What is Immutable, explained

May 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Explore Immutable, the leading Web3 game development platform to build and scale Web3 games.

What are the DApps on Immutable?

The majority of DApps on Immutable fall under the category of Gaming and Collectibles.

Several games are currently being built on the Immutable platform ranging from RPGs to sci-fi exploration, and autobattlers to massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Some of these include:

Illuvium: Illuvium is a decentralized game studio building an open-world RPG adventure game. Players are immersed in a unique combination of sci-fi and fantasy while capturing Iluvials, creatures inhabiting the world of Illuvium.
Gods Unchained: Released in 2018, Gods Unchained is a leading Web3 play-to-earn trading card game that has already seen over 52 million cards exchanged. Despite being in beta, the game has over 450,000 registered users.
Guilds of Guardians: Guild of Guardians is a multiplayer action RPG developed by Mineloader and published by Immutable Games. While the game is yet to be launched in 2023, over 1 million players have pre-registered for the game.
Immortal Game: Immortal Game is building chess on the blockchain, enhancing the classic game by introducing a crypto layer that enables players to own stylish NFTs tied to pieces called Immortals.

What are IMX and Immutable Marketplace?

Immutable uses a decentralized governance system via IMX as the native utility token on the Immutable platform.

The IMX token is an ERC-20 token with a total token supply of 2 billion. Incentives among traders, creators and markets are balanced by the IMX token, ensuring rewards go to pro-network activities on Immutable. The Immutable white paper describes three core uses of IMX: fees, staking and governance.

Immutable has its own marketplace as the default home for trading NFTs on the protocol. The Immutable Marketplace supports Ethereum wallets without the need to switch networks. NFTs are free to mint for users on the Immutable Marketplace, and since there is only a 2% sell-on fee, it is a low-cost avenue for launching new collections with near-zero gas fees.

Apart from its own marketplace, Immutable’s Orderbook and Marketplace Network facilitates partnerships with 10 leading NFT marketplaces, such as GameStop, Token Trove, OKK, etc. Thanks to the power of the orderbook, games and marketplaces building on the Immutable platform experience doubled liquidity as evidenced by the fact that half of all trades on Immutable are filled on non-origin marketplaces.

In November 2022, Immutable partnered with GameStop, the leading global video game retailer, to integrate its global orderbook into the GameStop NFT marketplace. This will bring current and upcoming projects on Immutable to GameStop, including Gods Unchained, Guild of Guardians, Ember Sword, Playco, GreenPark Sports, Illuvium and many others.

What are the key features of Immutable?

Immutable aims to provide a fast, secure and cost-effective solution for decentralized applications (DApps) while solving numerous issues around scalability and gaming.

The key features and technologies of the Immutable platform include:

Enterprise-grade security with massive scalability

The integration of zero-knowledge proofs into the Immutable platform allows for a substantial decrease in transaction costs and an increase in the number of transactions per second (TPS) compared to traditional Ethereum platforms. At the same time, the technology guarantees the confidentiality of sensitive information while permitting the verification of statements.

The largest ecosystem in Web3 gaming

Immutable offers access to a growing ecosystem of over 1 million players and $2 billion in investor funding for games building on Immutable, along with over 150 well-known titles that have selected Immutable as their gaming platform.

Frictionless user experiences

The full suite of Immutable products and vetted smart contract templates have been created specifically to reduce onboarding complexities, generate native gameplay experiences, and empower game studios with the tools they need to provide delightful Web3 experiences to their communities.

Game-centric development platform

Immutable has five years of experience building and scaling some of the promising Web3 games, such as Illuvium, Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians. Drawing from this, it has used that expertise to ensure game developers have a one-stop-shop platform containing everything they need to achieve mainstream adoption.

How does Immutable work, and what problem does it solve?

Immutable is a complete end-to-end development platform for building and scaling Web3 games on Ethereum, with industry-leading security and frictionless developer and gaming experiences.

