Animoca to invest $30 million in crypto app hi

Quick Take

The crypto app hi recently launched debit cards that can be customized with NFTs.
Animoca will work together with the startup to arm developers with hi’s proof-of-personhood tools.

Animoca Brands, the Hong Kong-based web3 investment firm, today announced a strategic partnership with hi, a startup that bills itself as a web3 super app.

As part of the deal, Animoca said it will invest $30 million in hi — though it added that definitive terms are yet to be agreed.

Hi, which holds digital assets licenses in Lithuania and Italy, currently offers both exchange and digital banking-like services for crypto and fiat. Close to 3.5 million people have signed up to the service, hi claimed in today’s announcement.

Hi last year announced a debit card that could be customized with avatars in the form of NFTs — the first of which are due to ship this quarter. Animoca said in today’s announcement that it reckoned its hundreds of portfolio companies could benefit from the feature.

Proof-of-personhood

The pair of web3 firms will also work together to arm developers with what they call a “unique-human authentication mechanism,” using hi’s proof-of-human identity tools. The plan comes just days after Worldcoin, the proof-of-personhood project co-created by Sam Altman, finally launched its token.

Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, said in a statement, “As part of this partnership we will collaborate with hi on its continued development of the hi App and the hi Protocol to drive positive impact for the broader Web3 ecosystem.”