SCBX, the digital asset subsidiary of a top-tier Thai financial conglomerate, has entered into a collaborative pact with Hashed, a leading Web3 investor from Korea. This alliance comes hot on the heels of a $100 million web3 fund declaration by KBank, a competitor of SCBX’s parent entity.
Announced in a recent press briefing, SCBX and Hashed have committed to jointly spearheading R&D ventures and events. Their mutual aim is to bolster the acceptance of decentralized technologies at both regional and global levels.
Hashed’s CEO & Managing Partner, Simon Seojoon Kim, shared his enthusiasm regarding the collaboration, emphasizing the blend of traditional institutional wisdom with cutting-edge Web3 principles. He is optimistic that this liaison will not only augment the Web3 ecosystem’s growth across Southeast Asia but will also resonate globally.
SCB, despite prevailing skepticism towards cryptocurrencies among many of Asia’s financial giants, has been proactive in embracing the crypto wave. 2021 saw the institution unveil SCBX’s $50 million blockchain-centric fund. Parallelly, Kasikornbank (KBank), SCB’s local competitor, publicized its web3 and AI-driven $100 million fund.
Integral to this alliance, Hashed’s research division, ShardLab, will take the lead in piloting experiments centered on Web3 innovations.
Hashed’s Hojin Kim, Chief Strategy Officer at startup incubator UNOPND, will helm this undertaking. In his conversation with the media, Kim spotlighted the opportunity to address specific challenges inherent to Southeast Asia’s commercial landscape using Web3 solutions. He remarked on the apparent disparities in banking and e-commerce capabilities in the region compared to developed nations, underscoring a significant scope for digital transformation, especially for retail clientele.
Details regarding the specific projects emerging from this partnership remain under wraps but are anticipated to be disclosed shortly.