Immutable use zero-knowledge Rollups (ZK-rollups) to achieve layer-2 scalability. ZK-rollups fuse an array of hundreds of transactions off-chain and then send them to Ethereum as a single transaction, allowing faster validation of transactions and thereby ensuring gas fees are kept to a minimum.

In March 2023, Immutable announced its second scaling solution, Immutable zkEVM, for games alongside the existing Immutable X, a ZK-rollup powered by StarkWare. Set to fully launch later in 2023, this new EVM-compatible ZK-rollup will be powered by Polygon technology with full Immutable platform support to help make Web3 games faster, straightforward to develop and less risky from development to launch.

The partnership between Immutable and Polygon, along with the creation of Immutable zkEVM, solves many problems for Web3 game development. Here’s how:

One-stop gaming solution: Immutable’s platform with zkEVM tech offers Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, low cost, massive scale and Ethereum security all while providing direct integration into Immutable’s full-stack gaming platform. This provides developers with a suite of solutions needed to succeed.
Network effects: Developers can access the combined network of Immutable and Polygon to get access to gamers, tools and funding.
Reduced development costs: For existing games, the opportunity to migrate existing smart contracts to the Immutable zkEVM environment is provided via Immutable’s smart contract templates.
Enhanced gameplay mechanics: From staking and crafting to advanced functionalities, including dynamic NFTs that equip other NFTs are possible with Immutable zkEVM.
Seamless interoperability: With Immutable zkEVM, game developers can create games that are seamlessly interoperable with other games or platforms in the Ethereum ecosystem, enabling broader access and economies of scale.
Secure gaming environment: Immutable’s quality control measures are designed to protect gaming studios and users from malicious activity, poorly designed contracts or validators, and conserve the chain’s bandwidth for gaming-specific activities.

What is Immutable, and why is it important for blockchain gaming?

Immutable is a game development platform that simplifies building Web3 games on the Ethereum blockchain.

Headquartered in Sydney and co-founded in 2018 by James Ferguson, Robbie Ferguson and Alex Connolly, this leading Web3 gaming platform is focused on a mission to bring digital ownership to players by making it easy to build Web3 games for mainstream adoption. Immutable is funded and backed by prominent crypto VC funds and transformational tech investors like Bitkraft Ventures, King River Capital, AirTree, Temasek, Coinbase and more.

The Immutable platform empowers gaming studios and developers with a powerful suite of products, delivering clear solutions that amplify their capabilities and transform the way they create, launch and distribute games.

Its pre-built solutions designed for ease of use enable developers to launch their games faster without compromising on either security or the gaming experience, thereby solving two major blockchain gaming industry-wide issues. Additionally, builders receive Web3 guidance, live support for their communities and access to Immutable’s extensive gaming ecosystem.

Immutable has also been at the forefront of enabling zero-knowledge (ZK) scaling solutions for Ethereum and offers multiple ZK-based scaling options, including Immutable X, a rollup based on StarkWare technology, and Immutable zkEVM, powered by Polygon.

Immutable Games, its own gaming studio, is a global player in Web3 game development and pioneered the world’s first blockbuster nonfungible token (NFT) trading-card game Gods Unchained. It is currently building the highly anticipated mobile role-playing game (RPG) Guild of Guardians while also partnering with third-party game developers on games such as MetalCore, Infinite Victory and Shardbound.

Studio games by Immutable

Polygon Teams Up With Ethereum-Based Crypto Project To Create Blockchain Dedicated to Gaming

March 22, 2023 The Daily Hodl

These 5 cryptocurrencies may continue to surprise to the upside

March 19, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Binance Coin

Bitcoin, ETH, BNB, STX, and IMX remain strong on the charts, increasing the likelihood of more gains in the near term.

Bitcoin (BTC) is on track to close the week with gains of more than 23%. The banking crisis in the United States and Europe seems to have boosted buying in Bitcoin, indicating that the leading cryptocurrency is behaving as a safe haven asset in the near term.

