Universe.XYZ
Community-governed NFT marketplace for artists and creators.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor investor | €0.0 | round |
* | N/A | $4.3m Valuation: $21.0m | Seed |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Universe.XYZ was a decentralized, community-governed platform for the NFT market, built on the Ethereum blockchain. Founded in 2021 by Tyler Ward, Tim Kang, Troy Murray, and Milad Mostavi, the startup aimed to empower artists and creators. The founders, including individuals with experience from BarnBridge, a fixed derivative protocol, envisioned an ecosystem to support artists by minimizing platform fees.
In May 2021, Universe.XYZ announced it had raised $4.3 million in a seed funding round to bootstrap its platform. The platform was designed as a suite of products, including tools for minting NFTs, a decentralized auction house, and an NFT marketplace. Its protocol was intended to allow creators to build communities around their content using social tools, media services, and token distribution. The business model focused on taking a 2% fee on every resale on its platform to fund continued development, while initial auctions were to be free of platform fees to maximize revenue for creators.
The platform's governance was based on the xyzDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization controlled by holders of the native $XYZ token. This structure was intended to allow the community of users, creators, and collectors to influence the platform's development, including decisions on upgrades and fee structures. Despite its initial funding and ambitious plans, PitchBook and Tracxn now list the company as out of business or deadpooled as of late 2023.
Keywords: NFT marketplace, decentralized platform, community-governed, Ethereum blockchain, digital art, NFT minting, creator royalties, XYZ token, decentralized autonomous organization, social tokens, crypto collectibles, web3, digital assets, NFT auctions, seed funding