Highlights:

  • Redeem, a Web3 business, received USD 2.5 million in pre-seed funding to simplify the transmission, receipt, and redemption of non-fungible tokens utilizing phone numbers.
  • The round was headed by Kenetic Capital, an investment firm focused on blockchain solutions, with participation from Monochrome Capital, VC3 DAO, The Fund, Flyover Capital, CMT Digital, KCRise Fund, and Kestrel 0x1.

Recently, Web3 company Redeem revealed it has secured USD 2.5 million in pre-seed funding to revolutionize the landscape of non-fungible tokens by making it more straightforward for consumers to transfer, receive, and redeem them using just their phone numbers.

Kenetic Capital, an investment firm focused on blockchain solutions, headed the round with participation from Monochrome Capital, The Fund, VC3 DAO, Flyover Capital, KCRise Fund, CMT Digital, and Kestrel 0x1. The business stated that the cash would be used to develop its core technology and launch the product in the second quarter of 2023.

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are crypto-assets built on blockchain technology that enables proven ownership of digital objects like virtual tickets, loyalty points, and in-game items.

With Redeem’s technology, users may link their crypto wallets to their phone numbers to redeem various NFTs, allowing them to send and receive them by scanning a Quick Response code. The platform requires minimal technical knowledge and handles blockchain costs.

Users may also transfer and receive NFTs using text messaging, Apple’s iMessage, and WhatsApp without memorizing complex information like wallet addresses. All of this information is saved in QR codes for transmitting and receiving.

Toby Rush, co-founder and chief executive of Redeem, said, “I love creating new user experiences that surprise and delight while hiding the complexity of the technology. Using the phone number as the link into the digital world is unlocked right in front of us.”

Now, crypto adoption might need to be faster since consumers must traverse a plethora of applications to get the full benefits of the crypto ecosystem. So, they must first create a crypto wallet to hold and protect their NFTs. Then, users must memorize their wallet address to receive and the wallet address to whom they wish to transfer, which are sometimes incredibly lengthy alphanumeric codes.

Toby Rush asserts that associating them with phone numbers reduces the possibility of fraud amongst participants since it makes it less probable that the entity on the other end is a bot. Also, the addition of QR codes and the usage of mobile devices and text messaging eliminates the need for users to enter long strings of numbers while sending and receiving NFTs. In turn, this facilitates using NFTs to represent virtual tickets, loyalty points, or in-game items such as shirts, jewelry, and avatars by businesses that utilize them.

Jehan Chu, the founder of Kenetic Capital, said, “Adoption is the Holy Grail of Web3. Redeem’s core features allow users to access the universe of Web3 in seconds with no prior crypto blockchain knowledge. This is a game-changer for traditional enterprise companies who want to reduce cost and drive new user engagement via Web3 without complicated or risky crypto processes.”

In 2021, non-fungible token markets reached a volume of USD 25 billion, primarily due to the sale of digital art. However, in 2022, non-fungible token markets fell amid the so-called “crypto winter.” DappRadar reports that volumes have begun to rise at the start of 2023, hitting USD 946 million in January, a 38% increase over December.