We might be going through a crypto winter. But the NFT market is still going strong, with predicted annual growth rates of 35% that is projected to make it into a $13.6 billion industry by 2027.

Miami-based Web3 company OneOf is poised to ride this growth wave. The startup today announced that they have raised an $8 million strategic funding round. Investors participating in this round include Amex Ventures, Mirabaud Lifestyle Impact and Innovation Fund, Snow Hill Ventures, Sangha Capital, Chain Link Crypto Fund, among others.

Since launching in 2021, OneOf has raised over $72 million from investors such as Bill Tai’s Actai Unicorn Fund, Galaxy Digital, and the Tezos Foundation. The startup has built a platform to connect fans and collectors to notable musicians, athletes, and brands.

In a statement, OneOf CEO Lin Dai expressed his excitement about the role the startup can play in onboarding 100 million users into the NFT and blockchain space.

“As the Web3 market matures and consolidates, we see great opportunities in creating new commerce models, enabling creators of all shapes and sizes, from the biggest global brands to the newest independent artists, to unlock the real world potentials of this new technology,” commented Dai.

Margaret Lim, Managing Director of Amex Ventures, underscored OneOf’s potential to transform the NFT space. “A growing number of creators and consumer brands are experimenting with NFTs leading to the rise of a new spend category, new business ideas and new loyalty and membership models.”

Lim continued: “We believe that the investment in OneOf will help American Express stay close to the developments in NFT-powered commerce and lead to the development of new customer engagement models for our Card Members.”

Beyond this investment, OneOf will also partner with American Express on a series of NFTs accessible only to card members. 

OneOf has differentiated itself in the NFT space by positioning itself as a Web3 company with sustainability and inclusivity top of mind. Their platform supports NFTs on a handful of the most energy-efficient blockchains. According to the company, minting an NFT on OneOf’s platform uses up to 2 million times less energy than proof-of-work networks – all without any pesky gas fees. OneOf also asserts that 80% of their NFT collections come from minority or woman creators.

Another differentiation for OneOf is its user experience. For a non-technical consumer, buying an NFT can feel like anything from an annoying to-do item to a high school science project. But OneOf prides itself on its consumer-friendly platform that reduces friction by enabling users to pay for their NFTs using credit and debit cards as well as crypto.

“Crypto products, websites, and projects are very difficult for non-tech savvy users,” Dai told Refresh Miami earlier this year. 

“NFTs have the bad rap of being too expensive, or being scary, or something people can lose money on,” he noted. “How to change that? We try to make entities affordable. We try to make signing up and getting your first entity very painless.”

Alongside Dai are co-founders Joshua James, a digital media executive, and music industry veteran Adam Fell. OneOf has already inked major deals with some of the biggest names in the game, including Doja Cat, Wayne Gretzky, Warner Music Group, Duke Basketball, and Anheuser-Busch – just to name a few.