Binance Dampens Enthusiasm for NFT Game that Generated $115 Million for Its Mint

The recent NFT mint by SkyArk Chronicles has caused controversy, as Binance Labs claims that the game developer misrepresented their investment.

SkyArk Chronicles, an anime-style fantasy game, recently conducted a massive NFT mint where enthusiastic collectors pledged a staggering $115 million worth of Ethereum to secure coveted character assets. However, Binance Labs has come forward stating that their investment in the studio responsible for SkyArk Chronicles was misrepresented leading up to the NFT mint.

At the beginning of this month, SkyArk Studio made an announcement about Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of the crypto exchange, leading a $15 million funding round for the studio. This funding came just before the significant NFT mint event. However, Binance Labs clarified on Monday that their investment in the studio actually took place back in 2021, contrary to the earlier announcement.

In a detailed tweet, Binance Labs accused SkyArk Studio of breaching their investment agreement by unauthorized use of the Binance Labs branding and clarified that they did not lead a recent investment round as previously claimed.

Contrary to the recent claim, Binance Labs clarified that they had indeed invested in the studio back in 2021 as part of their incubation program, aligning with the original announcement made during that time.

“If the project had notified us and stuck to the facts, we would have been totally fine with it,” Binance Labs tweeted.

Binance Labs provided screenshots of the investment contract, highlighting specific wordings, and also shared Telegram screenshots where the firm requested SkyArk Studio to remove the misleading framing regarding their involvement in the recent $15 million funding round.

Binance Labs stated that they felt compelled to issue a public clarification after receiving inquiries and noticing that SkyArk Studio had merely deleted the tweet without providing any clarification or addressing the facts. To put it simply, even though SkyArk Studio deleted the tweet, the impact of the misleading announcement still persisted, leading to the need for Binance Labs to address the situation publicly.

“We are very sorry for the miscommunication and appreciate the clarification from Binance Labs,” SkyArk Studio tweeted Monday. “We remain focused on making SkyArk a success and will continue working hard to achieve our vision.”

Kelvin Chua, the co-founder of SkyArk Studio, responded to Binance Labs in a tweet. He referred to lessons learned from the studio's incubation program and offered further apologies for the mistake.

“SkyArk pulled off a miraculous record NFT auction sale, which was only possible with support from communities and our investors, including our very first check from Binance Labs,” he wrote. “The last thing we hope to see is to cause any inconveniences to our followers and investors.”

As a subsequent action, the studio shared a screenshot of a Discord post in an attempt to explain the disconnect and provide further clarification. “SkyArk has only conducted one round of Web3 fundraising, amounting to $15 million, which began in Q3 2021,” the team wrote, adding that “Binance remains the largest investor.” The SkyArk team called it a “misunderstanding” with Binance Labs.

Decrypt's GG's requests for comment from both Binance Labs and SkyArk Studio went unanswered, as neither party provided a response.

SkyArk Chronicles features a fantasy hero named Satoshi Nakamoto, which shares the pseudonymous name of Bitcoin's real-world creator. However, aside from this connection, the game does not seem to heavily incorporate Bitcoin lore or terminology.

“Once upon a time, Satoshi Nakamoto was born into a bleak world of nothingness,” the game’s website reads. “A God of Creation, Satoshi created the SkyArkVerse, a safe world for all intelligent life. But where there is light, darkness will exist. Monsters rose from the deep, devastating the SkyLands—and horrified by the invasion, Satoshi must choose the heroes whom he will fight with in order to return peace back to the SkyArkVerse.”

Late Monday afternoon, SkyArk Studio initiated the refund process for the NFT mint, allowing traders to reclaim their Ethereum if they were unsuccessful in securing one of the 8,000 minting slots. According to a tweet, users have a 60-day window to claim their refund.