Block Tackle raises $5M and launches skateboard NFTs

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Block Tackle, a new game studio making the SkateX blockchain game, is starting the sale of its collection of animated skateboard nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

San Francisco-based Block Tackle recently raised $5 million in funding and it is using that to build SkateX, an extreme sports game where players will own their skateboards in the form of NFTs, which use the blockchain to authenticate unique digital items.

The first SkateX drop of 1,080 virtual skateboards takes place today at 12:30pm Pacific time on Magic Eden. The boards are part of a collection called The SkateX Founders Edition.

Cadenza Ventures and Play Ventures led the round. Seed investors also include Animoca Brands, Coinbase Ventures, Solana Ventures, Brevan Howard, Concept Art House, House Fund, Hustle Fund, and Pirata Ventures.

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Block Tackle’s mission is to upgrade the traditional gaming model — where players pay to have fun and developers profit — by making top-quality, supremely entertaining games that use blockchain technology and digital asset ownership (NFTs, or non-fungible tokens) that allow players to invest in the game and its community while having fun.

Some gamers have vociferously opposed NFTs in games and game developers have weighed in on the utility of blockchain, given the scams, money laundering, crappy games, and more problems in the crypto game space.

“I think that education piece is so