blockworks.co
A digital asset platform has earmarked $100 million to develop the blockchain industry in Vietnam as the country’s residents have displayed a marked interest in cryptocurrencies.
The platform, AEX, plans to offer crypto financial derivatives in Vietnam, open an office and support the country’s blockchain ecosystem with the $100 million fund.
AEX Chief Brand Officer Shergina Asya said in a statement Monday that Southeast Asia is critical to the company’s further global expansion, and Vietnam is a key country within the region.
The company, founded in 2013, supports more than 300 tokens and has more than a million users.
The first $100 million will support local projects focused on the space. The company’s plans include providing high-quality decentralized finance (DeFi) projects with liquidity incentives and making crypto-financial firms compliant with regulations.
AEX also plans to launch the Vietnamese Blockchain Technology Competition and Hackathon in the second half of the year.
A spokesperson for the company did not immediately return a request for comment.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance established a research group last year, and the country’s prime minister later called on the country’s central bank to start working on a crypto pilot.
A recently published survey by consumer insights provider Toluna found people in developing countries have a more positive opinion of cryptocurrency than people living in richer, developed countries. The report interviewed 9,000 people between the ages of 18 and 64 years from 17 countries.
The positive attitudes were especially true in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America, according to the survey, which noted that the most receptive countries to crypto were India, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand.
Forty-one percent of people in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand said they invested in crypto because of its potential for short-term growth.
AEX launched its globalization strategy last June and noted in December that its user base was growing in Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, the United States and Canada.
The latest announcement comes as crypto exchanges are setting up shop across the globe.
FTX partnered with Africa-based AZA Finance to expand the adoption of Web3 and digital currencies across the continent. The exchange more recently launched FTX Australia.
Binance and FTX were also recently granted virtual asset licenses in Dubai after the emirate revealed its first cryptocurrency legislation earlier this month.