Enjin, a Singapore-based blockchain software products ecosystem builder, announced raising $18.9 million in a funding round led by Crypto.com, DFG Group, and Hashed.
The fresh funding will be used to finance Enjin’s efforts to build Efinity, the first decentralised non-fungible token (NFT)-focused blockchain for creators, apps, games, and enterprises. Efinity will be built on the Polkadot blockchain network.
The round was also participated by Hypersphere, BlockTower, Blockchain.com Ventures, Fenbushi, Iconium, HashKey, Arrington XRP Capital, and DeFi Alliance.
NFTs are assets in the digital world that can be bought and sold like any other piece of property but have no tangible form of their own. An NFT by the artist Beetle sold at Christie’s for over $60 million early this month, making it the most expensive NFT ever sold at auction.
Enjin said Efinity is set to process transactions every six seconds and will use proof of stake to scale to 1,000 transactions per second (TPS). The firm will also invest further development into Snowfork’s open-source bridges to allow NFTs to flow between Polkadot, Ethereum, and other blockchains.
Efinity has attracted global attention with investment from around the world, including Asia Pacific, the United States, and Europe. This shows the huge global interest in interoperable solutions, Enjin added.
“NFTs should be for everyone. Building with Polkadot will enable us to deliver an accessible, scalable solution that empowers everyone to participate in the emerging NFT economy,” said Enjin COO Caleb Applegate.
Enjin was co-founded by Maxim Blagov and Witek Radomski in 2009. It raised $23 million in its initial coin offering in 2017 and then went on to secure an undisclosed amount in its Series A funding in 2019, lead by Blockchain.com Ventures, a venture fund anchored and supported by Blockchain.com and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
“With Efinity, we’re bringing the NFT industry a dedicated, purpose-built blockchain that will create the advent of a globe-spanning, advanced digital asset economy—a free, open, and decentralized market where new digital worlds begin,” Blagov, co-founder and CEO, said.
