Framework Ventures – a crypto-focused venture capital firm – recently secured $400M for its third crypto-focused fund. Half of the money will be invested towards the blockchain gaming space, with the remainder going into web 3 and decentralized finance (Defi) projects.
As announced by the firm today, the new fund – termed “FVIII” – brings Framework Ventures’ assets under management up to $1.4 billion.
Back in 2020, the firm established itself as an early investor in Defi, back when the total value locked on related protocols was only around $1 billion. Some of its investment picks included Chainlink, Graph, and Aave, when the fund was only worth $100M.
At the time, Framework Ventures expected that Defi was on the verge of mainstream adoption. Today, the firm feels the same way about blockchain gaming.
“We think blockchain gaming is the best top of funnel opportunity for crypto over the next decade, and we are positioning ourselves accordingly,” stated the company over Twitter on Tuesday.
Gaming has come to represent the largest form of media worldwide, with 3 billion monthly active players. Many crypto developers have attempted to merge the massive industry with the blockchain world, using play-to-earn features and NFT integrations.
Though games like Axie Infinity and The Sandbox have gathered great interest within the crypto market, they’ve still struggled to compete with mainstream titles. Furthermore, attempts to integrate NFTs and crypto into existing top franchises have not gone smoothly with the gaming community.
However, Framework can envision that changing over the year. The team claims that multiple blockchain games with “hundreds of developers” are preparing to launch, and predicts P2E features converging with triple-A games that are “actually fun to play”.
The firm has already put funds towards gaming infra project Stardust and an allegedly upcoming triple-A blockchain game, Illuvium. Framework called upon other founders looking for potential partners, and promised to help build alongside them.
Gaming giant SEGA – the company behind Sonic the Hedgehog – recently launched its own “Super Game” initiative that will include games embedded with NFT technology. SEGA producer Masayoshi Kikuchi called NFTs part of a “natural extension for the future of gaming” earlier this month.
The bridging of NFTs and cryptocurrencies across multiple digital worlds has become a central component of the “metaverse” – the concept of a global, virtual reality that consumes us more than our physical reality.