Hong Kong’s HashKey makes strategic investment in Catizen.AI’s publisher

HashKey’s crypto venture capital arm has announced a strategic investment in Pluto Studio, the publishing platform behind the Telegram-based game Catizen.AI.

HashKey Capital, the venture capital arm of Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency firm HashKey, has backed Pluto Studio, the publishing platform behind the Telegram-based game Catizen.AI, with a “strategic investment” in a bid to deepen its presence in the gaming industry.

Following the funding, HashKey Group will soon announce “a partnership with Catizen to further raise awareness of TON Mini-Game,” the Hong Kong-based venture capital firm said in a July 30 press release, though specific details regarding the investment amount and nature of the partnership were not disclosed.

According to HashKey Capital, Catizen has built a base of “over 500,000 paid users,” adding that this group “sets the project apart from other mini-apps” in the TON (TON) ecosystem.

“With Pluto Studio planning to release over 18 additional games, this strong user base holds significant potential for future growth.”

HashKey Capital

Proceeds from the funding will reportedly be used to advance the mini-game platform, develop future projects, and co-evolve the ecosystem. HashKey Capital will also support Pluto Studio in exploring “the potential for a mini-game revolution within the TON ecosystem,” the press release said.

The funding announcement comes amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding the airdrop of Catizen.AI’s native token CATI. Originally scheduled for July, the airdrop has been postponed. On July 29, Catizen.AI’s official X addressed the delay by saying “there are aspects that are not entirely under our control,” without providing further details on the reasons or the new timing of the airdrop.

🚨 Important Update!🚨

1\ We have bad news and really good news for you at the same time: our team decided to change the date of the Shares-to-Token swap event. You might be wondering what’s good about this? Just FUD? 🤔 Not exactly. The point is that it’s actually…

— tapswap (@tapswapai) July 1, 2024

Catizen.AI isn’t the only one facing scrutiny for delayed token launches. Another Telegram-based project, Tapswap, has also delayed its token launch multiple times, with the latest update pushing the launch to Q3. Another Telegram-based mini-app, Hamster Kombat, has also faced similar challenges.

Another Telegram-based mini-app, Hamster Kombat, has yet to announce a token launch date. While several crypto exchanges have added the HMSTR token for pre-market trading, it has not been officially listed. In Russia, where the Hamster Kombat development team is rumored to have potential ties, lawmakers have even proposed banning the app over concerns about potential fraud.