All eyes are on the Federal Reserve’s meeting on March 21 and 22. The failure of the banks in the U.S. has increased hopes that the Fed will not hike rates in the meeting. The CME FedWatch Tool shows a 38% probability of a pause and a 62% probability of a 25 basis points rate hike on March 22.

*Crypto market data daily view. Source:* *Coin360*

Analysts are divided on the consequences of the current crisis on the economy. Former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan believes that the U.S. will enter a period of hyperinflation while pseudonymous Twitter user James Medlock believes otherwise. Srinivasan plans to wage a millionaire bet with Medlock and another person that Bitcoin’s price will reach $1 million by June 17.

Although anything is possible in crypto markets, traders should be prudent in their trading and not get carried away with lofty targets.

Let’s study the charts of Bitcoin and altcoins that are showing signs of the resumption of the up-move after a minor correction.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin soared above the $25,250 resistance on March 17, completing a bullish inverse head and shoulders (H&S) pattern.

Usually, a breakout from a major setup returns to retest the breakout level but in some cases, the rally continues unabated.

*BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView*

The rising 20-day exponential moving average ($24,088) and the relative strength index (RSI) in the overbought territory indicate advantage to buyers. If the price breaks above $28,000, the rally could pick up momentum and surge to $30,000 and thereafter to $32,000. This level is likely to witness strong selling by the bears.

Another possibility is that the price turns down from the current level but rebounds off $25,250. That will also keep the bullish trend intact.

The positive view will be invalidated in the near term if the price plummets below the moving averages. Such a move will suggest that the break above $25,250 may have been a bull trap. That could open the doors for a possible drop to the psychologically critical level of $20,000.

*BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The 4-hour chart shows that the BTC/USDT pair is facing profit-booking near $27,750 but a positive sign is that the pullback has been shallow. Buyers will try to drive the price above $28,000 and resume the uptrend. The pair could then climb toward $30,000.

On the other hand, if the price turns down and slumps below the 20-EMA, it will suggest that the traders are rushing to the exit. That may pull the price down to the important support at $25,250 where the bulls and the bears may witness a tough battle.

Ether price analysis

The bulls conquered the $1,800 resistance on March 18 but could not sustain the higher levels. This shows that the bears are protecting the $1,800 level on Ether (ETH) with vigor.

*ETH/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView*

The critical support to watch on the downside is the zone between $1,680 and the 20-day EMA ($1,646). If the price rebounds off this zone, it will signal that the sentiment has turned positive and traders are buying on dips.

Buyers will then again try to resume the uptrend and drive the price toward the next target objective at $2,000. This level may prove to be a major hurdle for the bulls to cross.

Contrarily, if the price turns down and slumps below the moving averages, it will suggest that the bulls are losing their grip. The ETH/USDT pair may then drop to $1,461.

*ETH/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The 4-hour chart shows that the pair bounced off the support at $1,743. This suggests that the bulls are buying the shallow dips and are not waiting for a deeper correction to get in. Buyers will next try to kick the price above $1,841. If this level is taken out, the pair may sprint toward $2,000.

Contrarily, if the price turns down and plunges below $1,743, short-term traders may book profits. The pair could then slide to the next important support at $1,680.

BNB price analysis

BNB (BNB) rose above $338 on March 18, which invalidated the bearish H&S pattern. Usually, when a bearish pattern fails, it attracts buying from the bulls and short covering by the bears.

*BNB/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView*

The onus is on the bulls to keep the price above the immediate support at $318. If they manage to do that, the BNB/USDT pair could first climb to $360 and thereafter dash toward $400. The upsloping 20-day EMA ($309) and the RSI near the overbought territory indicate that the path of least resistance is to the upside.

If bears want to gain the upper hand, they will have to yank the price back below the moving averages. This may not be an easy task but if completed successfully, the pair could tumble to $280.

*BNB/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The 4-hour chart shows that the bulls are buying the dips to the 20-EMA. The bears tried to halt the recovery at $338 but the bulls have pierced this resistance. Buyers will try to push the pair to $346. If this level gives way, the pair may continue its uptrend.

