iWorld
Binance announces strategic partnership with SM Brand Marketing
Mumbai: Blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure platform Binance has signed a MoU to build a comprehensive partnership with SM Brand Marketing (SMBM), a subsidiary of a South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment.
As part of the comprehensive partnership, Binance and SMBM will establish a global Play-to-Create (P2C) ecosystem. The partnership will begin with cooperation in the NFT sector and the creation of a joint eco-fund.
Conceptualised by Soo-Man Lee, the music executive of SM, P2C allows users to reproduce content using IP. “By using the tools and IP provided within the e-commerce and metaverse platforms, users can recreate content and products in the forms of games, music, dance, and goods,” said the statement.
Within the P2C ecosystem, these contents and products can be converted into NFTs, allowing users to earn profits while also gaining recognition for their originality. The P2C ecosystem is a step forward from the existing Play-to-Earn (P2E) model, it added.
“Binance is happy to be working with SMBM to advance the current P2E ecosystem into a P2C ecosystem,” said Binance NFT global head Helen Hai. “We would like to provide SMBM with the robust technology that can support the numerous Kpop global fans who enjoy recreating content based on their favorite Korean celebrities and want to earn passive income through their hobbies.”
With the strategic partnership, Binance and SMBM will collaborate to create an ecosystem where global creators can easily participate in recreation using IP and profit from their original content and projects in a transparent manner. The P2C ecosystem created through recreation will also enhance the creative culture within the K-pop industry. Fans, artists, and companies are brought together to join forces on these e-commerce and metaverse platforms, the statement said.
Binance and SMBM will be working jointly on the blockchain mainnet, NFT, and eco-fund to establish the P2C ecosystem. Binance will also provide the technology infrastructure for the overall blockchain and NFT ecosystem. Meanwhile, SMBM will provide the vast IPs managed by SM, including EXO, Red Velvet, NCT, aespa, and more, and support with content planning and platform construction, it added.
“By combining together SM’s production capabilities, SMBM’s e-commerce platform capabilities, and Binance’s technology infrastructure, we expect this comprehensive partnership will bring great innovation in the establishment of the P2C ecosystem and expansion of businesses in the blockchain industry,” stated SMBM CEO Sung-su Lee. “It is also an opportunity for fans to build a new participatory creation culture through recreation and to gain economic benefits by being on the blockchain.”
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
