Blockchain booze trading platform Baxus raises $5 million from Multicoin, Solana Ventures

Startups • May 1, 2024, 10:58AM EDT

Published 1 minute earlier on

Quick Take

Baxus, which allows people to trade wine and spirits using blockchain technology, announced it raised $5 million in a seed round led by Multicoin Capital, in addition to participation from Solana Ventures, FJ Labs and Narwhal Ventures.
The startup also offers consumers a way to prove ownership and safe storage.

Baxus, an alcohol beverage trading platform that authenticates ownership and transactions with blockchain, announced it has raised $5 million in a seed round led by Multicoin Capital. Solana SOL -4.47% Ventures, FJ Labs and Narwhal Ventures also participated, the firm said.

"Our goal to modernize the collectible spirits market by bringing it online and constructing a liquid marketplace that seamlessly connects buyers and sellers is embodied by our investors who come from the worlds of web3, traditional finance, and whiskey," Baxus said in a post to X.

Consumers who purchase booze on Baxus — the focus appears to be mainly high-end whiskey — receive an NFT minted on Solana that proves ownership. Buyers can trade the NFTs on any marketplace that supports Solana, according to the company's website. Once people redeem their token to receive the physical bottle or barrel of whiskey, the NFT proving ownership is voided and the goods are removed from the trading platform.

Bottle of Macallan single malt listed for $208,000 on platform. Image: Baxus.

The number of web3 companies aiming to tokenize physical real world assets appears to be slowly growing, especially among higher-end products. But so far, the real estate industry has attracted the most attention when it comes to assigning non-fungible tokens to physical assets.

"This funding will enable us to continue our mission to bring liquidity and transparency to the gargantuan $470 billion global luxury wine & spirits market by scaling our ability to provide trusted authentication and custodial services to our growing marketplace," Baxus said in its statement.

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About Author

RT Watson is a senior reporter at The Block who covers a wide array of topics including U.S.-based companies, blockchain gaming and NFTs. Formerly covered entertainment at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote about Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and the creator economy while focusing primarily on technological disruption across media. Previous to that he covered corporate, economic and political news in Brazil while at Bloomberg. RT has interviewed a diverse cast of characters including CEOs, media moguls, top influencers, politicians, blue-collar workers, drug traffickers and convicted criminals. Holds a master's degree in Digital Sociology.