KuCoin CEO says $100m fund will open up the metaverse

KuCoin Labs, the investment and research firm spun out of crypto exchange KuCoin, has launched a $100 million fund to invest in metaverse projects.

According to CEO Johnny Lyu, the KuCoin Metaverse Fund will be used to invest in GameFi, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralised infrastructure projects.

Lyu told Coin Rivet the fund’s intention was to support projects that develop new use cases and introduce innovative technologies to make metaverse usage possible.

“It is important to identify truly valuable projects among those who simply hype on the metaverse trend,” he said.

“We will approach the selection process extremely responsibly, because having received the support of our foundation, projects will automatically receive the support and attention of our users, and we always make every effort to offer the most innovative and tech-savvy projects that pretend to be unicorns.”

Lyu said that every time he thinks about the metaverse, he imagines something completely new that becomes an ordinary thing for us.

“For example, getting access to WEB 3.0 thanks to a device developed by Neuralink, which is implanted into your brain and you no longer need a monitor, helmet, keyboard, and so on to join the virtual space,” he explained.

“Or the metaverse interface, which is not much different from reality, but is more convenient in terms of movement and access to services and information.”

Africa and South America full of blockchain talent

Kucoin Labs‘ intention is also to promote the global mass adoption of blockchain, especially in emerging markets like Africa and South America.

Lyu said the countries of Africa and South America were “a Klondike blockchain of talents and promising projects”.

He added experts from these regions have a fresh perspective on solving the problems facing the industry, saying “we count on helping them in this”.

Talking about the application of blockchain technology to the metaverse projects, Lyu explained that blockchain was the underlying technology that makes metaverse creation a reality.

“All economics, security, rights, rules and laws will be implemented using blockchain technologies,” he concluded.

“Today, we can talk about the use of DeFi and NFT, but I am sure that the use of blockchain will be more widespread.”