The Rise of Metaverse Fuels DeFi, Crypto, and Blockchain

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Metaverse, a digital place where people work, play, and socialize, could soon be upon us with Facebook (now called Meta) leading the way. But like any breakthrough industry, there is rarely one party that rises to meet the future. One company, Wolf3D raised $1.3 million for Ready Player Me, a cross-game avatar platform for the Metaverse. At the same time, MetaLaunch (ASVA) gained $3.2 million in seed funding and private investment. And that’s not all. According to Crunchbase, many venture capitalists will spend billions more to make the metaverse the new reality. This new iteration of the internet could create enormous opportunities for DeFi companies like WonderFi Technologies (NEO:WNDR) (OTC:WONDF), DeFi Technologies Inc. (NEO:DEFI) (OTC:DEFTF), Voyager Digital (TSX:VOYG) (OTCQX:VYGVF), Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), and Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:HVBT) (TSXV:HIVE), given that Metaverse tokens (MANA, GALA, etc.), the new digital currencies will be mainly transacted by DeFi infrastructure.

DeFi technology company WonderFi Technologies (NEO:WNDR) (OTC:WONDF) just made a huge step toward democratizing finance through easy and secure access to DeFi and crypto after signing a definitive agreement to acquire First Ledger Corp., the parent company of Bitbuy, Canada’s first approved crypto marketplace with over $4.4 billion transacted.

Founded in 2016, Bitbuy is a leading cryptocurrency platform founded in 2016 that has had over 350,000 users, more than $4.4 billion in transactions on the platform, and a revenue of more than $32.0 million in the year ended September 30, 2021. The platform became the first approved crypto marketplace in Canada in November 2021. The Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ program ranked the platform 9th.

This acquisition brings WonderFi closer to its goal of democratizing decentralized finance by providing easy and secure access to DeFi and crypto. This acquisition also brings new revenue streams to WonderFi as an approved crypto marketplace and an OTC trading platform for retail and institutional clients.

Through the acquisition, WonderFi will also gain Bitbuy’s users and more than $440 million assets from Bitbuy, in addition to owning the license and operating rights of Canada’s first crypto marketplace. Current Bitbuy users will have access to the WonderFi ecosystem and functionalities as well.

WonderFi will also expand its team by retaining Bitbuy’s employees upon closing the acquisition, which is expected sometime in Q1 2022.

Speaking of the partnership, investor and strategic advisor to WonderFi, Kevin O’Leary said, “This is a combination of two management teams with excellent executional skills that now have the bandwidth, assets, and licenses to provide an institutional-grade compliant crypto platform to investors interested in exposure to centralized and decentralized financial services.”

In addition, WonderFi Technologies (NEO:WNDR) (OTC:WONDF) announced on November 24, 2021 the listing of tokenized shares on FTX, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, a well-respected entrepreneur named on the Forbes 30 Under 30. This is crucial because not only does FTX listing provide global access to WonderFi’s stock, it also provides FTX’s millions of users with the opportunity to invest in WonderFi through BTC, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies without a bank account.

For more information about WonderFi Technologies (NEO:WNDR) (OTC:WONDF), click here.

Companies Continue to Vote Big on the Future of Crypto and DeFi

Shortly after DeFi Technologies Inc. (NEO:DEFI) (OTC:DEFTF) received approval to launch a Metaverse and Gaming Index ETP that allows investors to gain direct exposure across multiple metaverse-related and protocol-based projects through one investment, the company was approved to distribute its Top 10 Digital asset and Top 5 DeFi ETPs. Following this approval from the Swedish Financial Authority, DeFi Technologies’ wholly-owned subsidiary, Valour Inc. can distribute its digital assets and DeFi ETPs in the Swedish and EU markets.

Voyager Digital (TSX:VOYG) (OTCQX:VYGVF), a fast-growing US crypto platform, announced its partnership with The National Women’s Soccer League. This partnership makes Voyager the league’s first-ever cryptocurrency brokerage, providing financial support, crypto education, and rewards directly to players. This creates long-term financial growth opportunities for players even after the end of their competitive playing careers. The company also announced an Automatic Securities Disposition Plan for its executives to permit trades to be executed based on pre-arranged instructions.

Crypto exchange platform Coinbase Global’s (NASDAQ:COIN) President and Chief Operating Officer, Emilie Choi participated in a fireside chat at the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference on December 7, 2021. In the fireside chat, Emilie commented on the growing popularity of crypto applications such as DeFi and NFTs and Coinbase’s position on these developments. Emilie highlighted the need to shift crypt from the financial speculation phase to a utility phase, which is a significant concept in Web 3.0.

Cryptocurrency mining company Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:HVBT) (TSXV:HIVE) announced the filing of a revised annual information form for the full year ended March 31, 2021. The changes in the annual information form include enhanced disclosure on the company’s crypto custodial services, description and general development, and a statement of executive compensation for the year ended March 31, 2021. The company filed the revised annual information form upon request by the British Columbia Securities Commission.

Companies like WonderFi are positioned to gain big as cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance continue to gain more use cases in the Metaverse.