Temasek Apes Into Blockchain

Singapore state investor Temasek is laying the groundwork to expand the firm’s scope beyond traditional investing to explore opportunities in blockchain technologies, going by a job vacancy that went up on LinkedIn on Friday.

According to the post, the incoming associate/senior associate for investments (blockchain) will “support the investment and research activities in the crypto investing team which invests in crypto and web3 related projects via venture funds and direct investments.”

The team focuses on crypto funds, crypto research, as well as direct investments in crypto companies. It is led by Antony Lewis, who joined the firm in March 2020, following over three years at R3, where he was the director of research for the enterprise technology firm’s Lab & Research Centre in Singapore.

And while the opportunity is ripe for those who want to make the shift from traditional finance to the crypto space, finance jobs portal eFinancialCareers recently reported a tech talent crisis in Singapore, and there remains a shortage for technology workers in the Singapore banking and finance sector. Attracting talent is being made doubly difficult with the rise of other cities that are vying for the crypto hub crown, amid the republic’s hot-cold stance towards digital assets.

Ape-ing in

According to Temasek, blockchain technologies “is a long term trend and will have a transformational impact across multiple industries and geographies.”

Temasek is no stranger to investments in the crypto space – in 2021, the state-owned investor led a US$420.69 million Series B1 funding round for FTX, which valued the crypto bourse at US$25 billion. It also invested in Coinbase’s IPO but has since exited the position.

This year, the firm led digital asset infrastructure firm Amber Group’s $200 million in a Series B+ funding round, and led the Series C funding round for Sydney-based Immutable X (IMX), a layer 2 scaling solution for NFTs on Ethereum.

Temasek’s total portfolio was valued at $301 billion as of the end of 2021.

One Blockhead writer took a closer look at Temasek’s investment in Amber to see if it’s worth the risk.