XCarnival

XCarnival operates as a financial infrastructure protocol within the Web3 space, focusing on providing liquidity for Metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) assets. Founded in 2021 by Leon Liu and Alan Ma, the company is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with a presence in Singapore. Liu, the CEO, is a serial entrepreneur with a background in cross-border payment finance and was an early DeFi investor and blockchain fund founder. Ma, the CTO, brings a decade of experience in blockchain development, previously serving as CTO of Kcash. They are joined by CMO Vivi Lin, a media personality and crypto influencer.

The company's core business revolves around unlocking the value of digital assets that are typically illiquid. XCarnival's platform functions as a lending aggregator, connecting NFT creators, collectors, lenders, and investors. It enables NFT holders to use their assets as collateral to secure cryptocurrency loans, thereby gaining liquidity without having to sell their holdings. The business model serves multiple participants: mortgagors pledge NFTs to borrow funds, lenders provide capital (in the form of USDxc) to earn interest, and liquidators can acquire NFTs by bidding in liquidation auctions. Revenue is generated through the financial activities on its platform, which includes both peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-pool (P2Pool) lending models.

The primary product is a multi-chain protocol that offers a suite of NFTFi (NFT + DeFi) services. A key feature is XBroker, a smart contract-based platform for NFT pledge and loan services deployed on EVM-based chains with plans for future expansion. To mitigate risks for lenders and borrowers, the protocol incorporates advanced risk control systems, dynamic collateralization ratios, and automated safeguards. The platform supports a wide range of high-quality NFT assets. In May 2021, XCarnival secured $2 million in a seed funding round from investors including Fundamental Labs, SNZ, NGC Ventures, and AU21 Capital. The company has also engaged in community-building efforts, winning a BSC Hackathon for Southeast Asia and launching its mainnet on Ethereum in June 2022.

Keywords: NFT liquidity, NFT lending, DeFi protocol, Metaverse assets, crypto loans, digital asset collateral, peer-to-peer lending, NFT financial infrastructure, asset-backed lending, blockchain finance, XCV token, Leon Liu, Alan Ma, NFTFi, crypto asset liquidation, NFT staking, liquidity pools, Web3 finance, XBroker, digital collectibles finance