An Early Ethereum Backer Is Targeting Asia’s Biggest Crypto Venture Fund
- Wanxiang spinoff HashKey aims to raise a $600 million pool
- The fund is ramping up at a fraught time for crypto markets
Source: HashKey
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In 2015, as Vitalik Buterin was scrambling to raise money for a blockchain he’d created called Ethereum, he traveled to Shanghai to meet a group of Chinese crypto enthusiasts.
Among them was Deng Chao, then an investment manager for the Chinese cars-to-energy conglomerate Wanxiang Group. Mesmerized by the 21-year-old’s ability to field complex questions while coding on his laptop, Deng convinced his boss to buy roughly $500,000 worth of Ether, the digital coin that runs on the Ethereum platform.