China is a nation which is largely hostile towards cryptocurrencies. However, despite their aggressive clampdown on cryptos - China has largely been open and accepting when it comes to the blockchain technology. In a recent update from the country, a Billion dollar blockchain innovation fund has now been launched which is being backed by the Government of China! This fund is named the Xiong'An Global Blockchain Innovation Fund.
This news comes as a surprise because China has typically been a nation which has been against cryptocurrencies and the crypto-economy, something of which blockchain is part and parcel of. The government of China announced a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges in the nation last year which led to a major crash in cryptocurrency prices worldwide. Following that, China also clamped down on various other cryptocurrency platforms and introduced strict restrictions on mining activities in the nation.
This fund was announced at the opening of a new Blockchain Industrial Park in China’s Hangzhou. The Chinese city of Hangzhou is among one of the biggest tech-hubs of the world. Hangzhou is home to some of the biggest Chinese companies such as Alibaba, as well as many startups.
This Blockchain Innovation Fund has been launched by Hangzhou-based VC firm Tunlan Investment. Over the years, this fund would see $400 Million coming in from the government of the city as a ‘guided fund’ which is basically seed capital that would be used to invest in blockchain projects which appear to be promising. The Blockchain Industrial Park will also act as an incubation center for various Chinese startups working in the blockchain and crypto domains.
Xu Xiaoping - the founder of Zhenfund, a major Chinese investment fund which has invested in names such as Stream and Lino will act as the advisor to this Xiong'An Global Blockchain Innovation Fund. In addition to Xiaoping, Li Xiaolai - a major name in the Chinese blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem will be working as a manager with the fund.
The development of this fund indicates that while the Chinese government isn’t keen on developing the cryptocurrency economies, they are indeed interested in developing the blockchain technology and introducing innovations in it. Neo has been one of the biggest success stories from China - both as a blockchain and as a cryptocurrency!
The Xiong'An Global Blockchain Innovation Fund is all set to help provide China’s blockchain startups get a major boost. Interestingly, while China announced this fund, in the other side of the world, one of the oldest American families - the Rockefeller family owned Venrock venture capital firm announced a partnership with CoinFund. The $3 Billion Venrock will soon be funding cryptocurrency and blockchain startups!