Animoca Brands' Flagship Project Moca Network to Debut L1 for Digital Identity

Moca Network, the identity ecosystem of Web3 investment giant Animoca Brands, is planning to introduce a layer-1 blockchain that will allow Web3 projects to identify and verify users without needing to rely on centralized platforms.

Moca Chain will enable user data to be verified by applications across any blockchain, similar to the way single sign-in platforms such as Okta and Google Sign-In operate in the Web2 environment.

The testnet is expected to start operating in the third quarter with the mainnet following by year-end, the Moca Foundation said in a Wednesday email. The project's native token, MOCA, will be used for validator staking, storage, data generation and verification fees. MOCA rose over 6% to about $0.077 in the two hours following the announcement.

Moca Network is a flagship project of Animoca Brands, fully staffed by Animoca employees, a spokesperson told CoinDesk in a Telegram message. That reflects its central role in Animoca Brands' investment strategy of advancing digital property rights through Web3 projects using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and memecoins. Ownership of one's personal data is integral to that, according to founder Yat Siu.

"Moca Chain is creating a digital ecosystem where users can finally own their data, reputations and contributions," he said. "This aligns strongly with the mission of Animoca Brands to advance digital property rights and empower individuals to control and benefit from their online activities and their personal data."