Cent, a company that helps creators sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has acquired Tacit, a small company that specializes in a rewards platform.
Cent has centered its efforts around The Collect Button, where consumers can collect NFTs from websites and creators and others who want to create loyal fan bases, said Cameron Hejazi, CEO of Cent, in an interview with GamesBeat. That button is like the new “like” button that made Facebook famous.
Hejazi said the Collect Button is a great tool to enable creators to have a real value exchange with fans, where fans can acquire a collectible in exchange for doing something like giving their email address to the creators. These collectibles are often free and they are a way to recruit new audiences into Web3, which normally has a complicated onboarding process.
“We’re like a creator economy company. We’re helping creators sell NFTs and work with brands,” Hejazi said. “We try to be an end-to-end full stack company, servicing all aspects of creators’ needs. We’re trying to make the new ‘like.'”
The acquisition is part of Cent’s continued expansion in Web3, and it will accelerate the growth of the platform via The Collect Button, Cent’s plug-and-play tool for creating and embedding collectible NFTs anywhere. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed.
Brands and businesses use The Collect Button to turn actions such as product purchases or user achievements into digital collectibles, totalling over one million NFTs to date. Early partners include Nice Collective, Outsnapped, African Valuables Collective, and MamiWata Surf.
“Collecting is a new way of expressing ourselves online,” said Hejazi. “Today’s social products highlight what people say, while the next generation of products will highlight what people do—represented through what they collect.”
Tacit was founded by Holger Nießner and Bijan Farsijani. Nießner is a Web3 developer with experience in WebDev, DevOps and AI companies. Nießner will serve as head of engineering. Farsijani said in an interview he got involved in Web3 in 2017 during a cryptocurrency bull run.
Farsijani joined Entrepreneur First, a European accelerator, and he met Nießner. They became familiar with Cent through Katie Geminder, cofounder of Cent. That’s how the alliance started. Farsijani will serve as head of partnerships.
“We are blown away to become a part of Cent,” said Farsijani. “Not just because of the stellar team, but
because Cent’s product is one of the few in the world that can deliver what the industry has been trying to achieve for years: web3 benefits for everyday users.”
In a statement, Nießner said, “We are excited to join Cent to continue building technology with a focus on real world adoption. This is key to realizing the promise of web3.”
Previously, Bijan Farsijani built and sold an AI venture, and has a track record with product and business development in Web2 and Web3. His experience in both worlds will be vital to drive adoption among brands that will enter the Web3 arena for the first time with The Collect Button.
Cent is a platform that bridges audiences into web3. The technology allows creators, brands, and businesses to instantly turn anything—from creative IP to raw metadata—into digital goods which can be gifted or sold to anyone, anywhere.
“We founded Tacit around the idea of decentralized work, and decentralized attribution of work and then paying out based on what every person contributed,” Farsijani said.
Cent handles any technical matters like tokenization, wallets, custody, transfer of assets, unlocking exclusive content and other platform-related tasks that help make the process of buying into Web3 seamless.
As for the roadmap, Hejazi said the company will try to get the Collect Button established on a wide variety of sites and it will create a Web3 network and community.
Farsijani said he hopes to help round up European brands to get them on board with creators and the Collect Button.
As for the tough Web3 environment, where there are a lot of Web3 haters, Hejazi said the environment has changed a lot since the market mania days.
But he believes consumers continue to buy things and expect rewards, and the NFT rewards can keep engagement strong during a tough time for consumer sites.