The past few months haven’t been completely friendly to the NFT market — trading volumes aren’t that big of a break, but cryptocurrency prices have hit a historic plunge, and the amount invested in space has fallen free. I am. Against this background, it may seem like the best time to launch an NFT platform, not to mention a platform for kids.
Still, NFT startup Cryptography Has raised tens of millions of dollars with the goal of building a blockchain-based toy company that can expose young users to ideas for digital ownership and NFT mechanisms. Widely launched in the coming months, the platform features cute big-eyed animal characters with hats, sunglasses and encrypted uniqueness.
Platforms for trading non-fungible tokens have often proven difficult to navigate, even for adult users, so the possibility of building onboarding for young users is very daunting. It seems that. Cryptoys has partnered with Dapper Labs to launch a platform on the startup Flow blockchain to avoid some of this friction. Flow, where Dapper’s NBA top shots run, provides a blockchain light experience. This allows users to avoid the characteristic obstacles of NFT land, such as high gas charges, complex wallet onboarding, and inability to trade with payment methods such as credit cards.
Still, making the blockchain easy for kids to use blockchain is a bit controversial at this point, as users signing up for the platform must be at least 18 years old. However, CEO Will Weinraub says that parent-managed wallets are in the process of allowing younger users to interact more directly with the platform and learn about NFTs.
“We need to step back from all of this web3 maximalism,” says Weinraub. “We need to take a baby step to lead millions of people to these new paradigms.”
Cryptoys has some help on this journey. Startups join TechCrunch with a $ 23 million series A round led by a16z Crypto, with many other partners including Mattel, Dapper Labs, Drapers & Associates, Accru Capital, Coin Funds, Animoka Brands, Sound Ventures and more. He said it was finished recently. The startup announced a $ 7.5 million seed round in October, also led by a16z Crypto.
Image: OnChain Studios
With this funding, Cryptoys’ parent company OnChain Studios will be able to fund a vision that includes many opportunities adjacent to NFTs, such as games where users can earn NFTs through gameplay. Weinraub also plans to build an experience where users don’t have to interact with NFTs. This can help startups approach young users on platforms that are less friendly to the crypto industry, such as iOS. —Weinraub believes that could change.
“Apple is constantly evolving the way we think about these things,” he says.
One of the biggest questions posed by the NFT-for-kids platform is why kids care about blockchain-based in-app purchases. Wayne Laub said that children’s bouncing from platform to platform means that the value of many digital assets is lost, reselling in-game items that their kids are tired of buying. He says he is interested in funding new digital purchases. Weinraub believes that the phenomenon of parents spending a lot of money on cartoon animal NFTs leaves a lot of space for parents to connect with their children about the meaning of investment and digital ownership.
It goes without saying that for parents who have been involved in NFT spaces in the past few months, many of the companies involved have had big paydays, but many investments have not been as profitable as expected. .. Asked if the startup missed the historic launch window of NFT RAZZ MA TAZZ, Weinraub argues, “It’s a much better time to launch the product. Many hype has been kicked out of the market.” ..
