VC-backed NFT social platform Metalink launches mobile app

Non-fungible token (NFT) portfolio management and community platform Metalink has launched its mobile app, which it says has created a token gatekeeper place where NFT collectors can interact with each other, aggregate filings and track their portfolio performance. The app is also slated to launch a transaction feature later this year, allowing users to buy, sell and trade digital assets.

The all-in-one NFT app is now available on the Apple App Store and complements Metalink’s website, which is already connected to 100,000 cryptocurrency wallets. The platform was launched in August 2021 as a private chat app for CryptoPunks collectors and expanded to include official chat rooms for other blue-chip NFT projects such as Bored Ape Yacht Club.

“Our goal was to make it incredibly easy for anyone to quickly and securely chat with owners of the collections in their portfolio,” said Adam Ceresko, Product Manager at Metalink. “With Metalink, you just plug in your wallet and start typing. Just token holders, one chat per collection. No Discord, Telegram or verification bots.”

Metalink also announced a previously undisclosed $6 million seed round, backed by funding from an impressive list of venture capital funds and Web3 personalities. Investors include Guy Oseary, Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of MoonPay, Ivan Soto-Wright, founder of The Sandbox, Sebastien Borget, former CTO of Coinbase, Balaji Srinivasan, DJ Justin Blau, Social Capital, Arrington Capital and Sound Ventures. NFT aggregators including Cozomo de Medici, Gmoney, Seedphrase, SobyLife, Tony Herrera and Farokh, and corporate investors Gemini Frontier Fund, Dapper Labs’ venture arm, BallerVC and Genies’ Human Ventures also provided funding.

The goal of the Metalink application is to simplify the fragmented process of NFT trading and community building. The platform automatically generated a token-gated chat room for every collection of NFTs created on the Ethereum network, and owners can access these chat rooms by connecting their wallets and verifying their assets.

“No more communicating through Web2 messaging applications and buying and selling separately on multiple different marketplaces,” said Jake Udell, CEO of Metalink.

Metalink collects live NFT minimum price data as well as rarity data from multiple marketplaces to help owners accurately assess the value of their NFT portfolio and track price movements in real time. In addition, the platform offers aggregated announcements from NFT’s collection of chat rooms, providing users with a scrollable feed of all major updates.

Several startups have worked to simplify the process for NFT collectors, taking popular ideas from Web2 and bringing them to Web3. Metaverse-centric blockchain MultiversX recently launched xPortal, a “super app” that combines elements of chat, finance, and artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, NFT management app Floor recently acquired NFT data platform WGMI.io to build out its portfolio management tools.