Collectibles giant Funko shares surge after acquiring NFT app Tokenwave

Among the first publicly-traded companies to jump on the NFT bandwagon, they won’t be the last

In a flurry of price action reminiscent of 2017 mania, shortly after announcing that they had acquired NFT display and tracking platform Tokenwave, pop-culture collectibles giant Funko’s stock (NYSE: FNKO) rallied over 20%. 

Unlike many price-pumping announcements heavy on hype and sparse on content from the last bull run (and the dozens inevitably to come over the next few months), Funko and NFTs may be a perfect fit, however.

On Thursday the creator of the widely popular Funko Pops collectibles line announced in a press release that they had acquired a majority stake TokenWave, the developers of the TokenHead NFT app built on the WAX blockchain. The release notes that the investment is their “initial entry into the NFT market,” and that the company will be releasing digital collectibles at a $9.99 price point starting in June.

Additionally, the company has physical-and-digital hybrid products in the works, such as pairing the “rarest of the Funko NFTs with exclusive redeemable Funko Pop!s.” The company will also be leveraging its extensive licensing agreements — an increasingly important source of NFT platform traction.

The company’s stock rallied as high as $24.81 on the news on Thursday before retreating into the afternoon. FNKO stock closed at $20.96 per share, up 6.5% on the day and over 100% on the year.

When reached by Cointelegraph, a representative for Funko declined to comment.

The move should be familiar to industry veterans. At the tail end of the last bullrun, multiple companies, such as Kodak, saw massive stock price increases following blockchain-related announcements. Given the spate of C and D-list celebrities looking to make a quick buck on NFTs, it was inevitable that companies would follow suit.

Funko may well be an exception to the rule, however. NFTs are an ideal collection vehicle, and digital collectibles provides a new way for the company to connect fans to brands, meaning that the company could have staying power in the blockchain space. Likewise, Funko’s chosen platform, WAX, has already seen some success with licensed NFTs, including with a recent Godzilla vs. Kong release.