Last year was one of records for the crypto industry – often in a not-at-all-good way (hacks, implosions etc). Like Sam Bankman-Fried, you are probs all too aware of much of the story.

According to US crypto media outlet Cointelegraph’s data, though, it was “a watershed year” for VC crypto funding, “easily outpacing all other years in terms of total capital raised and deals completed”.

Weirdly, though, major New York-based rival to Cointelegraph, CoinDesk (owned by the influential but potentially embattled Digital Currency Group) paints a very different picture of last year’s blockchain-related VC funding.

There’s no doubt that crypto funding slowed dramatically in the second half of 2022, though, amid a seemingly never-ending glut of Terra Luna and FTX-related crypto-contagion stories.

But discrepancies and opposing takes on funding aside, one thing’s certain – Hashkey Capital has got 2023 off to a positive start with its latest announcement.

 

Hashkey’s $500m Web3 fund

HashKey Capital, the investment arm of Hong Kong-based financial-services firm HashKey Group, has raised another US$500 million for investments in the Web3 ecosystem.

It’s the VC’s third crypto/blockchain-related fund and this one is focusing on crypto and blockchain initiatives around the world, with a particular emphasis on emerging markets.

According to a press release sent out today, the HashKey FinTech Investment Fund III was backed by institutional investors, including sovereign-wealth funds, businesses and family offices.

The fund aims to invest in infrastructures, tools and applications that have potential for mass adoption.

“HashKey Capital has weathered at least three cycles in the industry,” HashKey Capital CEO Deng Chao said in the press release. “These unique experiences and insights will be invaluable to us in navigating through turbulence.”

Hashkey is a pretty big player in the blockchain VC scene and since 2018 has managed more than US$1 billion in assets.

Some of its more notable investments to date include Cosmos, Coinlist, Aztec, Blockdaemon, dYdX, imToken, Animoca Brands, Mask Network, FalconX, Polkadot, Moonbeam, Space and Time, and Galxe.

Prominent in Asian markets, HashKey Group also noted that it was the inspiration behind the name of Ethereum’s upcoming “Shanghai upgrade,” – an improvement that will enable Ethereum stakers to withdraw their assets from the network’s staking contract by March.

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