Animoca Brands, the juggernaut of blockchain gaming and venture capital, has made a huge splash recently. The purchases included Cool Cats, a collection currently valued at an astounding $410 million. This strategic move will strengthen the Mocaverse ecosystem even further. It will further fortify the Moca Network by bringing the unique digital collectibles and community of Cool Cats into the fold. This acquisition aims to boost decentralized identity and interoperability, offering new opportunities for Cool Cats holders and the broader NFT market.
Strategic Implications of the Acquisition
There are a series of strategic implications behind Animoca Brands’ acquisition of Cool Cats. First, Animoca Brands now has a hugely popular, engaging new game on which to anchor and build its gaming portfolio. This new arrival joins other notable games such as Anichess, The Sandbox and PHANTOM GALAXIES. Secondly, Cool Cats' presence in NFTs and digital collectibles aligns with Animoca Brands' focus on these assets, as seen in projects like Mocaverse and G-Bots. This alignment will provide powerful synergy across multiple Animoca Brands projects. Therefore, it will increase opportunities for cross-promotion and overall user value.
Enhanced Ecosystem and Community Engagement
The acquisition is anticipated to deepen community engagement throughout Animoca Brands’ platforms. Cool Cats has a dedicated community of players and collectors, and integrating them into the Animoca Brands ecosystem can foster increased user engagement and loyalty. This integration opens the door to exciting new collaborations and cross-platform experiences, and it deepens the user experience in an engaging way. According to Yat Siu, the executive chairman of Animoca Brands, the partnership should prove mutually beneficial. He is convinced that with Animoca Brands’ unique reach and unparalleled level of passion, they can make their dream vision a reality on the world’s stage.
Strengthening Web3 Position and Interoperability
The strategic maneuver signals Animoca Brands’ unyielding commitment as a leader in Web3 and blockchain gaming. Overall, this is evidence of a deepening commitment to the sector. It increases the company’s capacity to create and release cutting-edge blockchain-based games and experiences. This joint venture will physically connect the two powerful brand ecosystems. Retail expansion will bring about the growth and expansion of Cool Cats through the interoperability that Moca Network’s digital identity infrastructure allows. Ken Cron, chairman and CEO of Coin Operated Group, reiterated the importance of this investment. It’s a key advancement of Cool Cats’ strategic partnership with Animoca Brands.
Integration with Mocaverse and Moca Network
This is why Cool Cats is teaming up with Mocaverse to help solidify decentralized identity. This strategic partnership utilizes Moca Network’s digital identity infrastructure to enable the most fluent interoperability between both ecosystems. This includes exclusive Cool Cats-focused features and benefits that Mocaverse holders will have access to. In the meantime, Mocaverse users will be able to explore the distinct features of the Cool Cats ecosystem. This cross-pollination, they hope, will spur even greater value and utility for both communities.
Benefits for Cool Cats Holders
From this integration, Cool Cats holders can expect a multitude of benefits. Perhaps the biggest benefit is the opportunity to win amazing raffles. You can earn exclusive rewards, like merch from the real world and Cool Cats NFTs! Owners will be able to witness their Fractures grow as they progress through each Journey phase. New traits will be implemented over time, potentially increasing their rarity and value. Holders can achieve an overall Journey Score which decides how rare traits you will receive on your avatars. Along with that, they receive an Activity Bonus that increases their Journey Score.
Potential Drawbacks and Market Realities
While that’s all wonderful news, we must be mindful of the challenges and harsh truths of the NFT marketplace. The NFT market has gone through its own headaches, like the possibility of long-term devaluation. As of September 2023, over 95% of NFT collections were worth $0. Alongside this downward trajectory, it is all too apparent that the NFT market has steeply declined. The market crash of NFT art After two astounding years in the art market, art NFT sales crashed hard. They plummeted from 24% of the total NFT market to only 8% in 2022.
Addressing Challenges in the NFT Space
Plagiarism and forgery continue to be rampant in the NFT ecosystem. This is because NFTs provide a higher degree of anonymity that makes pursuing legal action more complex. Their easy duplicability complicates any recourse against plagiarists even further. Market saturation and high fees can eat into profitability. In a supporting analysis from March 2021, we found that the majority of NFT artworks were selling for under $200 each. Shockingly, one-third of these artworks sold for less than $100 and platform fees ranged from 72.5% to 157.5% of the final sale price. The incorporation of Cool Cats into the Animoca Brands ecosystem addresses these challenges directly. In a bid to provide further value and usefulness for its holders, the approach outlined below attempts to mitigate some of those risks.
