Solana Ventures and the Solana Foundation have established a $100 million investment and grant fund to invest in web3 businesses in South Korea. The fund aims at promoting the growth of non-fungible token (NFT), blockchain gaming, and decentralized finance (DeFi) initiatives in the nation.
The fund will also assist in keeping certain Terra-based projects viable following the collapse of that ecosystem last month, in addition to supporting initiatives built on SOL.
According to Austin Federal, head of communications at Solana Labs, the fund is backed by funds from the Solana community treasury as well as the venture arm’s pool of capital.
Johnny Lee, general manager of games at Solana Labs, while speaking to TechCrunch, said,
“A big portion of Korea’s gaming industry is moving into web3. We want to be flexible. There’s a wide range of project sizes, team sizes, so some of [our investments] will be venture-sized checks.”
Gaming and NFTs account for the bulk of activity in South Korea, according to Solana, making them a logical match for web3.
The new fund contributes to Solana’s goal of being the best blockchain for gaming. Last November, Solana Ventures partnered with FTX and Lightspeed Ventures to form a $100 million gaming fund. It also has a $150 million fund alongside Forte and Griffin Gaming Partners, two game-focused businesses.
In recent months, Solana has seen an increase in NFT trading and DeFi activities. According to decentralized app (Dapp) tracker DappRadar, Solana’s top NFT marketplace, Magic Eden, is the world’s second-largest, after OpenSea, with 36,427 daily traders and $7.64 million in daily volume.
With the government promising $187 million to construct its metaverse ecosystem, South Korea is anticipated to become a hub of NFT and Metaverse research this decade. The Korean metaverse will be primarily concerned with the development of digital content and digital businesses within the country.