Animoca Brands, a gaming software company from Hong Kong, is venturing into the Bitcoin industry by supporting the Opal Foundation, a new protocol designed for the Bitcoin ecosystem.
On April 30, Animoca Brands revealed via X their plans to expand into the Bitcoin ecosystem, aiming to establish the leading Web3 community focused on gaming, education, and culture on the Bitcoin platform.
Animoca Brands is entering the Bitcoin space through the Opal Protocol and the BLIF token, which will serve as the Opal Protocol Runes token. Animoca and Darewise, a metaverse technology platform, are leading this effort.
In its announcement, Animoca promoted the forthcoming BLIF token as a means to enable a “true digital life” on Bitcoin, asserting that Bitcoin is now equipped for Web3.
“With the advent of Ordinals, Bitcoin made the giant leap from simply being a way to store value to becoming a store of culture for the Web3 age,” Animoca’s executive chairman and co-founder Yat Siu said, adding:
“Building up our presence on the Bitcoin chain through the exciting work of the OPAL Protocol will help to advance our vision of an open metaverse in which all people have the opportunity to enjoy digital property rights and benefit from the power of network effects.”
In their X thread, the company stated that six of Animoca Brands’ portfolio companies have signed on as Genesis members.
The announcement also mentions that all upcoming Bitcoin-related projects from Animoca Brands will partner with the Opal Foundation.
The Opal Protocol, which launched in 2024, describes itself as a “decentralized ecosystem protocol on Bitcoin, powered by BLIF.” According to its “litepaper,” the protocol is designed to:
“The OPAL protocol is not just a digital playground; it’s a seamless blend of virtual and real-life experiences designed to be a digital extension of reality, where banking, entertainment, education, and social interactions coexist harmoniously.”
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Representatives from Opal’s official Telegram group said they will announce the launch date for the Opal Protocol and the BLIF airdrop at a later time.
Even though the Opal Protocol hasn’t launched yet, its X profile has amassed over 270,000 followers as of the time of this report.
“We are proud to have Animoca Brands as our first strategic launch partner, as the Opal Foundation will help to bridge their vision to establish the open Opal protocol into Bitcoin and ordinals,” the company said on its website.
Animoca’s announcement about entering the Bitcoin space coincides with the launch of spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Hong Kong on April 30.
On the first day of trading, the ETFs in Hong Kong recorded relatively low volumes compared to the spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States from January 2024.