Alternatively, if the price turns down and breaks below 20-EMA, it will suggest that the short-term bulls may be booking profits on rallies. The pair could then slump to $318 where the buyers may step in to arrest the decline.

Stacks price analysis

Stacks (STX) rallied from $0.52 on March 10 to $1.29 on March 18, a sharp run within a short time. This suggests aggressive buying by the bulls.

*STX/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView*

The STX/USDT pair is witnessing profit-booking near $1.29 but a positive sign is that the bulls have not ceded much ground to the bears. This suggests that minor dips are being bought. Typically, in a strong uptrend, corrections last for one to three days.

If the price turns up and breaks above $1.29, the pair could resume its uptrend. The next stop on the upside is likely to be $1.55 and then $1.80.

The first sign of weakness on the downside will be a break and close below $1. That could clear the path for a drop to the 20-day EMA ($0.84).

*STX/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The pair has corrected to the 20-EMA. This is an important level for the bulls to defend if they want to resume the up-move. If the price rebounds off the 20-EMA, the pair could retest the overhead resistance at $1.29. If bulls overcome this barrier, the next leg of the uptrend may begin.

Conversely, if bears sink the price below the 20-EMA, the pair could slide to $1 and then to the 50-simple moving average. A deeper correction may delay the resumption of the up-move and keep the pair stuck inside a range for a few days.

Immutable price analysis

Immutable (IMX) skyrocketed above the overhead resistance of $1.30 on March 17, which completed the inverse H&S formation. This suggests the start of a potential new uptrend.

*IMX/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView*

Meanwhile, the price may retest the breakout level of $1.30. If the price rebounds off this level with strength, it will suggest that the bulls have flipped the level into support. Buyers will then try to kick the price above $1.59 and resume the uptrend. The IMX/USDT pair may then rally to $1.85 and later to $2. The pattern target of the reversal setup is $2.23.

This positive view could be negated in the near term if the price slips below the moving averages. Such a move will suggest that the break above $1.30 may have been a bull trap. The pair could then drop to $0.80.

*IMX/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The pair is witnessing a mild correction, which is finding support at the 20-EMA. Buyers are trying to clear the overhead hurdles at $1.59 but the bears are not relenting. If the price breaks below the 20-EMA, the pullback could reach $1.30.

Another possibility is that the price rebounds off the 20-EMA. That will indicate solid demand at lower levels and enhance the prospects of a break above $1.59. If that happens, the pair may resume its uptrend.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Crypto market cap reclaims $1T, and derivatives point to further upside

March 17, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Crypto market cap reclaims T, and derivatives point to further upside

Banks

Bitcoin's performance has outpaced Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway over the past six months as crypto markets appear to have turned a corner.

The total crypto market capitalization increased by 26% in seven days, reaching $1.16 trillion on March 17. Bitcoin (BTC) was the biggest winner among the top 20 coins, up 31.5%, though some altcoins gained 50% or more during that period.

*Total crypto market cap in USD, 12-hour. Source: TradingView*

The surge in cryptocurrency prices occurred as the United States Federal Reserve was forced to lend banks $300 billion in emergency funds. According to PBS News Hour, nearly half of the money went to failed financial institutions Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and was used to pay uninsured depositors. The remaining $153 billion was obtained through a long-standing program known as the "discount window," which allows banks to borrow funds for up to 90 days.

While appearing to protect the banking sector, additional funding for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and credit facilitation using Fed resources ultimately creates a "false sense of confidence," according to activist billionaire investor Bill Ackman.

The $30 billion plan devised by U.S. regulators to avoid a major liquidity crisis in First Republic Bank (FRB) "raised more questions than it answers," said Ackman, who manages the hedge fund Pershing Square. Furthermore, Ackman stated that "half measures don't work when there is a confidence crisis."

