The acquisition will allow Rand Gallery to introduce its DAO products to the NFT marketplace built by Algorand’s DAO management tool Zest.
On Tuesday, August 23, Distributed Finance announced the acquisition of Algorand-based NFT marketplace Rand Gallery. The goal of the new venture is to promote growth for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) along with decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) in the Algorand ecosystem.
Algorand NFT Marketplace Rand Gallery
As per reports, Distributed Finance has been working o the deal for over six weeks. This deal would allow them to double down on the Proof-of-Stake blockchain Algorand. The team behind Algorand’s DAO management tool Zest has been responsible for creating Distributed Finance.
Ross Murray-Jones, CEO of Zest said that post the acquisition, Distributed Finance will become the holding company for Zest. Speaking to The Block, Murray further added:
“NFTs and DAOs overlap, meaning Zest and Rand Gallery have much in common. Zest will use NFTs to access its DAOs, and Rand Gallery will introduce DAO products into its marketplace. For example, we recognise a tool like PartyBid is operationally efficient but would work much better integrated directly into a marketplace.”
Amid the slowdown in the crypto space this year, mergers and acquisitions have been on record levels. Crypto exchange FTX has been the trend-setter of key acquisitions taking place in the crypto market. But on the other hand, there are a few major deals that have also fallen apart. This includes Galaxy Digital’s acquisition of crypto custodian platform BitGo. Another one was the fallout in the merger of crypto miner Prime Blockchain and SPAC 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp II.
Distributed Finance Announces $2.5-Million Seed Fund
In addition to the acquisition of Rand Gallery, Distributed Finance also announced a $2.5-million seed fund on Tuesday. Leading the round for Distributed Finance was investment firm Borderless Capital which launched a $500 million focused fund on its Layer 1 blockchain last year in November 2021.
Other investors participating in the seed funding round include The Algorand Foundation, Big Brain Holdings, Eterna Capital, and Fun Fair Ventures. As stated earlier, DAO management tool Zest has been responsible for creating Distributed Finance.
Zest has been working as a non-profit DAO based out of the Cayman Islands. Institutional investors reportedly have access to the DAO LLC structure. Some of the big clients of Zest include AI Goanna and Borderless Capital. Murray stated that the latest $2.5 million funding will help launch and scale Zest services.
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