Cayman-based Open World entered into a letter of intent to merge with Nasdaq-listed VerifyMe, in a move that cements the jurisdiction’s growing reputation as a Web3 hub.
The merger is not confirmed, with a 5 Jan. press release stating that both parties have an exclusivity period of 60 days to execute a definitive merger agreement. Yet the news is the latest visible sign of Cayman’s Web3 growth.
Since being founded in 2022, Open World has helped launch US$65 billion-worth of tokens including high-profile – at least in tech circles – projects such as Jito, Tensor, Ionet, Magic Eden and Caldera. Open World CEO Matt Shaw believes the company has benefited from the massive boom in blockchain technology.
“With Web3, we’re in this third iteration of the internet where blockchain enables decentralised ownership and governance models,” said Shaw. “The early and most well-known blockchain was Bitcoin, which is basically a store of value. But then we moved to new blockchains, in particular Ethereum, which enabled decentralised networks, smart contracts and programmable money.”
This is an evolution from Web2 companies -for example Facebook (Meta) – that store data and control services through central servers.
Blockchain goes mainstream
Another change that is benefiting Open World is that blockchain adoption is moving beyond tech companies.
Take Open World’s client list above. Probably the most famous is Magic Eden – a marketplace for non-fungible tokens, more widely known by their acronym NFTs. During the pandemic NFTs, which are unique digital assets recorded on a blockchain, enjoyed a boom yet it’s still a relatively niche and techy area.
But now Shaw says the company is working with large financial institutions that want to use blockchain technology to make transactions more efficient and transparent.
“Corporate America is now looking very closely at the advantages of Web3 as a financial tool – we’re going through a financial revolution,” said Shaw. “Major banks are putting real resources into these areas because they believe blockchain can increase transparency and reduce risk.”
Shaw believes Cayman’s jurisdictional advantages have also played a key role in Open World’s success.
“Cayman has established itself as a leading jurisdiction for token structures due to its unique features and some of the unique legal structures,” said Shaw. “The Cayman foundation company is effectively a hybrid between a foundation and a company and that flexibility is very useful for creating governance structures for tokenised networks.”
In simple terms, the fact that Cayman has flexible regulatory structures makes it well suited to an era of fast-changing, decentralised technology and that’s fuelling a tech boom in the jurisdiction. The emerging tech scene is becoming increasingly noticeable on the islands, from the massive increase in registered Cayman foundations, to companies like Open World that have a physical presence and team on the islands. If Open World becomes the next Cayman-headquartered Web3 company to list on a major US exchange, the global tech community will also take note.
