Winklevoss Twins, Gemini acquire non-fungible token startup Nifty Gateway

In its first acquisition, crypto exchange Gemini purchased startup Nifty Gateway for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2018, Nifty Gateway lets customers buy non-fungible tokens (NFTs, or colloquially “nifties”) like CryptoKitties or Gods Unchained collectibles with a credit card. Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss acquired the young company because they believe “the market for nifties will be as big as the collectibles, art and gaming markets combined.”

Why it matters:

• NFTs are attracting more attention as of late. Aside from this acquisition, Gods Unchainedmade headlines a week ago when demand for the Ethereum-based game’s trading cards set a new record (beating the previous record by afactor of five) for on-chain ERC-721 token transfers.
• This acquisition is fitting for the Winklevoss twins, as the two have consistently pushed for better access and interfaces to cryptoassets and related use cases. In addition to their crypto onramp (i.e., Gemini), other initiatives include their efforts to establish a Bitcoin ETF, the creation of a dollar-backed stablecoin ($GUSD), and Gemini integration into Flexa’s Spedn application, with varying degrees of success.