Warren Buffett, the billionaire, is on the losing side of the bet

As the banking crisis worsened, Warren Buffett, the largest shareholder and co-founder of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB), a $650 billion financial conglomerate, saw his holdings rapidly deteriorate. Berkshire Hathaway, for example, is the largest holder of Bank of America (BAC) stock, which has fallen 15.5% year-to-date. This position alone has cost Buffett's investment vehicle $5.2 billion.

Buffett, a well-known cryptocurrency critic, has stated that he has no interest in Bitcoin, even if the entire float is offered at $1,300. The 91-year-old, with a net worth of around $102 billion, claimed that Bitcoin doesn't produce anything, whereas farmland and residential real estate do.

However, Bitcoin's price increased by 31.5% in the six months preceding March 17, while Berkshire's stock increased by 5.8%. So, for the time being, the so-called "rat poison," as Buffett once described Bitcoin, is outpacing his own financial management firm.

$1 trillion market capitalization support quickly restored

Let's look at the performance of the top 80 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization to see if the surge above the $1 trillion mark has boosted the confidence of altcoin investors.

*Weekly winners and losers among the top 80 coins. Source: Messari*

Conflux Network (CFX) gained 97.6% after KuCoin Ventures announced a $10 million investment in stablecoin issuer and blockchain-based payment service provider CNHC, which is available on Ethereum and Conflux networks.

Stacks (STX) rallied 75.7% as the network is scheduled to undergo an upgrade on March 20, introducing Stacks 2.1 with new features and improvements.

Immutable X (IMX) rose 71.7% following a much-anticipated partnership announcement scheduled for March 20.

Option traders are extremely confident about market conditions

Traders can gauge the market's sentiment by measuring whether more activity is going through call (buy) options or put (sell) options. Generally speaking, call options are used for bullish strategies, whereas put options are for bearish ones.

A put-to-call ratio of 0.70 indicates that put option open interest lags behind the more call options. In contrast, a 1.40 indicator favors put options, which is a bearish sign.

*BTC options volume put-to-call ratio. Source: laevitas.ch*

Since March 12, the demand for neutral-to-bullish call options has increased, indicating the growing risk appetite of derivatives traders. The movement peaked on March 17, when the volume of call options exceeded the volume of protective put options by a three-to-one ratio.

The gap favoring call options has stabilized at two-to-one, indicating that professional investors are unconcerned following the March 17 rejection of the $1.16 trillion market capitalization level. In the end, data indicate a strong conviction for Bitcoin's support at $26,000, so bulls are in a stronger position to continue their rally.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin Records Largest Mined Block to Date, 4 MB Block Containing NFT Causes Unease Among Small-Block Supporters

February 2, 2023 Bitcoin.com

‘The social benefits are huge’ — Web3 gaming to shift digital ownership

October 19, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson highlights the potential for Web3 gaming to cause a shift in digital property ownership and value sharing.

There is no substitute for experience. Even when an experience can feel regrettable, like getting your brother’s Runescape account banned.

Robbie Ferguson grew up as an avid gamer, accumulating thousands of hours playing his favorite games. One fateful day, he logged into Runescape and set in motion a series of events that would forever change his view on digital ownership and the world of Web3 gaming:

“I logged into my brother’s Runescape account which we shared and went into the wilderness and lost all his Red Dragon Armor. The next day, I felt so bad, I went and bought gold from a gold farm to replace it. The following day, the account was banned.”

The incident left a mark on Ferguson, a software developer who became involved in the blockchain space through his introduction to Bitcoin in 2014. His interest was super-charged in 2015 with the advent of Ethereum and the potential of the ecosystem.

Ferguson’s Runescape banning incident provided the impetus for his move into blockchain gaming development, having been left frustrated by what he described as the “arbitrary impunity” in which gaming economies and assets were governed by mainstream companies.

Speaking to Cointelegraph during the Token2049 conference in Singapore in September 2022, Ferguson unpacked how he, his brother James and Alex Connolly went on to co-found blockchain technology firm Immutable in 2018 after their first attempts to build a decentralized game.

