Aditya Hadi Pratama · · 2 min readBlockchain-based lender bags $5m in seed money
MetaLend, a blockchain-based fintech firm, has raised US$5 million in a seed funding round led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Sky Mavis investor Collab Currency, Vietnamese gaming guild Ancient8, and MetaStreet co-founder David Choi.
MetaLend’s co-founders Sudjeev Singh (left) and Nikhil Bhardwaj / Photo credit: MetaLend
Founded in December 2021, MetaLend allows users to apply for loans and put in their NFTs as collateral. Users can borrow up to 30% of the value of their NFTs after appraisal from the firm, with loans disbursed in ether.
Despite being put as collateral, borrowers can continue to use their NFTs to generate yield via gameplay.
The company is also developing a buy now, pay later service that would allow users to purchase NFTs through installments.
The MetaLend platform – expected to be launched out of closed beta in the second quarter of the year – will initially focus on the GameFi sector, especially play-to-earn game Axie Infinity. The company’s loans can help guilds and gamers acquire additional liquidity to grow their activities in playing the game or lending NFTs to other players (also known as scholarships).
In a statement, the startup said that it plans to cover other play-to-earn games in the coming months.
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MetaLend was established by former Bird executive Sudjeev Singh and former Amazon executive Nikhil Bhardwaj. The firm plans to use the fresh funding for product development, hiring, and marketing purposes.
Editing by Miguel Cordon and Lorenzo Kyle Subido
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