Hashed made nine strategic follow-up investments, signaling a decisive shift in momentum following regulatory scrutiny tied to Terra’s collapse.
Hashed – South Korea’s leading crypto venture – has defied the challenges of the crypto winter, investing a massive $28.44 million (36.8 billion won) in blockchain projects this year.
The long crypto winter has failed to deter Hashed which has not only weathered the storm but has expanded its footprint in blockchain infrastructure and gaming projects.
Hashed 2023 Investments Amid Crypto Winter
According to a recent report by Econovill, the strategic focus for Hashed has been on early-stage ventures poised to attract a wider user base by improving blockchain infrastructure and incorporating content and intellectual property rights (IP). Throughout the year, Hashed executed 29 investments, demonstrating a balanced allocation across different sectors.
Blockchain infrastructure, gaming, and finance each commanded 21% of the investments, while IP and content-related startups secured 15% of the allocations. Hashed also diversified its portfolio by investing in early-stage startups capable of leveraging blockchain infrastructure across various sectors such as O2O platforms, sharing economy initiatives, and artificial intelligence startups.
Geographically, Korea dominated the investment landscape with a 38% share, followed by North America at 21%, Europe at 7%, and other Asian regions, including Singapore, at 34%.
Among the 20 new companies that received investments were Radius, a shared sequencing layer developer, Decentralized Gaming Ventures (DGV), a web 3.0 game venture studio, Another Ball, the operator of the Virtuber platform Izumo, and DeLabs, a Web3 gaming studio.
From Setbacks to Success
Hashed has come a long way since increased scrutiny on its CEO Simon Seojoon Kim from South Korean regulators regarding the company’s backing of ill-fated crypto project, Terra.
The crypto venture also made nine follow-up investments in companies like Archway, a Cosmos-based DApp developer compensation layer-1 project, Payhere, a mobile-based POS platform, and DFNS, a decentralized API solution for digital asset custody.
Currently managing two funds totaling 360 billion won through Hashed Ventures, Hashed actively engages in resource activities to nurture the development of a Web 3 ecosystem. The total portfolio of companies invested in through funds 1 and 2 now stands at an impressive 86. Despite the challenges of the crypto landscape, Hashed remains a prominent player in advancing the blockchain frontier.
Meanwhile, Hashed’s policy think tank, dubbed ‘Hashed Open Research (HOR),’ actively conducts research and formulates policy recommendations, regularly releasing reports and hosting seminars.