Dapper Labs, the blockchain-focused company behind NBA Top Shot, a crypto-collectible, has raised $305 million in a new funding round led by Coatue. According to a press release, the company also attracted investments from a16z, Michael Jordan, Ashton Kutcher, Will Smith and many others.
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The total capital raised by Dapper Labs surges up to $357 million. The company says the investments will be used to scale the Dapper Labs team to continue building out the NBA Top Shot vision, and updating the platform to other sports. Dapper Labs CEO, Roham Gharegozlou, believes NBA Top Shot became so successful as it "taps into basketball fandom."
"NFTs unlock a new model for media that benefits the fans much more than advertising or sponsorships," Gharegozlou added.
In the meantime, backed by Goldman Sachs blockchain company Circle also plans to join the NFT (non-fungible tokens) craze with its own custodian for NFTs in the coming months. The fintech company will also develop transfer services for NFT collectibles.
Circle will reportedly also add support for payments and payouts in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) for crypto-native marketplace experiences. Moreover, the company will roll out its treasury and yield services, allowing users to earn up to 8% on idle working capital via crypto capital markets, the announcement says.
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