Hex Trust, an Asia-based crypto-asset custodian, and Animoca Brands, a provider of blockchain gamification platforms, announced today they have formed a joint venture to provide institutional cryptocurrency wallets and financial services for online gamers.
In the partnership, Hex Trust will provide its secure digital asset wallet technology and custody infrastructure to connect seamlessly with Animoca Brands’ blockchain-based games to support the growth of the expanding GameFi ecosystem.
As a fully licensed financial institution, Hex Trust adopts a comprehensive compliance-first approach and has licenses in Hong Kong and Singapore. Serving as custodian, Hex Trust will utilize its financial institution infrastructure to provide financial services to gamers in Animoca Brands’ ecosystem, including banking services for NFTs and other crypto-assets.
Animoca Brands has emerged as a leader in blockchain gaming and is recognized as one of the foremost proponents of the open metaverse. Its gaming portfolio includes various titles based on crypto-assets, including both fungible utility tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
These games include The Sandbox, the Arc8 platform, REVV Racing, F1 Delta Time, MotoGP Ignition, Formula E: High Voltage, and the upcoming Phantom Galaxies. Animoca Brands has a portfolio of over 100 investments in blockchain companies including industry leaders such as Sky Mavis (Axie Infinity), Dapper Labs (CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot), and OpenSea.
One of the most significant issues facing the blockchain gaming industry today is the lack of online wallet solutions that conveniently and safely store users’ gaming-based crypto tokens while providing access to financial services. Hex Trust and Animoca Brands are collaborating to solve this problem and seeking to tap into a multi-billion dollar opportunity.
Play-to-earn blockchain-based games such as Axie Infinity and The Sandbox are going mainstream, boasting millions of daily active users and aggregating billions of dollars worth of transactions. One of the driving factors behind the growth of GameFi titles is that these games enable users to own their in-game content and enjoy benefits from that content.