Animoca backs Cardano-based crypto exchange in seed round

Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, a blockchain gaming unicorn, has invested an undisclosed sum in Cardano-based decentralized exchange (DEX) WingRiders as part of its seed round.

Investors including Bitrue, Double Peak Capital, Spark Digital Capital, and Matrixport also took part in the round.

Animoca Brands CEO Yat Siu / Photo credit: EJInsight

WingRiders is an automated market maker DEX that aims to be an infrastructure element in the Cardano ecosystem, providing easy integration into any wallet or decentralized app. The firm emerged from stealth mode in December 2021 and offers a secure channel for the swapping of tokens on Cardano.

Projects on the Cardano Exchange use blockchain tech to build financial marketplaces such as decentralized trading systems, investment services, and digital asset storages.

WingRiders will also move to the Cardano mainnet – where its crypto transactions will be broadcasted, verified, and recorded – in the next few weeks.

“As the crypto space advances, it is important to support projects that have a bold vision and that add value to the infrastructure that makes the open metaverse interoperable,” said Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chair of Animoca Brands.

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Last month, Animoca led a US$10 million round in Hong Kong-based Ucollex, a platform for toy, art, and pop-culture NFTs.