FTX CEO leads $3.25M seed round for web3 media company
- Tim Baysinger, author of Axios Pro: Media Deals
Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Trustless Media, a web3-based media company that uses NFT sales to fund content, has raised $3.25 million in a seed funding round led by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Why it matters: Trustless Media, co-founded by former Yahoo Finance anchor Zack Guzman, is one of multiple companies trying to use web3 concepts as a way to get into the highly competitive content alongside deep-pocketed mainstays.
- For his part, Bankman-Fried has been on a deal spree as he tries to take advantage of the broader crypto market crash.
- Bankman-Fried is investing in Trustless via his Alameda Research firm. Other investors include Avalanche's Ava Labs and Red DAO founding member Megan Kaspar.
How it works: Trustless' content will be funded by its audience via qualifying participation with NFTs.
- Its first show, "Coinage," launches Wednesday. As its name suggests, "Coinage" will focus on the crypto space and be hosted by Guzman.
- At the start, "Coinage" will rely on Trustless' investors to decide who gets to buy the first round of NFTs, and thus have a say on the show's direction. Trustless says they'll be minting more NFTs at a later date.
What they're saying: "By embracing decentralization, Coinage and Trustless Media are embarking on a new way to bring stories to life by breaking down the wall between content creators and their audiences," Guzman said.