Mocaverse

Mocaverse is a Web3 project developed by Animoca Brands that positions itself as an interoperable infrastructure layer connecting cultural economies such as gaming, music, sports and other digital intellectual property. It is intended to serve as a common access point across Animoca Brands' ecosystem of more than 450 Web3 portfolio companies, giving users a single digital identity, reputation record and loyalty currency for moving between those products.

The project is built around three components. The Moca NFT collection consists of 8,888 characters divided into five tribes (Dreamers, Builders, Angels, Connectors and Neo-capitalists); the NFTs function as membership keys granting access to events, masterclasses and early in-game asset drops, and were originally distributed only to Animoca Brands investors, employees, portfolio management teams and key partners, though they can be traded on secondary markets. Mocana is the hub where holders engage with curated experiences organised into four realms — Learn, Play, Build and Do Good — and earn realm points (RP). Moca ID is a decentralised, on-chain identity that accrues realm points and is obtained through an invite code from an NFT holding, giveaway or referral; the original design described it as a free-claimable soul-bound "Identity Pass" with a Web2-friendly account system.

MOCA is the network's fungible token, built on the LayerZero v2 protocol. Stated uses include acting as a payment currency for digital goods, collectibles, battle passes and asset minting, and as a pay-per-use transaction currency covering gas across blockchains, digital identity management and reputation-based identity services. Governance is planned through a MOCA DAO controlled by token holders and endowed with governance rights over selected Animoca portfolio holdings, described as a "DAO of DAOs".

Founding story

Mocaverse was created by Animoca Brands, founded in 2014 by Yat Siu, who began his career at Atari Germany, later held roles at Lexicor and AT&T Solutions, and after moving to Hong Kong founded Cybercity and Outblaze before co-founding Animoca and Animoca Brands. Siu was appointed to the Hong Kong government's Task Force on Promoting Web3 Development in 2023.

Business model

Mocaverse operates as an ecosystem product of Animoca Brands rather than a standalone consumer app, monetising engagement through the MOCA token, which is used for payments for digital goods and services, minting of digital assets and pay-per-use access to network services including gas, identity management and reputation services. Access tiers are anchored by the 8,888-piece Moca NFT collection and the Moca ID identity system.

Value accrues through the MOCA token, used as a medium of exchange for digital goods, collectibles, battle passes and in-game assets, as the primary currency for minting new digital assets, and on a pay-per-use basis for network services including cross-chain gas fees, identity management and reputation-based identity services.

Traction

Sources cite an Animoca portfolio of more than 450 Web3 projects and an addressable Web2 and Web3 user base of over 700 million people as the pool Mocaverse aims to onboard, alongside a Moca NFT collection of 8,888 items.

Latest developments

CMCC Global disclosed in October 2023 that it had led the September investment round in Mocaverse and set out its investment rationale for the project's identity, discovery, loyalty and governance pillars.