Digital collectables company PopEx has closed its latest $3.5 million funding round. Led by Animoca Brands and joined by Outlier Ventures, Tileyard, Cudos and others, the round brings the company’s total valuation to $40 million.
Established by founder and CEO Matt Bond, he established PopEx as a digital marketplace for musicians to easily create and sell their own range of digital NFTs, items and experiences to help support their work.
As a songwriter and musician in his own right, Bond is clearly well versed in the challenges that come with trying to get established as a musician. PopEx will work to establish a broader community with highly accessible NFTs by also removing obstacles like paywalls.
One of the bigger obstacles to NFTs tends to be the onboarding/registration process, something that PopEx streamlines. Artists can get through registration relatively easily, while branding and personalising their own profiles. From there, NFT minting requires uploading artwork, which is then processed via the platform’s underlying blockchain.
Meanwhile, for fans, sign-up takes seconds and doesn’t require syncing up with the already existing NFT Wallet crypto. Instead, users just need an email address and debit card, while also providing conventional payment solutions like PayPal and Apple Pay.
By modifying the smart contract behind the NFT, artists can commit to offering unique experiences, tickets, physical items, and even stakes in royalties and therefore provide tangible rewards for the commitment to a band.
Developed on Polkadot, PopEx also provides a highly scalable ecosystem for users, while also being a low-carbon emitting Proof of Stake solution.
Chris James co-founded BeyondGames.biz parent company Steel Media in 2006. He is a keen future-gazer and having spotted the potential of mobile, VR, and blockchain early on, is always on the lookout for the next big things – which is why he's so excited about this site!
