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Hashed Ventures is expanding to Abu Dhabi through a new partnership with the latter's global tech ecosystem Hub71.
The Seoul-based crypto investment giant will bring more Korean startups including those in fintech and digital assets to the UAE, as well as opening an office in Abu Dhabi.
Simon Seo-Joon Kim, chief executive officer and managing partner of Hashed, said the firm is continuing to explore potential fund-raising opportunities in the city.
“For the Korean startup, the mission to expand their business abroad is quite mandatory because the biggest problem of Korea is our population is decreasing,” Kim said. “But I believe that talent-wise, the Korean entrepreneur is one of the best in the world, so we have to expand our business abroad"
He added that Hashed is already assisting some South Korea-based companies with valuations of over $1 billion to enter the Abu Dhabi market. "UAE is a very special market for us because regulatory-wise, Abu Dhabi has the most friendly and clear guidance for web3 startups. So these days, so many Web3 startups are opening Abu Dhabi offices."
Hub71 has also launched a program with over $2 billion of capital for Web3 startups and blockchain tech.
“We are excited about the prospect of welcoming more Korean startups to Abu Dhabi and attracting the most promising Web3 and digital asset technologies to the UAE capital,” Ahmad Ali Alwan, chief executive officer of Hub71, said.
Abu Dhabi is becoming an increasingly popular location for Web3 companies to expand to.
In April, Klumi Ventures became the first Web3 VC to earn a UAE license. The firm received the license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
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In the same month, Singapore-based crypto asset manager and market maker QCP said it was strategically choosing Abu Dhabi as its launchpad. As part of its expansion plans, QCP is establishing an office in Abu Dhabi.
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The UAE as a whole is seeing traction in the Web3 space too. Global cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com launched its institutional-focused exchange in Dubai earlier this year.
The launch followed Crypto.com's Dubai entity, CRO DAX Middle East FZE, receiving full operational approval from Dubai's VARA. Te approval marked Crypto.com as the first global crypto exchange to operate with fiat currency in the UAE.
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Meanwhile, Binance, which secured its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in April this year, is now shifting all of its UAE customers to its Dubai arm, Binance FZE.
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