*Robbie Ferguson presenting at the Asia Blockchain Gaming Alliance summit during Token2049 week in Singapore.*

Ether Bots, their first attempt at an Ethereum-powered game, taught the trio what should go on-chain versus off-chain and laid the foundation for what would become an infrastructure platform for building Web3-based games and nonfungible token (NFT) functionality. Furthermore, Ferguson was intent on disrupting the status quo of digital ownership of in-game assets:

“The reason we started with games is because they’re by far the most exciting use case for NFTs. There’s $110 billion spent every year on digital property that people have zero rights to and it’s a complete scam.”

With lessons learned from their first foray, the successful launch of blockchain-powered play-to-earn tactical card game Gods Unchained played an integral role in establishing Immutable, a platform for blockchain development firms to build Web3 games with NFT integration.

Understanding the solution

Immutable consists of two separate but intrinsically linked segments. ImmutableX is the company’s Ethereum layer-2 NFT scaling platform, while Immutable Studios is the gaming development arm of the firm.

Ferguson maintains that ImmutableX, the Ethereum-based layer-2 solution NFT platform, took invaluable lessons from the development of Gods Unchained, which shaped the functionality of the infrastructure upon which other blockchain games are now being built:

“There’s been a lot of gaming platforms built out there that don’t actually understand the needs of games, from a tech perspective, from a services perspective and from a user experience perspective.”

The launch of Gods Unchained saw 50 million NFTs minted in its first week, which then led to a price surge due to high gas fees in the Ethereum ecosystem. This highlighted a major need to scale and reduce minting costs in order to make a Web3 NFT-packed game viable for any company, as Ferguson explained:

“If this is gonna go at scale we need to make this stuff zero cost to create. If you take a single medium-sized game with 100 million players, if every one of them is trading just once or twice per day, you have a cost basis of tens of millions of dollars per week to that company.”

ImmutableX is focused on making everyday in-game items tradable in low-cost bands. Ferguson used Gods Unchained as an example again, with trading cards only down around 10% from market highs because “people trade cards to use in the game, not because the price of Ethereum is $1,200 or $4,000.”

While high-value NFTs will always form part of an in-game marketplace, usability should drive in-game economies, according to Ferguson. This then leads to the question of profitability and how Immutable is able to offer free minting of NFTs, which is touted on its website.

Immutable facilitates this by paying for all the costs of NFT minting using zero-knowledge (ZK) rolls ups, providing economies of scale that allow billions of transactions to be bundled for a “reasonable cost.” That is still an eight-figure dollar sum for Immutable, but Ferguson highlighted the caveat:

“We get to make it so anyone can create these assets for free via incredibly valuable economies and instead be monetized by taking small clips on every trade, which means we have the exact same incentive as games and users do, which is to maximize volume.”

Giving back to the Ethereum network

Immutable’s efforts to solve the scalability of NFT minting to power blockchain-based games owe its thanks to Starkware, the Ethereum layer-2 platform that pioneered zk-STARK proof technology.

The technology also allows Immutable to lay claim to being carbon neutral, with Ferguson touting the ability to mint 600,000 NFTs in a single proof that only takes up a fraction of a block in the Ethereum network.

Nevertheless, zk-Rollups and Ethereum’s Merge have laid an important platform in allowing infrastructure providers like Immutable to build for an increasing number of Web3-based games in the future:

“We’re barely at a fraction of a percent of the scale of transactions per second that NFTs will eventually take. If we’re looking at transforming gaming, with billions of gamers worldwide, even then trading a few assets every day is going to radically increase the demand for the stack.”

According to Ferguson, Immutable also played a role in developing batched minting and deferred minting, two common NFT scaling paradigms used today by the likes of NFT marketplaces like OpenSea to Nifty Gateway.

Why blockchain?

Blockchain purists have often questioned whether some industries need to use the technology to improve existing systems. Ferguson considered this question carefully, highlighting his belief that digital users deserve to have rights to the items and assets they acquire in any digital environment:

“The mission should be to create a better game, which under the hood uses Web3, so that people have a better experience and have digital property rights. It’s this lie that has been sold to consumers for the past three decades that just because something is intangible, you should have zero rights to it.”

