South Korean crypto firm Hashed Ventures confirmed in Abu Dhabi: Report

South Korean crypto investment firm Hashed Ventures is expanding into Abu Dhabi after forming a partnership with the city's tech ecosystem group Hub 71.

Bloomberg reported on June 27 that Hashed CEO Simon Seo-Joon Kim said the company will open an office in the city to help bring them to the emerging UAE crypto market along with other major South Korean crypto companies.

The Seoul-based venture capital firm is one of the largest crypto companies that is stepping up its efforts to bring crypto talent to the UAE capital.

While Kim believes that Korean crypto entrepreneurs are among the best in the world, the local population is shrinking and other problems in the country's domestic market make overseas locations such as the Emirates more desirable for crypto founders.

Kim added that they are in the process of helping other South Korean companies worth more than $1 billion to make the jump to Abu Dhabi.

“Because the UAE is a very special market for us […] Regulatory wise, Abu Dhabi has very friendly and clear guidelines for Web 3 startups,” said Kim.

“So a lot of Web3 startups are opening Abu Dhabi offices these days.”

On February 15, Hub 71 announced a digital asset initiative that will support blockchain and crypto projects with over $2 billion in capital coming to the city.

Related: Nomura crypto arm laser digital wallets Abu Dhabi license

At the time, Hub 71 said it wanted to provide crypto startups with modern infrastructure as well as a more progressive and transparent regulatory environment in the country.

Hashed was founded in 2017 and manages approximately $700 million in assets globally.

The company has made a series of investments in some notable crypto projects, including play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, perpetual trading platform dYdX and Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs.

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