OKX invests more than $10M in WAX’s blockchain network

OKX Blockdream Ventures, the investment arm of cryptocurrency exchange OKX, has invested more than $10 million in WAX Studios, the team behind the WAX carbon-neutral blockchain network.

WAX (Worldwide Asset Exchange) supports over 23 million daily transactions across non-fungible token (NFT) trading, play-to-earn (P2E) gaming, and more.

The funding will go towards greater functionality of NFTs in P2E games built on WAX, development of an exchange for P2E gaming tokens, and upgrades to the WAX Cloud Wallet, among other areas.

With this investment, OKX Blockdream Ventures aims to advance blockchain-based gaming infrastructure to help further integrate Web3 technology into consumers’ daily lives. WAX has 23 games on it already.

With over 12 million user accounts, the WAX network has been used by top brands such as NASCAR, Sony, Hasbro, Mattel, and more to create and sell their respective NFT collections. WAX’s vIRL NFTs are distinct from standard NFTs in their dynamic functionality, including app integrations, marketing tools, and e-commerce capabilities, the companies said.

The capital from OKX Blockdream Ventures will enable the integration of these NFT capabilities into WAX-based video games, ultimately giving more creative leeway to P2E game developers and means of engagement to end-users.

The increased NFT functionality within blockchain-based games will create an experience akin to popular web2 games, while offering the ROI opportunity that gamers prioritize in P2E participation, the companies said. WAX said it will work alongside game development studios with proven gaming pedigrees that can deliver a better level of gameplay, digital fidelity, thoughtful system design, and high production value.

Additionally, funding from Blockdream will support the development of the WAXex exchange, which will specifically list the native tokens of play-to-earn video games that are built on the WAX blockchain. This will make it easier for new blockchain-based games to enter the market, as developers often struggle to get gaming tokens listed on reputable exchanges without a large existing userbase.

WAXex will function like any mainstream cryptocurrency exchange while giving gamers a more familiar and accessible experience of using fiat currency to buy WAX’s native WAXP tokens, then using them to acquire any gaming token listed on the exchange. Developers building WAX-based games will get marketing and technical support, with plugins and dev kits for integrating the engines Unity and Unreal soon to come from WAX Studios.

William Quigley, CEO of WAX Studios said in a statement, “This initiative with OKX Blockdream Ventures will further our mission to sustainably scale the WAX ecosystem and across multiple blockchains, bringing blockchain gaming to the mass market. Enthralling gaming experiences, seamless user experiences and closer, more effective collaboration with game developers will all be facilitated with this initiative, and we look forward to further cementing our position as the most multi-faceted NFT and gaming studio.”

Beyond gaming, Blockdream’s investment will be used to facilitate the growth of the WAX Cloud Wallet to include more cross-chain functionality and an improved user experience. The wallet acts as a dashboard for the entire WAX ecosystem — users can create an account using social media or email to then send gaming NFTs seamlessly, utilizing existing WAX cross-chain NFT functionality and NFT bridges across multiple blockchains. NFTs from WAX studios can be sold on OpenSea, OKX NFT, and WAX’s own vIRL market, among other major platforms.

Jeff Ren, head of OKX Blockdream Ventures said in a statement, “OKX Blockdream Ventures is committed to promoting innovation and growth across industries and international borders through funding the world’s most progressive implementations of blockchain technology. WAX Studios sits at the cutting edge of traditional gaming and the emerging P2E environment, and we are thrilled to be giving them the firepower needed to further proliferate their unique offering to a wider audience.”

OKX Blockdream Ventures is a $100 million fund focused on scaling the best blockchain projects. WAX Sutdios was started in 2017 and it has more than 100 employees.

How WAX is carbon neutral

WAX uses a delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) system for transaction validations, which is significantly less energy-intensive than the proof-of-work systems Bitcoin and Ethereum, which have to battle for computing power dominance.

WAX creates carbon offset NFTs and Climate Care awarded WAX with a Carbon Neutral Certification in early 2021. WAX’s transactions per second (TPS) is 8,000 — much faster compared to Ethereum (15 to 30 TPS), Solana (2,700 TPS), and Polygon (7,200 TPS).

As for security, WAX said it is a secure blockchain network and uses the highest degree of security protocols and technologies available.

Among the top five play-to-earn games by users and volume, three are on WAX: Splinterlands (with 328,580 users), Alien Worlds (187,100 users), and Famers World (152,210 users). More info on the games here.