CMCC Global has launched the 4th Titan Fund, worth $100 million. This speaks volumes, considering Hong Kong has been experiencing a bit of a winter with investments in the crypto industry. The fund led an investment in Mocaverse, a brand that was launched in December last year with Animoca Brands. Over 30 investors participated in the funding round—Jebsen Capital and Winklevoss Capital, to mention a few.
CMCC Global will now be backing early-stage start-ups in the Asian region. It covers a wide spectrum of blockchain infrastructure, financial services, and consumer applications. Hong Kong’s cryptosphere nearly collapsed last year after ventures began withdrawing their services. The reason cited was that the policies were unfavorable or unclear. Stringent pandemic restrictions added to the worry of crypto ventures.
Nevertheless, Hong Kong made a transition by introducing clear policies in favor of the industry, signaling that the region is embracing Web3 like no other place across the globe. The policy shift was made in October 2022. It primarily included the permission given to crypto ventures to extend their access to retail traders.
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Although JPEX has left a fresh bruise, start-ups are optimistic that Hong Kong will maintain the momentum of embracing Web3.
Mocaverse, an NFT project, was launched in December. Animoca Brands raised $20 million in September. This followed a pre-seed funding round that was held in August. The funding was explicitly for Terminal 3, a start-up dealing with Web3 data infrastructure.
Martin Baumann, a co-founder of CMCC Global, has talked about the Titan Fund. Martin has cleared the air by saying that the Fund does not necessarily have a strict mandate for how much capital should be allocated to companies in Hong Kong. Established in 2016 in Hong Kong, Martin has said that they have a natural attachment to the region, adding that they believe that Hong Kong has much potential to offer more. Baumann has further stated that they aim to invest in the best entrepreneurs worldwide.
There is a sense of confidence in CMCC Global. Martin believes that embracing crypto ventures in their early stages will pave the way for more start-ups to rise.
The United States, where the SEC and other relevant authorities are continually cracking down on crypto ventures, is also a factor. They are likely to conduct business in Hong Kong, thereby benefiting Asian businesses.
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All of it sounds fascinating, but the fact remains that raising funds in the current environment is difficult and risky. FTX going bankrupt was a turning point for the entire industry. Most users lost confidence in digital assets. This is more evident from the fact that the value of global venture capital investment has slipped by 70.9% on a year-over-year basis. The number of deals, too, declined by 54.5% in the second quarter of this year.
