Japan's Line launches $10m token fund in Korea

Line's cryptocurrency and blockchain business LVC is the sole LP. The fund will be managed by Unblock, a newly established subsidiary of Line based in Korea whose CEO, Matthew Lee, is the co-founder of blockchain-focused digital advertising company AD4th.

It follows reports that Korea may lift a ban on token sales – also known as ICOs – put in place last year. The rule had aimed to curb money laundering. fraud, and an overflow of capital into speculative assets considered non-productive.

According to a release, the fund will be expanded in step with the growth of the blockchain market. Separately, Unblock has been tasked with developing an accelerator program and designing a token economy.

Tokyo and New York-listed Line is a division of Korean internet conglomerate Naver and positions itself as one of the first publicly traded corporations to formalize a token investment program. Last month, it launched a cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore known as Bitbox.

To date, investment in cryptocurrencies and token sales – also known as ICOs – has been limited by fiduciary duties and regulatory regimes that classify the virtual assets as securities. Securities compliance requirements have typically represented a discouraging accounting burden for early-stage crypto companies.

Last week, Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures launched a cryptocurrency and blockchain fund that will invest in token sales. The fund is being operated in partnership with a spin-out known as LuneX Ventures and is reportedly targeting a corpus of $10 million for a global mandate.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Technology
• Fundraising
• Japan
• South Korea
• Cryptocurrency
• blockchain
• Venture