The Winklevoss twins’ Gemini exchange has made its first-ever acquisition by purchasing the Nifty Gateway platform, which enables users to buy and manage non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Tyler Winklevoss revealed the acquisition in a Nov. 19 blog post, detailing that so-called “nifties” are a unique asset or good on a blockchain that differ from other cryptocurrencies as they are one-of-a-kind and thus not interchangeable. Nifties’ features make them ideal as a base for crypto-collectibles and crypto-art, according to Winklevoss.
Because all collectibles will migrate onto blockchain
Currently, the Nifty Gateway platform allows users to buy nifties with a credit or debit card. Speaking about the motivation behind the acquisition, Winklevoss cited their belief that all collectibles — both real-world and digital — will eventually transition onto a blockchain in the form of nifties.
By a curious coincidence, Nifty Gateway was developed by identical twins Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster. In a separate announcement, Duncan Cock Foster said:
“There is a lot of infrastructure that we need in order to build something on the scale that we are imagining. It would be time consuming and tedious to build on our own. But by teaming up with Gemini, we get instant access to a lot of critically important technologies that we would not have otherwise.”
The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Crypto-collectibles gain in popularity
Crypto-collectibles are gradually making their way into the mainstream, with the launch of projects such as CryptoKitties and sports teams and organizations embracing the new technology. Speaking on stage at BlockShow Asia 2019 in Singapore earlier in November, True Global Ventures 3d founder Dusan Stojanovic said the time to invest in crypto collectibles is “right now.” Stojanovic stated:
“I am really bullish about gaming and non-fungible tokens [...] CryptoKitties was the start. I think the timing is right now, way before five years [from now].”