Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency-focused venture capital (VC) firm CMCC Global has raised $100 million to back Asian blockchain startups.
This cryptocurrency fund called Titan Fund completed its first round of financing on October 4, with 30 investors participating, including blockchain company Block.one, Hong Kong tycoon Li Zekai’s Yingke Group, Winklevoss Capital, Jebsen Capital and Yat Xiao, founder of Animoca Brands, South China Morning Post report.
Titan Fund will focus on investments in key areas: blockchain infrastructure, consumer applications such as gaming and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and financial services, including exchanges, wallets and lending platforms.
CMCC Global’s cryptocurrency fund will be the fourth fund to provide equity investments to early-stage blockchain startups and will focus on Hong Kong. The fund has made five investment rounds, including two in Hong Kong startups.
The two Hong Kong startups are Mocaverse (an NFT project launched by Hong Kong blockchain company Animoca Brands in December 2022 and raised US$20 million in September) and Terminal 3 (a Web3 data infrastructure startup) company) .
The $100 million cryptocurrency venture fund was launched amid a shortage of cryptocurrency funding during the bear market and since the FTX crash. Data from Pitchbook shows that the value of venture capital investment in global cryptocurrency companies has dropped by 70.9% year-on-year, and the number of transactions has dropped by 55%. This is in stark contrast to the bull market, when cryptocurrency-based startups raise billions of dollars and a new unicorn emerges from the cryptocurrency ecosystem every other month.
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The launch of a cryptocurrency venture capital fund in Hong Kong also signals the city’s growing prominence as a safe crypto haven. Yen Shiau Sin, managing director of Titan Fund, said the U.S. crackdown on cryptocurrencies means Asian companies are beneficiaries because “projects are considering coming here to talk to us.”
Hong Kong announced changes to its cryptocurrency policy in October 2022, with the government making it clear it would focus on establishing regulation to encourage Web3. Regulators have stepped up policy shifts, enacting regulations to support cryptocurrencies, making way for regulated cryptocurrency exchanges and even opening services to retail customers.
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