In the final celebratory week of the 10th anniversary of .xyz, we’re excited to highlight how .xyz domains serve as the perfect digital hub for cutting-edge ventures leading the charge in blockchain innovation. From a vibrant web3 community platform to an innovative NFT minting platform and an alternative trading card marketplace, these projects highlight the broad possibility of .xyz domains. In this week’s #BlockchainThursday, we revisit three web3 platforms on .xyz domains that are pushing the boundaries of digital ownership and creative expression.
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TheHug.xyz – GoDaddy customer – (United States)
TheHug.xyz is the online home of HUG, a pioneering platform dedicated to empowering web3 creators through inclusivity and mentorship. Our initial feature highlighted how HUG, founded by Facebook Live creator Randi Zuckerberg and venture capital firm M13 founder Debbie Soon, aims to level the playing field for marginalized groups entering the web3 space. Their flagship initiative, groupHug, offered a creator accelerator program providing mentorship, brand partnerships, PR exposure, and fundraising support. In March 2022, HUG introduced HUGHub, designed to enhance NFT project discovery and curation with personalized galleries and concise creator profiles.
In April 2023, HUG achieved a significant milestone by raising $5 million in Seed funding led by DIGITAL, with participation from OKX Ventures, L’Oréal’s BOLD corporate venture fund, Venrex, Jae Holdings, Cryptology, Samara, and Aa Sons. 1This funding will drive product growth, focusing on integrating creator-first commerce features alongside existing social tools. In June 2024, the platform launched its latest HUG Shop, featuring artist Wildy Martinez. Wildy’s ethereal illustrations celebrating natural beauty and imperfection are available as NFTs, prints, and a coloring book, showcasing her dedication to diversity and empowerment through art. Wildy Martinez brings a unique perspective to HUG, having spoken at the United Nations on the evolution of art and fashion in web3. Her commitment to inclusivity and self-expression aligns seamlessly with TheHug.xyz‘s mission to foster a more equitable and innovative future in web3. You can learn more by following the platform on X/Twitter and visiting TheHug.xyz.
Alt.xyz – Gandi customer – (United States)
Alt.xyz is the online home of Alt, a platform for alternative assets, focused on the research, trading, and secure storage of high-value collectible trading cards. Launched in March 2021 with initial funding of $31 million, with subsequent rounds bringing the total to $306 million. Alt caters not only to sports cards but has expanded to include Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh gaming cards. Backed by investors like BoxGroup, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and sports stars Tom Brady and Kevin Durant, Alt strives to ensure card authenticity through partnerships with leading grading services such as PSA and BGS. Cards are stored in a state-of-the-art vault, allowing users to manage, sell, or borrow against their collections via Alt Advance, a lending service introduced in July 2022. Alt positions itself as an early adopter of web3, pioneering core blockchain infrastructure to enable agile operations. When sharing their 2021 news of raising $75M in first-ever community-led round, Nicole Colombo, President of Alt, articulated their vision: “We define alternative assets as any asset that a traditional bank does not consider real collateral. Where the banks stop, Alt starts. We aim to become the financial platform for the next generation of assets.”
Alt introduced several platform enhancements in their May 2024 updates, as showcased on their blog. The “My Collection” feature consolidates the Portfolio and Seller Dashboard into a unified experience accessible on both web and mobile platforms. Additionally, users can now manage offers more effectively with expanded options for Fixed Price listings, including the ability to receive, counter, and accept offers directly from buyers on eBay. Alt also introduced improved search capabilities, providing users with comprehensive insights into recent sales data across online marketplaces when researching graded cards. These updates underscore Alt’s commitment to enhancing user experience and accessibility, reinforcing its position in the alternative asset trading space. As their team shared with us back in September 2022,
“We officially transitioned our domain from onlyalt.com to Alt.xyz in June when our company went through a rebrand. We are big proponents of web3 and are excited about the future of it. One of our long-term missions at Alt is connecting the digital and physical world, so changing our domain to Alt.xyz was an important step in our rebrand to reflect that mission.” You can learn more by following the platform on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and by visiting Alt.xyz.
Manifold.xyz – Squarespace customer – (Canada)
Manifold.xyz is the online home of Manifold, a Canada-based NFT minting platform on Ethereum. Launched in March 2021 by web3 developers Eric Diep, Richerd Chan, and Wilkins Chung, Manifold strives to serve as the first platform where crypto visual artists can enjoy full ownership of their work. Manifold helps creators mint NFTs using Manifold Creator Contracts, ensuring their work stands out prominently under their own name. NFTs minted on Manifold are interoperable and can be traded on major platforms like OpenSea, Rarible, and SuperRare. With $7.91 million secured in seed funding in August 2021, the platform continues to attract prominent artists and content creators, including Grammy Award-winning rapper Jay-Z, Grammy-nominated DJ Steve Aoki, and acclaimed digital artist Billelis.
As shared on X/Twitter, the platform unveiled exciting updates on May 10, 2024, 2introducing the New Manifold Studio aimed at simplifying the NFT creation process. This update emphasizes content-first creation over contract-first approaches, enhancing user experience with a refreshed interface and streamlined creation flows. Now, creators can manage all their creations conveniently from the Home screen and experiment with on-chain creation in Testnet using Workspaces. The platform also launched a new Help Center to support users, reinforcing their commitment to accessibility and user assistance. To celebrate these enhancements, Manifold launched an Open Edition on Base, Coinbase’s DeFi project, highlighting the integration of their updated Studio Creator Key. Looking ahead, Manifold remains dedicated to fostering creativity in the web3 space and looks forward to seeing the innovative works generated by its community. You can learn more by following Manifold on X/Twitter @manifoldxyz and by visiting Manifold.xyz.
These exciting blockchain-based projects demonstrate the innovative spirit of developers in the .xyz community. As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of .xyz, we look forward to the continued discovery of impactful projects built on .xyz.
1.https://www.finsmes.com/2023/04/hug-raises-5m-in-seed-funding.html 2.https://x.com/manifoldxyz/status/1789024714528354539XYZ is proud to share about the many incredible members that make up the XYZ community! We encourage you to do your own research before using the products and services of the websites we feature. The information about products and services contained in this blog post does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by XYZ.
