- Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has pledged to invest $100 million on metaverse-related projects and education.
- The fund will be used to promote early-stage projects in the metaverse.
- “As the next chapter of the Internet, Metaverse is poised to change the way we work, connect, shop,” said Johnny Lyu, CEO of KuCoin.
Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has pledged to invest $100 million on metaverse-related projects and education.
KuCoin Labs, the investment and research arm of the exchange, announced Wednesday the new fund, dubbed ‘KuCoin Metaverse Fund.’ The fund will be used to promote early-stage projects in the metaverse, DeFi + Gaming (GameFi), NFT, and other sorts of innovative projects. Further, the fund will be allocated to support education programs promoting the metaverse.
“As the next chapter of the Internet, Metaverse is poised to change the way we work, connect, shop, entertain and have social interactions,” said Johnny Lyu, CEO of KuCoin. “‘KuCoin Metaverse Fund’ will be launched to accelerate the evolution of the Internet industry.”
The new fund will not end with financial support. KuCoin Labs claims that it aims to assist projects in terms of incubation, market investment and management, partnerships, branding, and business strategy. Lou Yu, the head of KuCoin Lab, said:
The concept of Metaverse has remained at the theoretical level since it was proposed in the last century. It was not until the birth of the blockchain that Metaverse became the next migration destiny for mankind. It’s no doubt that Metaverse will reverse our lifestyle.
Tech Giants are Investing in Metaverse Tech
KuCoin is the latest tech company that has unveiled its intentions to invest in the metaverse, commonly referred to as the next iteration of the internet. Prior to that, giant social media platform Facebook revealed in late September that it has allocated a $50 million fund to developing the metaverse.
“Just like the internet, the metaverse exists whether Facebook is there or not,” Facebook said, adding that it expects the metaverse to come in 15 years. Further revealing its serious intentions in developing the metaverse, Facebook has changed its corporate name to Meta.
Similarly, Microsoft has dabbled into the metaverse with Mesh, a potential competitor to Facebook in terms of the virtual meeting market. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, said in a Twitter video that the company is “creating an entirely new platform layer, which is the metaverse.”
Coinciding with a surge in popularity of the metaverse, analysts are bullish on NFTs, which will be an integral part of the metaverse. Just recently, Coinbase CEO said that the new NFT marketplace could rival or even outperform the company’s entire crypto market.
Echoing the same point of view, research by the blockchain platform Stratis revealed that the majority of game developers are considering using NFTs and blockchain for their upcoming titles. “We commissioned this research to solidify what we already assumed — that blockchain and NFTs are the future of video games,” said Stratis CEO Chris Trew.
