This week Animoca Brands Japan announced it is working with Honda to provide web3 fan engagement experiences for motorsport events, starting next month with the Mid-Ohio Indy200.
As part of the program, Honda will offer fans exclusive physical and digital prizes and experiences using blockchain technology. That usually means there’s cryptographic keys associated with the non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles which isn’t particularly user friendly. But that will be avoided by providing a custodial wallet, so fans don’t have to worry about key management and can access their experiences and goodies in a user friendly manner.
Hence the collaboration involves a third party, Gryfyn, that provides the custodial crypto wallet. Gryfyn is a joint venture between Animoca and Hong Kong digital asset custody firm Hex Trust.
Animoca Brands is best known for two things. Firstly, it is the founder of multiple metaverse experiences, including The Sandbox. And it is also the most prolific web3 investor, especially around entertainment, gaming, sports, and education, all areas where the metaverse comes into its own.
Last year Japan’s biggest bank, MUFG, invested $22.5 million in Animoca Brands Japan. More recently, the parent Animoca Brands announced a collaboration with Mitsui & Co as a strategic partner and investor.
