Hong Kong crypto VC opens $100M fund for Asian blockchain startups

Hong Kong-based crypto-focused venture capital (VC) firm CMCC Global has raised $100 million to support Asian blockchain startups. 

The crypto fund, called Titan Fund, closed its inaugural funding round on Oct. 4, with participation from 30 investors, including blockchain company Block.one, Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li’s Pacific Century Group, Winklevoss Capital, Jebsen Capital and Animoca Brands founder Yat Siu, the South China Morning Post reported.

Titan Fund will concentrate on investments in key areas: blockchain infrastructure, consumer applications like gaming and nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and financial services, including exchanges, wallets and platforms for lending and borrowing.

The crypto fund from CMCC Global will be its fourth to offer equity investments to early-stage blockchain startups with Hong Kong in focus. The fund has already made five investment rounds, with two going toward Hong Kong-based startups.

The two Hong Kong startups are Mocaverse, an NFT project launched in December 2022 by Hong Kong blockchain firm Animoca Brands that raised $20 million in September, and Terminal 3, a Web3 data infrastructure startup.

The $100 million crypto venture fund comes amid a drought of crypto funding during the bear market and since the FTX collapse. According to data from Pitchbook, the value of global venture capital investments in crypto firms declined by 70.9% year-on-year, while the number of deals fell by 55%. This starkly contrasts the bull market when crypto-based startups raised billions, and the crypto ecosystem saw a new unicorn every other month.

Related: US ‘the only country’ crypto startups should avoid, says Ripple CEO

The crypto VC fund launch in Hong Kong also signifies the city’s growing prominence as a safe crypto harbor. Titan Fund managing director Yen Shiau Sin said a crackdown on crypto in the United States means Asian firms are beneficiaries, as “projects are thinking of coming here talking to us.”

Hong Kong announced a shift in its crypto policy in October 2022, with the government making it clear it would focus on building regulation to encourage Web3. The regulators doubled down on the policy shift and formulated pro-crypto regulations, making way for regulated crypto exchanges and even opening up services to retail customers.

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