Ferguson believes that the success of the sector is already playing out, highlighting more than $9 billion worth of investments into Web3 gaming over the past 18 months. This, in turn, is set to create a shift in equity sharing:

“The social benefits are huge. We’re democratizing access to economies with people building assets in-game and the ability for anyone to create content for games, Web3 can now empower those people to monetize much better.”

While Web3 may put ownership in the hands of users, that does not mean that mainstream AAA companies are not keeping tabs on the burgeoning sector. As Ferguson explained, these firms will look to position themselves ahead of the disruptive technology if Web3 games become a new standard that is in demand.

Immutable, meanwhile, continues to grow. The Australian-based blockchain technology company employs over 300 people and has raised over $300 million from investors including Coinbase, Tencent, Galaxy Digital and Animoca Brands.

Immutable Launches $500M Ecosystem Fund to Boost GameFi Adoption

June 17, 2022 The Crypto Briefing

Pro Trader-Focused NFT Marketplace Blur Secures $11 Million in Seed Round Led by Paradigm

March 29, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Ethereum NFT Platform Immutable Closes $200M Raise

March 7, 2022 The Crypto Briefing

Immutable raises $60M for its carbon-conscious NFT platform

September 14, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Immutable raises M for its carbon-conscious NFT platform

Coin Telegraph

The NFT protocol has now raised a total of $77.5 million across two funding rounds.

Immutable, a layer-two nonfungible token (NFT) protocol built on the Ethereum blockchain, has announced a $60 million Series B funding raise from a multitude of corporate venture firms, including Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research and Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerFund.

The funding round was co-led by gaming investment platform Bitkraft Ventures and venture firm King River Capital. The new capital will be allocated to supporting Immutable’s growing ambitions, including expanding its global engineering and sales departments, fostering industry partnerships and scaling the network’s native NFT gaming projects.

Through its scaling solution, Immutable X, the protocol provides a foundational infrastructure for the global business market to distribute and exchange NFT digital assets on the Ethereum ecosystem.

In 2019, the platform was responsible for supporting the launch of the blockchain-based trading card game Gods Unchained. The native ERC-20 token GODS acts as the medium of exchange within the game's ecosystem.

Immutable X is an NFT-dedicated blockchain protocol that claims to allow 9,000 transactions per second for ERC-20 and ERC-721 tokens, near-instant transactions, zero gas fees and greater scaling capabilities through the utilization of StarkWare’s zk-Rollup, all while sustaining carbon neutrality.

Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson believes that the NFT trading experience has the potential to improve from the state of its current offering:

“It’s expensive, illiquid, and the only existing scaling solutions compromise on the most important thing — the security and user-base of Ethereum. We want businesses to create their game, marketplace, or NFT application within hours via APIs, with a mainstream user experience. No blockchain programming required.”

Utilizing zero-knowledge proofs — a method of anonymizing transactions — the protocol offsets its carbon footprint by bulking mint and trading activity into a compressed validity proof that is then reuploaded to the original blockchain. This procedure requires less gas — and in turn, less energy consumption.

4/ Example, historically on L1, minting 8 million @GodsUnchained cards on Ethereum would consume approximately 490 million kWh.

On Immutable X, we’ve minted 8 million NFT cards with only ~1,030kWh = 844 kg CO2. That’s 475,000x less energy consumption.
— Immutable (@Immutable) March 31, 2021

With a Twitter thread, the protocol also added context to the data: “To put this [the carbon figure of 844kg CO2] in perspective, a one-way flight from LAX to NYC is 807 kWh = 662 kg CO2.”

By purchasing carbon credits — an industry certification permitting carbon emission up to a certain limit — the protocol is working on its environmental initiative by pledging to neutralize the carbon output of any NFT asset, marketplace or game built upon its platform.

Immutable