Cricket NFT Marketplace Raises $100 Million
FanCraze was launched in November last year to build a metaverse of cricket and is now attracting many investors, with the famous football star Ronaldo reportedly among the investors. Based on a Bloomberg report, the financial details and vision of the Series A funding are yet to be made official by the FanCraze team or any of the investors or companies.
FanCraze is a developer and online platform of an NFT marketplace which trades official cricket collectibles and is raising around $100 million in Series A funding, based on a Bloomberg report. This new funding Series A round with investors is led by two venture capital firms, B Capital Group and Insight Partners.
The funding round will be completed in a couple of weeks, and the size might change as time goes on. Although the funding series has not been thoroughly planned out yet, investors keep their eyes peeled for updates to participate in it.
FanCraze Partners with ICC to Launch Cricket NFT Collection
In 2021 November, the NFT marketplace developer partnered with the International Cricket Council, the global cricket governing body, to launch the cricket collection. Around this time, FanCraze also raised an impressive $17.4 million in a seed fundraising round. This was led by Tiger Global Management, in collaboration with Dapper Labs and Coatue, and Sequoia Capital India.
Although FanCraze is in its early stages, the collection has already achieved $44 billion in the NFT market. The NFT collection was co-founded by AnshumBhambri, a former investment banker and Stanford University alumnus, and two others. When asked about the company, Bhambri stated that FanCraze focuses on creating a metaverse of cricket.
FanCraze is one of the many NFT-related platforms raising funding. Autograph already raised about $170 million in a Series B funding, and a month later, Alchemy which created software tools for Top Shot (NBA), raised about $200 million in funding. With the popularity of FanCraze, it is expected that it can surpass its expectations of raising $100 million in the upcoming financing.
NFT Collection Powered by Top Shot’s Flow
The NFT platform is built upon Flow, the same blockchain technology that hosts the NBA Top Shot. This digital collectible platform became widely popular in 2021 and has contributed to the newfound fame of FanCraze.
Creating an akin collection to the NBA Top Shot, the FanCraze cricket platform is expected to have similar success because of how popular the sport is. The cricket sport boasts global popularity, especially since it is the most famous sport in India and the second-most populous country in the world.
Then in January, the FanCraze released its first collection of NFTs in the marketplace and was faced with a lot of interest. They were video highlight NFTs from the 2015 and 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
The NFT collection captures some of the most iconic moments in cricket history. These include the infamous fumble that South Africa had against Australia and the moment where MS Dhoni-led India to victory at the Wankhede stadium in the World Cup 2011.
There is also the moment where Sachin Tendulkar hit the ball out of the park when playing in the World Cup 2003 against Pakistan and the unforgettable six sixes that Yuvraj Singh is known for. This has ignited high expectations for the next NFT release.
Cristiano Ronaldo Reportedly Among the Investors
The global football star, Cristiano Ronaldo, is reportedly among the investors of the FanCraze Series A Funding round that is expected to raise $100 million soon. Although B Capital Group and Insight Partners are leading the funding round, there is also the anticipation of Mirae Asset Financial Group, a South Korean financial services company, being one of the investors.
The investors of the FanCraze company also include Dapper Labs, the developer of NBA Top Shot, and Vivek Ranadive, who is the owner of Sacramento Kings. Investors can expect an announcement of the funding round in the coming weeks.
