Lysto, a first-of-its-kind Web3 gaming startup that issues digital credentials to gamers and seeks to bring them on-chain, has raised over $12 million in its Pre-Series A funding round. The round witnessed participation by several investors, including Square Peg, BEENEXT, Hashed, Tiger Global, and Better Capital.
Angel investors included Balaji Srinivasan from Coinbase, Paul Veradittakit from Pantera Capital, Binny Bansal, Bobby Ong and TM Lee from CoinGecko, according to a statement from Lysto. To date, the startup has raised a total of $15 million in funding, including the current round.
Lysto plans to use the funds to develop its technology platform further, expand business development activities, and create tools for issuing digital credentials. The funding comes as the company develops tools to enable verified on-chain digital credentials from issuer to gamer to expand its global Web3 gaming community.
Sadiq Ahamed founded Lysto in 2021 to create APIs, NFTs, and other tools for online gamers. It primarily provides digital credentials to online gamers who have won a tournament or game. These credentials are later used as NFTs, which gamers can post on their social media profiles.
The startup aims to standardize gamer credentials and reputation across the industry
Lysto claims to have recently launched Proof of Play Protocol (PoPP), which provides industry professionals with standardized gaming credentials. PoPPs are trophies, social badges, and game-tester tokens from games and online tournaments. It can be distributed to gamers via AirDrops, APIs, and emails, and gamers can later post it on their public profile.
“Lysto is enabling the gaming ecosystem to standardize gamer reputation through PoPP and Passport. We envision a world where on-chain attestations across games and tournaments can serve as the foundation of gamers’ profiles,” said Sadiq Ahamed, Lysto’s founder and CEO.
The startup competes with companies such as Alzheimer’s Research, which provides gaming credentials to professional Web3 gamers. In recent months, startups working at the intersection of gaming and cryptocurrency have attracted investor interest in India.
The country’s gaming industry is thriving, with the number of online gamers in India expected to increase by 8 percent to 390 million by 2021. According to a KPMG report, India’s gaming market will reach $3.9 billion by 2025.
According to Tak Lee, Managing Partner at Hashed Emergent, the venture capital firm invests in Lysto to help the startup scale across gaming and the Web3 ecosystem it has been building over the years. Hashed Emergent is a Seoul and Silicon Valley-based investor looking to put money into startups working to unlock blockchain technology’s potential.
