Line’s NFT Venture Secures $140M Funding for Global Marketplace Launch

Line Next, a venture dedicated to expanding the NFT ecosystem, has successfully raised $140 million in preparation for the scheduled launch of a global nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace in January 2024.

Line, a prominent messaging service from South Korea that is similar to WhatsApp and is focused on researching Web3 initiatives, is the parent company of the Line Next endeavor. The private equity firm Crescendo Equity Partners, funded by Peter Thiel, led the $140 million investment round.

According to the release, DOSI, Line Next’s worldwide NFT marketplace, is expected to launch in the early part of 2024. After integrating with Line’s existing Japan-based NFT marketplace, referred to as Line NFT, DOSI will proceed with the launch.

Launching as a mobile application, the new NFT marketplace will be accessible to users all around the world. In addition, the company will spend a portion of the 140 million-dollar capital to launch new services that are centered on Web 3.

A social app will enable users to deploy Web3 games and characters developed by artificial intelligence (AI). At the same time that Line Next and Crescendo will become governing members of the Finschia Foundation, the NFT marketplace that Line will use will be based on the public blockchain that Finschia provides.

There are approximately 5.5 million users all around the world catering to Line Next. Shane Mac, co-founder of XMTP, an open protocol and network for secure Web3 messaging, revealed a “huge opportunity” in reconstructing Web2 messaging services for Web3.

Web3 messaging is an important step in ensuring that users have full control over their information and how they interact on the internet, according to Mac, who explained how Web3 provides a new form of identity in which people have wealth and personality tied to wallet addresses but are unable to communicate with each other.

“To verify a message with the wallet signature that is the same wallet signature that proves you own what you say you own felt like a huge innovation.”

Mac also added that Web3 messaging is an important step in emphasizing the unique capabilities of Web3 messaging.