NFT Wine Exchange Operator Blincers Selected for TIPS... Secures 700 Million KRW Funding Over 2 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Blinkers, the operator of the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) wine exchange 'Bank of Wine,' has been selected for the TIPS program, a private investment-led technology startup support program by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

TIPS is a startup nurturing project where the government and private investors jointly select and provide focused support to promising startups. Blinkers was selected for TIPS through the recommendation of Bluepoint Partners, the TIPS operator, securing a total of 700 million KRW in funding over the next two years.

Bank of Wine is a wine investment exchange where wines with high resale value can be traded for investment purposes, and a platform that certifies ownership and experience of wine through NFTs.

Blinkers focused on the issue that under domestic liquor laws, individuals cannot directly trade physical alcoholic beverages such as wine. They proposed a solution that allows easy and stable investment in wine as an investment asset by issuing blockchain-based physical wine NFT exchange vouchers.

The issue of ownership and experience certification for genuine wines was resolved through M-NFTs (Memorial-NFTs, symbolic NFTs that can store memories and experiences), which are issued as replacements after the NFT physical exchange. With M-NFTs, individuals can create a virtual wine bar in the form of a portfolio. It is gaining attention as a new means for wine enthusiasts to certify their wine experiences.

Park Sang-wook, CEO of Blinkers, stated, "Our primary goal is to enhance the service and secure competitiveness through the TIPS program," adding, "We will grow into a team that can attract attention in the global market by building a stable service."

Meanwhile, Blinkers is promoting global business expansion based on the completion of its Pre-A investment last month. They are securing base regions targeting the Singapore and Hong Kong markets and plan to participate in the NFT forum held this month in New York, USA.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.