Animoca Brands Japan, a unit of non-fungible token (NFT) and metaverse investor Animoca Brands, has raised $45 million to secure local licences and investments, the company said on Friday.

The investment has taken the firms' pre-money valuation to $500 million. NFTs represent the digital ownership of physical or digital assets.

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The $45 million investment came in equal parts from its parent company. Animoca Brands. and one of Japan's oldest and largest banks, MUFG Bank. Animoca Brands Japan and MUFG Bank had been considering a collaboration, according to a March announcement.

The move comes despite Japan's regulators signaling an increased focus on investor protection with tighter regulations. This includes a 30% tax on profit from crypto holdings, new stablecoin regulation and reports of disagreements between the industry crypto advocacy group and regulators.

Animoca Brands has more than 340 investments, which includes NFT marketplace OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Colossal and Axie Infinity.

UPDATE (Aug. 26, 14:52 UTC): Rewrites headline to show how money will be spent.

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Animoca Brands' Japan Unit Raises $45M for NFT Licensing, Investment

Animoca Brands Japan raised the funds from its parent firm and MUFG Bank.

EU Governments Friendly to Tough Bank-Capital Restrictions for Crypto