Blockchain startup Bitmark is ramping up its non-fungible token (NFT) initiatives, raising $5.6 million on the heels of its Autonomy NFT wallet launch, the company announced Wednesday.
The startup’s dedicated NFT wallet aims to be an interoperable way for NFT aficionados to display their collections. The platform is available on mobile devices as an app, and is currently compatible with Ethereum and Tezos blockchains, though the company plans on adding more integrations in the coming months, according to a representative.
The wallet works in tandem with the company’s other product Feral File, a platform that allows users to create virtual exhibitions of their collections.
Bitmark’s CEO Sean Moss-Pultz sees the industry around the burgeoning digital art movement as still in its infancy. While interest in the space has never been higher, creative ways to display NFTs haven’t kept up.
“I think in the next year or two, we're going to see a ton of innovation in space,” Moss-Pultz told CoinDesk in an interview. “The reason that I strongly believe this is I know of a number of larger display manufacturers that are making dedicated, really beautiful panels just for displaying digital art.”
Other companies getting in on the action include Bright Moments, which has been putting on pop-up NFT galleries around the world for high-profile generative artists, and Web3 Gallery, an NFT-dedicated art gallery in New York City positioning itself as “the BestBuy of NFTs.”
Galaxy Interactive and North Island Ventures led Bitmark’s funding round. The company’s last round of funding came in 2016, when it raised $1.7 million led by Cherubic Ventures.