By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Digital payments and financial technology company Mogo Inc (NASDAQ:MOGO) said Tuesday it is expanding into the metaverse through an investment in NFT Trader.
NFT Trader is a Canadian company that operates a peer-to-peer over-the-counter trading platform for non-fungible tokens or NFTs. The company has previously collaborated with projects, including Bored Ape Yacht Club, Cool Cats, Gutter Cat Gang, and CyberKongz.
Mogo shares are up 4% on the news.
"The world of finance is rapidly changing and nowhere is that more apparent than what we are seeing with the emergence of Web3, the Metaverse and NFTs," said David Feller, CEO of Mogo.
The company's initial investment in NFT Trader is through a convertible note, that if converted will represent a 25% interest in NFT Trader. Mogo can acquire an additional 25% interest through a secondary purchase of common shares within six months of the initial investment. It can also appoint one director to the NFT Trader board of directors.
"We believe that a next-gen financial platform will not only bridge the gap between traditional finance and DeFi, but the merging of the digital and physical worlds will become one of the biggest growth opportunities ever," added Feller.
Following the announcement, BTIG analyst Mark Palmer said in a note to investors that the investment was a natural extension of Mogo's platform, and he expects the company's shares to react favorably. The analyst currently has a buy rating and a $13 price target on the stock, which trades around the $2.86 level.