Binance Labs invests $3.15M in Open Campus to advance Web3 education
Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of the cryptocurrency giant Binance, has invested $3.15 million in Web3 education platform Open Campus.
Per the official statement, the investment marks an important step in monetizing educational content through blockchain technology, enabling creators to earn through the content they publish.
Open Campus is tokenizing education by introducing Publisher Non-Fungible Tokens. These NFTs not only boost the earning potential of content creators but also allow co-owners to share in the revenue. This approach aims to attract a broader user base to Web3, including educational institutions, EdTech companies, and brands, drawing millions of content creators and learners globally into the Web3 fold.
The platform’s Publisher NFTs offer a unique way for Web3 users to support creators, sharing in the revenue generated. This revenue is stored in smart contracts, allowing co-owners to withdraw funds based on their contributions. These NFTs can also be traded on Open Campus’s Marketplace, adding a new dimension to the educational content ecosystem.
Yi He, Co-Founder of Binance and Head of Binance Labs commented: “Open Campus motivates the production of high quality educational content by applying Web3 tokenomics and technology to education. At Binance Labs, we actively seek and invest in projects that facilitate the widespread adoption of Web3. The education industry, with its high potential, stands out as a key sector for onboarding users onto Web3.”
Open Campus’s first major adopter is TinyTap, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands and a leader in the EdTech sector. TinyTap is known for its user-generated content and is a top-grossing kids mobile application. It has over 10 million families using its platform. In collaboration with Open Campus, TinyTap has launched a climate change initiative featuring educational content and Publisher NFTs with the Care Bears.
Open Campus is also venturing into philanthropy with its Smart Donations feature, using its native token, $EDU, to facilitate grants and scholarships. The platform recently announced the Global Educators Fund, a $10 million initiative in partnership with Animoca Brands. This fund aims to incentivize educators to create content for Open Campus launch partners, with courses being tokenized as Publisher NFTs.
At its core, Open Campus is a community-led protocol aimed at educators, content creators, parents, and students. It seeks to empower educators and students by providing a collaborative environment for creating tailored educational materials. The platform also aims to reward the efforts of educators and content creators who make significant contributions to student learning.
Yat Siu, the co-founder of Animoca Brands and a council member of Open Campus, commented: “The core mission of Open Campus is to decentralize education and find innovative ways to support educators. Digital property rights are coming to education, and that’s why we’re thrilled to have the involvement and support of Binance Labs, which we believe will boost our efforts to onboard educators and content creators worldwide to create and tokenize content via our protocol. We look forward to working together on the frontier of education and blockchain.”
