Burnt Finance, a protocol built on Solana, has raised $8 million in a funding round led by Animoca Brands. It also launched its non-fungible token (NFT) platform.

• The capital will go toward adding staff and exploring partnerships with artists and other Solana-based projects.
• Burnt Finance, known for burning a piece of artwork from street artist Banksy before selling a digitized version as an NFT, also said it has launched its NFT marketplace, which will feature auctions and allows users to mint and sell digital assets.
• Other investors in the round included Alameda Research, Multicoin Capital, Valor Capital, Figment, Spartan Capital, HashKey, Terra, Fantom and others.
• Alameda and Multicoin led the protocol’s $3M fundraising round in May.
• “We are now looking to expand onto other chains such as Terra and Fantom while building out new functionalities that bridge the worlds of DeFi [decentralized finance] with NFTs,” the Burnt Finance team, which insists on anonymity, said in an emailed statement.
• The team sees demand for NFTs continuing to surge. Data from ​​DappRadar shows the NFT market reached $22 billion in 2021.

Read more: Banksy Burners Raise $3M to Build NFT Platform on Solana