Adrian Cheng Chi-kong is a Hong Kong businessman. He is the CEO and executive vice-chairman of the Hong Kong-listed New World Development, Executive Director of Jewellery company Chow Tai Fook, and founder of the K11 brand. The 41-year-old father of three has added virtual real estate to his growing portfolio of investments.
Cheng has now invested in The Sandbox, which is a decentralized gaming virtual world where users are using cryptocurrencies to pay for properties and items in its Metaverse that are also managed by a blockchain in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Like cryptocurrency tokens and other blockchain-based assets, NFTs are unique and secured using cryptography, allowing users to prove ownership.
Cheng’s virtual real estate will be one of the largest plots on The Sandbox. It will form part of the “Mega City” virtual world that will feature his “Innovation Hub,” where successful startups that he personally supported from the Greater Bay Area will have a space to sell their products. These include Hong Kong accessories brand Casetify, genetics and diagnostic testing company Prenetics, V Cycle, which collects and recycles waste, and Rice Robotics, which has developed robots that can automatically disinfect shopping malls and deliver meals in quarantine hotels.
Animoca raised $65 million in a second round of funding in October, with its valuation doubling to more than $2 billion. The startup had raised $138.88 million in a previous round earlier this year, during which it was valued at $1 billion, making it Hong Kong’s ninth unicorn.
At the time of publishing, Sandbox (SAND) is $5.25 USD with a 24-hour trading volume of $1,586,278,824 USD. The Sandbox is up 10.02% in the last 24 hours. The current CoinMarketCap ranking is #38, with a live market cap of $4,793,940,418 USD. It has a circulating supply of 913,364,619 SAND coins and a max. supply of 3,000,000,000 SAND coins.