Japan-based Line Corporation has launched a new investment division which will focus on backing blockchain startups.
The new subsidiary, Unblock Ventures, is a token venture fund which has a capital pool of $10m. The funds for the vehicle were supplied by LVC Corporation, a cryptocurrency exchange which is also a subsidiary of LINE.
The token fund is expected to expand in the future and will move inline with the growth of the blockchain market, according to the company.
Through this vehicle, LINE is hoping to bolster the development and adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
Earlier in the year, LINE and LVC launched BITBOX, a cryptocurrency exchange which is available globally, except in Japan and the US. The platform enables the trading of more than 30 cryptocurrencies.
Alongside the announcement of Unblock Ventures, LINE has revealed cryptocurrency TRON will be made available to trade on the BITBOX app. In celebration of this, TRON is dropping a total of nine million TRON coins to users on BITBOX.
This is the first crypto to be added to the exchange through the open-listing committee and review process, which aims to offer all tokens a chance to be listed on the exchange. BITBOX is accepting applications from other tokens that want to join the exchange.
TRON founder and CEO Justin Sun said, “We are very excited to partner with LINE on their launch into the cryptocurrency space.
“We will use our expertise in the industry to help LINE provide fast and secure cutting-edge crypto exchange services. By joining this vibrant project, we aim to reach a broader audience, extend our services to mobile, and connect the dots with our other products, which have more than 100 million users (BitTorrent, Peiwo, etc.). We are looking forward to working further with LINE on more product integration.”
Copyright © 2018 FinTech Global
