NFT platform Bitski, backed by Jay-Z, Serena Williams, MrBeast, raises $19 million

Bitski, a non-fungible token (NFT) platform, has raised $19 million in Series A funding from investors, which include names like Jay-Z and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

The San Francisco-based startup backed by the likes of Serena Williams, MrBeast, and 3LAU builds custom NFT storefronts for brands and creators. The funding exercise was led by Andreessen Horowitz which is reported to have plans to raise a capital of $1 billion for cryptocurrency.

Bitski describes itself as the “Shopify for NFTs”. NFTs are unique cryptographic tokens in a blockchain that are used to represent real-world items like artwork and real estate. They cannot be duplicated allowing these tangible assets to be traded with a lesser probability of fraud. NFTs can also be used to represent property rights, people’s identities, etc.

Bitski provides a platform for brands, game developers, and consumers to create, buy and sell digital goods. With early partners like Adidas, Bitski intends to provide an on-ramp to the NFT world that’s more approachable to consumers who understand digital items but might not have fully bought into crypto, reported TechCrunch.

Serena Williams and Ari Emanuel, CEO, Endeavor, are also listed among investors who participated in the round, reported Coindesk. The start-up was backed by Galaxy Digital, Winklevoss Capital, and Coinbase Ventures in a $1.81 million seed funding round in November 2019, when it was developing a crypto wallet that could be easily embedded into other applications, such as video games. The start-up now provides a platform for the sale of NFTs by Adidas and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Picture Credits : BBC