Venture capital firm Animoca Brands will put its weight behind fan token blockchain Chiliz Chain as it joins the network as a validator within its proof-of-stake authority protocol.

Chiliz Chain is the backbone of Socios.com, the platform that operates a plethora of fan tokens for some of the biggest global football and sports teams. Europe’s most loved football clubs  and a number of household sports brands have tapped into the solution to power Web3 fan tokens and other blockchain-based offerings.

Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu says the partnership presents an opportunity for his firm to combine its expertise in nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and gaming with Chiliz’s focus on sports and entertainment-focused blockchain solutions.

“We have already seen the rise of DeFi and GameFi, and we believe that SportFi represents the next major growth area that will redefine fan engagement and create new financial dynamics in the sports industry.”

Chiliz CEO Alexandre Dreyfus adds that Animoca’s addition as a network validator marks a pivotal point in the firm’s history as it looks to solidify its position as a major blockchain solution primarily focused on catalyzing Web3 functionality and the wider sports industry.

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Animoca Brands becomes the latest validator of the Chiliz Chain, joining the likes of Ankr, Paribu, Meria, Luganoes and InfStones as validators. Similar to proof-of-stake blockchain protocols like Ethereum, validators authorize and enable the creation of fan tokens, NFTs and decentralized applications, as well as verifying transactions and executing smart contracts.

Animoca has a wide-ranging spread of investments across the Web3 space and has also honed its focus on the sports sector. Its Web3 sports products include One Fight Arena, AFL Mint and REVV Motorsport. The latter includes the likes of MotoGP Ignition, MotoGP Guru, Formula E: High Voltage, REVV Racing and Torque Drift.

Animoca grabbed headlines in April 2022 by acquiring French racing game developer Eden Games for $15.3 million. The deal aimed to acquire racing game development talent to enhance the REVV Motorsport ecosystem and introduce blockchain-based games focused on the genre.

Chiliz launched its own layer-1 Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible blockchain ecosystem to support its growth in Feb. 2023. The launch marked the transition away from its Ethereum-based ERC-20 token ecosystem to its own blockchain solution.

The blockchain initially used a system of 11 active validators with proof-of-stake authority consensus, which is touted to provide faster block times, lower fees and energy usage.

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