space during 2021 in effort to bring mainstream audiences into the digital world. FTX became the <a href="https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-ftx-cryptocurrency-partnership" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">official cryptocurrency exchange</a> brand for the MLB, Crypto.com closed a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-com-cmo-on-how-company-went-from-app-to-global-brand/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$700 million deal</a> to name the area for the Los Angeles Lakers and the <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/houston-rockets-partner-with-nydig-through-bitcoin-paid-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Houston Rockets</a> partnered with Bitcoin-focused NYDIG, to name a few.



“There’s a tremendous amount of opportunity to build out partnerships in the sports space,” Lawin said. “Offering everyday folks value, utility and engagement is how this space will get much bigger and will enhance people’s connection to things they already love.”&nbsp;



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