NFT company Candy Digital has raised a Series A1 funding round led by Galaxy Digital and ConsenSys Mesh, with participation from 10T Holdings and ConsenSys, among others. The funding amount weren’t disclosed by the company. The announcement comes after CNBC reported that Michael Rubin’s sports platform company Fanatics is divesting its 60% stake in Candy Digital.
Fanatics, who previously held the majority share of Candy Digital, will be selling its interest to an investor group led by Galaxy Digital, the crypto merchant bank led by Mike Novogratz, which was the other original founding shareholder, according to an email obtained by CNBC.
Candy Digital, which launched in 2021 with the mission of deepening fandom through the development of digital collectibles and experiences, will continue to scale and expand its flagship digital products, including ICON trading cards, Tickets, and Highlights. Through a new partnership with ConsenSys Mesh and ConsenSys, both leaders in Ethereum blockchain technology and decentralized protocols, Candy will accelerate the growth of its platform, tooling, and experience capabilities with an emphasis on web3 functionality.
Scott Lawin, CEO of Candy Digital, said: “The ability of Candy to deliver institutional-grade products and services to our sports, entertainment, and culture partners and customers is critical during periods of market volatility. Candy Digital remains committed to reimagining fandom in a web3 world and is excited to lead the charge into the next phase of the market’s evolution.”
“The current environment offers a strong opportunity to build, and we look forward to continuing to scale our platform, form new partnerships with leading brands and institutions, and deliver best-in-class digital products to our customers,” Scott added.
Candy Digital’s Series A1 funding follows a number of new partnerships that the company has formed, including Getty Images, Netflix, the Race Team Alliance, and the WWE. Earlier this year, Candy Digital expanded its existing partnership with Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Player Association with the addition of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and scaled its Candy Sweet Futures NFT series, the first NFT series that markets college athletes.
“Candy Digital has quickly established itself as a leading digital collectible NFT platform with a passionate customer base, advanced technological infrastructure, and strong partnership network that will enable the platform to continue to sustainably scale,” said Mike Novogratz, Founder, and CEO of Galaxy.
“We believe that the Candy team is well-positioned to capitalize on the rising demand for NFT products and expand into new industries and markets, and we look forward to continuing to support their success,” Mike Novogratz added.
Joseph Lubin, Founder and Chairman of ConsenSys Mesh and CEO of ConsenSys, said: “The pioneering work that Candy Digital has done in bringing NFTs to mainstream culture through sports and entertainment, made it an easy decision to partner with them during this next phase of growth.”
“As 2023 will be a breakout year for Web3, we believe that this collaboration will be a driving force in empowering creators, players, and fans to take control of their economic, expressive, and political agency in an increasingly decentralized community-centric global economy. Together with Candy, ConsenSys Mesh and ConsenSys will help shape the future of community-driven, Web3-enabled collectibles, events, and experiences,” Joseph added.
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