News & Analysis

Investors are anticipating a bright future for NFT marketplaces despite waning interest in digital collectibles in recent months.

Companies in the NFT space have raised $2.9 billion this year, about 60% of the total raised in 2021, according to PitchBook data. But since May, trading volumes of the once-hot tokens have cratered, casting uncertainty over their future.

This week, as the industry gathers in New York for the NFT.NYC conference, a spate of startups continued the field's momentum with announcements of funding rounds and new products:
 

• NFT marketplace Magic Eden raised a $130 million Series B led by Electric Capital and Greylock Partners. The company's platform is built on Solana, which allows for lower transaction fees than ethereum, the blockchain that has historically been used for NFTs.


• OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely is launching Zoop, a collectables platform for celebrities, and is working on a $4 million round, Axios reported.


• Trading platform MoonPay is getting into the NFT game with HyperMint, a platform that's being launched in partnership with Universal Pictures, Fox Corporation and Snoop Dogg's Death Row Records.


• Astaria closed an $8 million seed round to build an an NFT lending platform. The deal drew VC firms True Ventures, Arrington Capital and Ethereal Ventures, among others.


• Outland raised a $5 million seed round for its NFT art platform.

The announcements comes as a bear market for crypto has renewed a rift between Web 3 fans and skeptics, which intensified last week after crypto bank Celsius halted withdrawals.
 

Related read: VCs rush to collect NFT startups

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