Web 3.0 giant Animoca Brands has secured an additional $10 million for its flagship project Mocaverse to boost consumer crypto adoption. Separately, the government-owned Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) seeks to work with selected fund managers to invest at least HK$300 million ($38.6 million) from the city’s investment migration scheme.
Animoca raises $10m for Mocaverse
Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands has secured an additional $10 million for its flagship project Mocaverse, a platform for consumers to participate in and maximise their exposure to Web 3.0 experiences and rewards.
The latest tranche of funding – which followed the previous two tranches of just under $31.89 million in 2023 – saw the participation of OKX Ventures, CMCC Global, Republic Crypto, Decima Fund, Kingsway Capital and others.
HongShan, previously known as Sequoia China Capital, also invested in the deal, Animoca announced in a Tuesday release.
For the new capital raise, Animoca is issuing Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFEs), which will be automatically converted to ordinary shares after six months, for A$4.50 ($0.58) per share. This tranche comes with a free-attaching warrant for the MOCA Coin utility token at an implied fully diluted value (FDV) of $1 billion, in a structure that mirrors the previous two tranches.
“We foresee the next big wave in the blockchain industry to be centred around consumer and mass market adoption, and Animoca Brands’ Mocaverse is poised to join those industry-defining players. That is why Mocaverse has become CMCC Global’s largest investment to date,” said Martin Baumann, managing partner and co-founder at CMCC Global.
The new funding aims to fast-track and scale Mocaverse’s operations, said Animoca. It said that Mocaverse will use the capital to advance its goal of accelerating Web 3.0 mass adoption and interoperability, specifically by continuing to scale and build Mocaverse, for consumer crypto adoption.
HKIC seeks fund managers to invest $38.6m from scheme
The Hong Kong government’s investment arm will use at least HK$300 million ($38.6 million) that it expects to collect from the investment migration scheme to build a portfolio by working with selected fund managers.
The government-owned Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC), which manages HK$62 billion (nearly $8 billion), said on Monday that it is tasked to set up a new investment portfolio for this purpose and that it would begin investing the money in the first quarter of 2025.
Relaunched on March 1 and better known as the investment migration scheme, the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES) allows eligible applicants to gain residency for their family in Hong Kong through investments of at least HK$30 million in funds, stocks, bonds, or other vehicles. Under this scheme, the government requires 10% of each applicant’s investments to be pooled in a fund managed by the HKIC to invest in projects that can advance the city’s tech innovations and long-term growth.
The scheme had received over 550 applications as of the end of September 26, potentially bringing HK$16.5 billion ($2.1 billion) of capital to Hong Kong, according to Christopher Hui, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury.
Ten percent of the capital will go into the HKIC-managed fund, known as the Investment Portfolio (CIES IP) under the New CIES. The total capital available and applicable to the CIES IP is expected to reach a minimum of HK$300 million by the end of 2024.
The HKIC will select two to four Hong Kong-headquartered fund managers with a track record of at least five years and assets under management (AUM) of no less than HK$200 million ($25.7 million) to invest for the CIES IP.
“Interested fund managers must propose at least two new applications or new themes that could bring innovative advancements to Hong Kong’s technology or commercial transformation, and focus on the exploration and incubation with the Hong Kong market as a basis,” said the HKIC.
“The aforesaid applications and themes must align with Hong Kong’s advantages, positioning and needs, with the promotion of cross-jurisdictional development of technological applications as the long-term direction,” it added.
