- Gemini Trust, the regulated cryptocurrency and custodian exchange company founded by the Winklevoss brothers, announced it has acquired Nifty Gateway
Gemini Trust — the regulated cryptocurrency and custodian exchange company founded by twin brothers Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss — has acquired Nifty Gateway. Nifty Gateway is a service that allows users to buy crypto-collectibles with US dollars and track it on a blockchain ledger. These crypto-collectibles are non-fungible tokens (known as “nifties”).
The nifties power the emerging economy of digital collectibles and virtual goods. And with this acquisition, Nifty Gateway will now be powered by Gemini’s secure and institutional-grade infrastructure. This move also marks the first acquisition by a member of the Gemini group and extends the reach of cryptocurrency into new use cases.
Unlike cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, nifties are cryptographic tokens that represent a unique asset or good on the blockchain. And they are one of a kind and are not interchangeable.
Blockchains enables gamers to buy and trade interoperable digital goods like skins, dances, and in-game virtual items — which is a market that is valued at about $50 billion.
The Nifty Gateway also provides decentralized application (dApp) and game developers an intuitive suite of tools that simplifies the process of selling nifties. With Nifty Gateway, NFTs are priced in U.S. dollars so it lowers the barrier to entry for dApps and games utilizing the platform as interested users do not need to own cryptocurrency to acquire NFTs.
“Non-fungible tokens and the digital goods (and collectibles) they enable will play a major role in the next era of the digital economy. They are the perfect form factor for crypto-collectibles, crypto-art, and much more – laying the foundation for entirely new multi-billion dollar industries to emerge,” said Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of Gemini. “As Gemini continues to build the future of money, we will partner with or acquire companies led by entrepreneurs that share our mission and core values. We’re excited to be working with Nifty Gateway to extend the reach of crypto across other concepts and build a bridge between NFT creators and the growing ranks of everyday consumers looking to purchase them.”
Nifty Gateway facilitates nifty purchases for some of the most popular crypto-games and applications like OpenSea, Gods Unchained, and CryptoKitties. With Nifty Gateway, users are able to purchase NFTs directly with fiat currency using their credit card just like a normal online purchase thus making NFTs accessible to anyone.
Interestingly, Nifty Gateway was also founded by identical twins. Duncan Cock Foster and Griffin Cock Foster founded Nifty Gateway in 2018.
“Nifties are a fundamentally new type of digital good and are an important tool for ownership as our lives move more and more online,” added Duncan Cock Foster. “Gemini’s mission and focus on security and regulation are aligned with our approach to NFTs and digital assets. Working with the market leader in digital asset security is a critical step toward our goal of getting a billion people collecting NFTs.”
Going forward, Nifty Gateway will remain a separate experience operating within the Gemini family as its own entity.
Photo Credit: Tyler Winklevoss
