Singapore based Game-Fi blockchain platform, Ethlas secured $2.7 Million in Seed funding

Ethlas, a Singapore based game finance blockchain startup, has recently secured $2.7 million in a seed funding round.

Ethlas was founded by American Gennady ‘Ari’ Medvinsky and Singaporean Elston Sam. It is a free-to-play blockchain based game finance Metaverse built on the Polygon chain, the protocol for enabling scalability and interoperability within the Ethereum Blockchain ecosystem.

The company has its headquarter in Singapore with offices in New York and San Francisco, the Philippines, the United States, and Manila.

Aakash Kapoor, Vice President, Sequoia India, said, "Consumer gaming platforms can amass millions of engaged players - combine that with asset ownership through NFTs and a crypto rewards layer, the network incentives fall back into the hands of the players. This is an immensely powerful flywheel. We also like that Ethlas is onboarding native gamers onto Web 3.0 and that the team is hyper-focused on delivering a delightful gaming experience. We have been very impressed with the platform's rapid user adoption and high gamer engagement, suggesting strong future growth prospect".

Sinhae Lee, Partner, Global Blockchain Innovation Capital, said, "We recognise that blockchain has a high barrier of entry, and currently appeals only to a skewed demographic. While GBIC is always looking out for blockchain startups to invest in, we are looking for those with a serious direction and vision. The direction of Ethlas was very clear and we believe in their vision that games will be a significant channel to onboard the next billion users into crypto. Unlike the current play-to-earn games, Ethlas' operating model allows even people who do not even know crypto to just do a one-click sign in with MetaMask, and they can play for fun and earn. We are excited to be one of the early VCs to help Ethlas take flight".

The round was backed by Sequoia Capital India, Global Blockchain Innovative Capital, Yield Guild Games Southeast Asia, Play It Forward DAO, Venturra Capital, Blockchain Space, and CoinMarketCap.

Ethlas leverages Polygon blockchain. The blockchain startup has around 100,000 crypto-wallet users globally. The platform also witnessed around three million gameplays on its platform as of end-January 2022, notes the announcement.

The blockchian startup, as of now, has plans to use the new funds to aggressively hire tech talent in the Web 3.0 space.