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KuCoin Launches $100M Fund to Build Out Metaverse Projects - Crypto Briefing

source-logo  cryptobriefing.com 17 November 2021 08:59, UTC

KuCoin Labs has announced a $100 million Metaverse fund to help develop and support early-stage Metaverse projects.

KuCoin Bets on Virtual Worlds

KuCoin Labs, the investment and research arm of crypto exchange KuCoin, has today announced a $100 million “KuCoin Metaverse Fund” that will help develop various early-stage Metaverse projects. Chosen projects will receive, in addition to money, “full-scale support and incentives in terms of incubation, primary market investment, business partnership, branding, market management, and go-to-market strategy.”

Money from the fund will also be allocated to Metaverse education programs, with the aim of attracting new talent to the space. The fund intends to promote Metaverse applications of blockchain technology globally, particularly in emerging markets like Africa and South America. 

KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu praised the Metaverse as the “next chapter of the internet,” capable of changing “the way we work, connect, shop, entertain and have social interactions.” Lyu believes that applying blockchain technology to Metaverse projects will help further the blockchain industry as a whole. 

The fund will help expand KuCoin Labs’ existing portfolio of over 50 projects. Additionally, KuCoin Labs say money from the fund could also be allocated to projects and teams not exclusively categorized as Metaverse, but ones that are intimately related, such as GameFi, NFTs, and decentralized infrastructure.

Lou Yu, head of KuCoin Labs, remarked that the concept of the Metaverse might have remained theoretical if it were not for blockchain technology, which he theorized could help the Metaverse become “the next migration destiny for mankind.” Yu, however, cautioned that a balance needs to be maintained between privacy protection and technological advancement, adding that the “KuCoin Metaverse Fund is set to establish a more private and secure Metaverse ecosystem based on Web 3.0.” 

KuCoin’s new fund is not the first aiming to bolster Metaverse projects. Earlier in November, Enjin, an Ethereum-based NFT gaming platform, announced a similar $100 million fund to help accelerate development of its own Metaverse projects. Other prominent projects have also secured large amounts of funding, with Metaverse game The Sandbox raising $93 million in its latest funding round led by SoftBank.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this feature held BTC, ETH, and several other cryptocurrencies. 

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