Hong Kong-based gaming firm Animoca Brands has on Wednesday announced that it has joined the United States-based blockchain ecosystem Celo to accelerate Web3 adoption with sustainability and social impact.

Animoca Brands said in a statement the participation in the Celo ecosystem will allow the firm to scale up Web3 gaming on Celo’s mobile-first infrastructure and mission-driven ecosystem of more than 1,000 projects in over 150 countries that drive social impact and climate action by leveraging innovative Web3 tools.

The Celo platform provides mobile-first accessibility targeting over 6.4 billion mobile phone users around the world with easy-to-use native wallets and dapps for frictionless, mobile payments, fast syncing with the peer-to-peer (P2P) network, and the ability to pay transaction fees using local stable assets.

With over 240 million transactions and a market cap of $350M, Celo has already offset 4,104 tons of tCO2-eq at the protocol layer since its mainnet launched on Earth Day 2020.

According to the statement, Animoca Brands will participate in the Celo ecosystem by joining Celo’s Alliance for Prosperity and becoming a validator on the Celo network.

Animoca Brands will be the first entertainment and gaming steward among Celo’s over 100 members committed to the mainstream adoption of blockchain technology via financial inclusion, innovative project development efforts, and local and regional blockchain education campaigns

Animoca Brands will also run a validator on Celo to support the network’s security, joining Deutsche Telekom, Coinbase Ventures, a16z, and various other validators

In addition, Animoca Brands and the Celo Foundation are in discussion to partner on strategic initiatives and explore new deployments and integrations geared towards social impact and climate action.

“We are thrilled to participate in the Celo ecosystem, which has been deeply committed to last-mile solutions and real-world adoption of Web3 in a truly global manner,” said Yat Siu, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands.

He said the firm is looking forward to collaborating with the Celo Foundation on new ideas that can drive positive impact and change in the world in a collective effort to build trust in blockchain technology.

Celo is a carbon-negative, permissionless, layer-1 platform with a rich ecosystem of global partners building innovative Web3 applications within the DeFi, ReFi, and non-fungible token (NFT) sectors on Celo.

Accessible to anyone with a mobile phone, the Celo ecosystem consists of a decentralized, proof-of-stake blockchain technology stack (the Celo Platform), the CELO native token, and several Mento stable assets (cUSD, cEUR, cREAL) that enable anyone to use digital assets.

Launched on Earth Day in 2020, the open source Celo mainnet supports 1,000+ projects created by developers and artists located around the world.

“The Celo ecosystem, known for mobile and impact, welcomes Animoca Brands, which has done so much for onboarding people to Web3 as a respected industry leader known for its pioneering projects in digital entertainment and gaming,” said Rene Reinsberg, Celo Co-Founder and president of the Celo Foundation.

According to him, Animoca Brands’ mission to drive more equitable digital frameworks aligns well with Celo’s mission of creating the conditions for prosperity for all.

“With our combined communities, we hope to onboard the next billion users into Web3,” he added.

Animoca Brands is a firm that involved in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification that is working to advance digital property rights and contribute to the establishment of the open metaverse.

The company develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products including original games such as The Sandbox, Phantom Galaxies, Life Beyond, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes, and products utilizing popular intellectual properties including Disney, WWE, Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, Power Rangers, MotoGP™, and Formula E.

It has multiple subsidiaries, including The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Quidd, GAMEE, nWay, Pixowl, Forj, Lympo, Animoca Brands Japan, Grease Monkey Games, Eden Games, Life Beyond Studios, Notre Game, TinyTap, Be., PIXELYNX, and WePlay Media.

Animoca Brands also has a growing portfolio of more than 450 Web3 investments, including Colossal, Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Yield Guild Games, Harmony, Alien Worlds, Star Atlas, and others.

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