Animoca Brands Japan Raises $45 Million to Expand Its Web3 Business

Animoca Brands, a leader in Web3 investments and crypto games in Asia, is expanding into Japan due to its local company obtaining $45 million in the capital at a $500 million pre-assessment. Animoca Brands KK, a corporate strategy subsidiary of Animoca Brands Corp. Ltd., has raised an aggregate of US$45 million from MUFG Bank Limited and Animoca Brands Co. Ltd., valuing the corporation at roughly US$500 million. The company is focusing on cooperative partnerships in Japan for NFT-related investment opportunities. According to the news release from March 3, 2022, Animoca Brands Japan has been thinking about working with MUFG to pursue commercial potential in the NFT sector.

Japan is not all that welcoming to cryptocurrencies, and it now taxes profits from cryptocurrency assets, especially unrealized gains, at a corporate tax rate of 30%. This practice has sparked a blockchain skills shortage and calls for reduced taxation rates from local crypto businesses.

But Japan continues to be a destination for NFT providers looking for IPs due to its vast collection of popular anime, comics, video games, films, and singers.

With the additional funding, Animoca Brands Japan will be able to expand its existing capacity, proceed to acquire licenses for well-known intellectual properties, and encourage lots of partners to apply Web3, thereby raising the significance and usability of their content marketing and promoting the growth of a safe and trustworthy NFT ecosystem in Japan.

The idea behind the next iteration of the Internet is called Web3. It is defined by the decentralization and distribution of data and other information among numerous entities, allowing them to communicate directly with one another.

A description of the investment:

• MUFG Bank, Ltd. – $22.5 million USD.
• Animoca Brands Corporation Limited. – $22.5 million.

To promote the acceptance of Web3 amongst Japanese intellectual property (IP) and content owners, Animoca Brands was founded in 2021. Famous IP owners in Japan may now participate in the Web3 ecosystem thanks to Animoca Brands Japan, which also uses its network, reach, and skills to help build the public metaverse. One of the top financial organizations in the world is Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG). With its head office in Tokyo and more than 36 decades of history, MUFG has over 2,400 branches across more than 50 countries. The Group employs around 170,000 people and offers various services, including lease, wealth management, commercial banking, trust financial services, stocks, and consumer lending.

The Group’s mission is to serve society and promote shared, sustainable socio-economic development for a better future through strong cooperation across its operational firms and flexible responses to all of its customers’ financial requirements. On the Nagoya, Tokyo, and New York stock markets, MUFG shares are traded.

A pioneer in interactive content, blockchain, and gaming seeking to improve digital ownership rights and support the creation of the open multiverse is Animoca Brands, a Deloitte Tech Fast champion listed in the Financial Times list of High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2021.