Multicoin, Jump Crypto and Michael Jordan invest in $46m Metaplex funding round

The Metaplex Foundation has announced its completion of a $46m strategic funding round led jointly by Multicoin Capital and Jump Crypto with participation from Solana Ventures, Alameda Research, and more than 90 individuals, including basketball legend Michael Jordan.

Since June 2021, the Metaplex Protocol has been used to create more than 5.7 million NFTs for 85,000 projects and, over the last few months, the Metaplex community has created several new on-chain programs and tools for developers.

Metaplex said it plans to provide grants to support ecosystem development and empower creators from underrepresented communities.

Sergey Vasylchuk, Director of the Metaplex Foundation revealed that the goal is to build a people-first metaverse.

“The community is excited to build tools that make it easy for developers, game studios, and creators to get started in Web3,” he said.

“We believe the metaverse will be open, censorship-resistant and globally accessible.

“In this metaverse, Metaplex will serve as a common protocol and NFT standard to empower the next wave of decentralised commerce, social and gaming experiences.”

Alongside its investors, the Metaplex Foundation will also receive strategic guidance and support from a diverse group of artists, athletes, designers, influencers and more, including Michael Jordan, Joel Embiid, Kevin Love, and The Chainsmokers’ Mantis VC.

Kyle Samani, Managing Partner, Multicoin Capital commented that “Metaplex will play an increasingly important role in this ecosystem as the protocol and its tooling grow more robust and as creators invent new ways to connect and engage fans”.

Additionally, the foundation also plans to prioritise support for metaverse and gaming applications in 2022.