“Game changer” | Funko celebrates potential for NFT market with TokenHead acquisition

Funko is strengthening its position amid the global collectables scene by making a play for the NFT space through the acquisition of a majority ownership stake in TokenWave, the developer behind TokenHead.

TokenHead is recognised as a leading mobile app and website for showcasing and tracking Non-Fungible Token or NFT, a blockchain platform for digital collectables that has picked up steam among audiences and media over the course of the year.

The financial terms of the investment have not been disclosed, but the move has gone to highlight the potential the NFT space has for licensing, as Funko approaches the market with a ‘clear strategy for its pop culture content across TV, film, sports, music, anime, video games, and comic books.’

TokenHead is currently available on iOS and Android and displays over 10 million NFTs, with more than 100,000 visits per day.

The investment accelerates Funko’s initial entry into the NFT market and will extend the Company’s pop culture platform to include digital assets. Funko expects to launch its initial NFT offerings in June, featuring a unique property each week at a starting price point of $9.99.

Products will be sold on the WAX platform, the leading decentralized wallet on the blockchain, which provides verifiable authenticity for purchases of Funko NFTs.

“Funko is thrilled to advance another platform that our fans and collectors will love and find valuable,” said Brian Mariotti, chief executive officer of Funko. “Our strategy in this space is clear – bring the value-added NFT opportunity to our licensing partners to leverage our broad range of existing pop culture content across Television, Movies, Sports, Music, Anime, Video Games and Comic Books.

“Our amazing licensing partners are excited about our entry into this new digital space and we believe the diversity of our licensing portfolio sets us up for long-term success.”

Mariotti has highlighted the ‘game changing potential’ that the deal now lends the pop culture specialist as the firm begins to draw clear plans to combine its new Funko Pop! digital NFTs with exclusive Funko Pop! Vinyl Figures.

“The marriage of digital and physical using WAX’s patented NFT technology known as vIRLs™ is powerful,” said Mariotti. “By backing the rarest of the Funko NFTs with exclusive redeemable Funko Pop!, we are poised to enter the NFT market in a very unique manner.

“Importantly, we plan to make Funko NFTs broadly accessible to our fans by providing affordable entry pricing. Utilizing WAX Blockchain technology, we have the opportunity to eventually bring Funko collectible NFTs to our millions of fans around the globe. The NFT world is all about content, and Funko has been connecting fans to the content they love for over 20 years.”