Greetings to the Merit Circle DAO community!
This is Calvin Du, Head of Platform at OP Crypto. Before we get into the value that the OP Crypto organization has contributed towards Merit Circle, here’s a brief introduction to who we are and why we are excited to be a part of this project.
For those who aren’t familiar with us, we are an operational focused early-stage crypto VC dedicated to supporting projects within the Web3 space; and while we have an intimate understanding of the crypto world as a whole, we are particularly passionate about GameFi and the decentralized Gaming sector.
We believe that Web3 is redefining the gaming industry, and that Guilds are providing the pure infrastructure that will facilitate the growth and adoption of the Play-to-Earn model within blockchain gaming. To us, projects like Merit Circle are examples of the potential future of Web3 composability, combining multiple points of value creation in a way that could have significant implications for the success of the P2E ecosystem and the decentralized gaming economy. We are convinced that if GameFi and Guild projects can overcome the challenges that they currently face in the sector, they have the potential to provide massive value to gaming communities and the global crypto landscape in general.
That is why our investment in Merit Circle should be seen as a reflection of this investment thesis. We welcome the opportunity to help Merit Circle overcome its challenges, grow its community and increase adoption, and will continue to contribute to the project by identifying areas in which we can add value in order to achieve the success that we believe it is capable of. Since investing in the Merit Circle DAO, we have been very busy in ensuring as much value-add to the project as possible, especially in generating awareness and adoption of the MC project itself. Below we detail how we have been assisting the project since our initial investment:
Go To Market Support in APAC
As a partner for MC with strong ties to the Asian Pacific go-to-market (APAC GTM), we come with the innate benefit of providing exposure to the Asian continent. Our understanding of the US and Asian markets, our ability to engage with these economies, as well as our intimate connections within the region comes from the fact that most of our team members, including myself, are of an Asian background that is coupled with North American working experience.
The importance of having a strong user base in the APAC region cannot be underestimated, especially when it comes to the GameFi industry. After all, blockchain games such as Axie Infinity found the majority of their success in the Southeast Asian market where the play-to-earn model witnessed high rates of adoption. Exposure to the Asian continent is crucial to growing the MC ecosystem and establishing a global presence. The partnership between OP Crypto and MC is one that aids both parties in gaining this global recognition.
Below are ways in which we have specifically contributed to building the community and creating awareness for Merit Circle in the APAC region:
-
The creation and maintenance of a Chinese MC telegram group, as well as an MC WeChat group; thereby expanding MC’s influence and community reach through these main social media channels. It also gives us a platform with which we can update the community with any news and announcements made by MC in real-time.
-
Hosted an AMA session with the Asia community
-
Engaged the Asia community via an activity based airdrop through our partnership with Hoo.com, at no cost to the MC Treasury
-
The construction of the main Zhihu (a Chinese equivalent to Quora) account, through which we have disseminated information about the MC DAO and their operations on a massive scale. We have currently published (in Chinese) and translated (from English) a total of 31 articles, with over 15+ articles of original content about staking rewards, onboarding processes, the MC DAO’s BLBP, etc.
Partnerships and Dealflow
In addition to supporting GTM, we’ve also actively introduced partnerships and GameFi projects to assist in the growth of MC. Some examples of this include:
-
Facilitating listing discussions with notable exchanges: KuCoin, Huobi, Hoo
-
Introductions to six high quality GameFi projects
How are we planning to support MC in the long-term?
We are heavily committed to growing support for the Merit Circle project here at OP. The dedication and effort we have put into creating, maintaining and actively improving the social media channels which represent the MC community (especially the Chinese community), as well as producing original and informative content about the structure and projects of MC, are testaments to that.
Not only are we engaged in building this community from the ground up, we are also constantly identifying new areas in which our input and influence can be of benefit to the MC project. This includes continuing to manage, monitor and grow the Chinese MC ecosystem, but also through maintaining open communication with the MC team to hear feedback on other ways in which we can support.
We are in communication with the team on a regular basis and are working closely with them regarding GameFi investment strategy.
As a VC fund that is native in all verticals of crypto - DeFi, NFT, infrastructure, GameFi and Metaverse, etc. - we are also constantly looking to discuss areas in which we believe there are opportunities to improve the operation and functionality of the project with the MC team.
We will also continue to leverage our relations to the APAC market as a means of securing new partnerships and deals that will increase MC’s global exposure.
Lastly, we are supporting the Merit Circle ecosystem through staking. We voluntarily extended our locking period by 6 months, which we hope further shows our commitment to this community and our belief in its potential.
Conclusion
In collaborating with the team, engaging with Governance and the Merit Circle community, and leveraging our influence in the APAC GTM, we are dedicated to helping the MC community flourish. We are excited to be a part of this upward trajectory, and we hope that this thread has given you a good idea of how we have added value to the project so far, and how we plan to consistently contribute to its success.
Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or feedback for us. Don’t forget to follow us on our Twitter accounts, (official) and (community), as well as check out our website for more info on OP Crypto!
