Ramp Network, which makes it easy for users to jump in and out of web3 gaming, has raised a $70 million Series B funding round, led by Mubadala Capital and Korelya Capital of the United Arab Emirates. Other investors include Balderton Capital, which led its $53 million Series A, and new investor Cogito Capital.

We first came across Ramp in 2020 when NFT-based fantasy sports platform Sorare adopted Ramp’s service. A significant proportion of NFT clients, especially in sports, do not care about cryptocurrencies. They want the collectible. So having them open an exchange account to buy crypto to pay for the collectible is a step too far for many. As we wrote at the time, “you would lose users on ‘hello’”.

Ramp’s role is to dispense with the friction of needing crypto when accepting conventional card payments for collectibles. But it also helps with Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. Instead of a formal KYC process, it is done transparently through open banking.

Late last year, Ramp’s partners included NBA Top Shot developer Dapper Labs, (formerly) popular game Axie Infinity, Mozilla browser, and DeFi protocol Aave, among 400 developers. It also had approvals from the UK regulator FCA (no small feat) and from FinCen in the US.

“Ramp has established a clear leadership in the crypto gaming space by offering a superior user experience, leading conversion rates, and strong regulatory compliance,” said Frederic Lardieg of Mubadala Capital Ventures.

Despite the cryptocurrency crash, Ramp’s 2022 transaction volumes are up 240% compared to last year’s period.

“Our goal is to continue building infrastructure to make Web3 easy and accessible,” said Szymon Sypniewicz, co-founder and CEO of Ramp. “Despite current market conditions, we see a growing trend of web2 companies looking to move to Web3, and we are uniquely positioned to help them through this transformation. That’s why we’re doubling down on growth.”

Mubadala is not the only government-backed fund investing in cryptocurrencies. One of the most active is Temasek, owned by the Singapore government. It has a diverse portfolio in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors. However, he has attracted attention as an investor in cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which Binance suddenly acquired yesterday following a liquidity crunch. Unsurprisingly, Temasek is in talks with FTX about the deal, according to the Wall Street Journal.