Buy the Dip – Pandaily

Digestible news on the latest developments across the fields of Web3, NFTs, blockchain, and metaverse in China and beyond, compiled for you every week by Pandaily.

This week: Animoca Brands acquires educational startup TinyTap, NFT platforms in China grow 5x in four months despite regulatory scrutiny, Yahoo to launch metaverse events for Hong Kong residents restricted by COVID measures, and more.

Animoca Brands Acquires Educational Startup TinyTap

Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming software and venture capital firm Animoca Brands announced this week its acquisition of TinyTap, a platform for educational games, in a bid to build a tokenized learning platform. SCMP first reported this story.

• The deal is worth $38.9 million, and Animoca Brands is taking an 84.13% stake in TinyTap, a platform that allows users to create their own video games without any coding experience.
• With the acquisition, Animoca Brands will build a blockchain-based ecosystem of user-generated educational content.
• “We empower educators to create engaging learning activities that can reach millions of children directly and that enable them to earn based on the success of their creations,” said TinyTap CEO Yogev Shelly. “By becoming a part of Animoca Brands, we will leverage blockchain to advance this vision and build a new education system that is independent of schools and governments, and that is owned and led by educators themselves.”
• The new platform will be interactive, as it rewards educators who design tools and content with ownership rights enforced through blockchain-based tokens, the company said, adding that certificates and diplomas could also be issued as digital tokens.
• Animoca Brands held a 3.73% stake in TinyTap prior to the buyout. (SCMP)

READ MORE: Animoca Brands’ Investment Portfolio Exceeds $1.5 Billion

Chinese Crypto Mining Chipmaker Nano Labs Reportedly Files for Nasdaq IPO

Hangzhou-based crypto mining chip designer Nano Labs has filed for an IPO at the Nasdaq, despite a recent downturn in the global crypto market. Cointelegraph first reported this story.

• Nano Labs has filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its upcoming public offering on the Nasdaq, the world’s second-largest stock exchange, Cointelegraph reported, citing information from Renaissance Capital’s IPO monitoring tool.
• Both Chinese and American tech companies have come under regulatory pressure as the Chinese government introduced legislation targeting areas from anti-monopoly to data protection, while in the US, President Joe Biden last year signed a new executive order aimed at cracking down on anti-competitive practices in Big Tech, among other sectors.
• The regulatory friction has led to a shortage of Chinese issuers’ overseas fundraising. Only two Chinese IPOs have taken place so far in 2022 in New York, raising $49.5 million, compared to 28 IPOs in 2021, which raised $5.8 billion.
• Nano Labs, however, is pressing ahead with its Nasdaq offering even though it is yet to develop a viable product. According to Cointelegraph, the firm plans to transform into a metaverse business, providing computing power for gaming and entertainment.
• The two main shareholders of Nano Labs are co-founders Kong and Sun Qifeng, with 32.8% and 22.3% stakes, respectively.
• Nano Labs’ products are used to mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Filecoin (FIL). (Cointelegraph)

NFT Platforms in China Grow 5x in Four Months Despite Regulatory Scrutiny

Recent data show that the number of platforms for NFTs, or digital collectibles as they are known in China, has grown to over 500, a fivefold increase from February 2022. Cointelegraph first reported this story.

• Local media reported that the steep rise in the number of NFT platforms comes at a time when digital collectibles are becoming increasingly popular in the country, with major tech companies including Tencent and Alibaba joining the space with the launch of their own NFT marketplaces.
• As an alternative to NFTs, digital collectibles live on private blockchains, are backed by China’s fiat currency, and cannot be sold or traded for profit.
• Due to a lack of clarity on regulatory supervision, businesses and individuals continue to engage with digital collectibles. China officially banned all crypto-related mining and trading activities last July.
• While the crypto mining ban once led to a 50% decline in the BTC network hash rate, it did not completely eclipse the mining industry in the country. Bitcoin miners in China accounted for 21.1% of the total global BTC mining hash rate distribution as of early 2022, following only the United States, which produced 37.8% of the total hash rate as of January. (Cointelegraph)

READ MORE: Crypto Mining Chip Manufacturer Nano Labs…