Binance and WazirX to back Indian blockchain startups with a $50m fund

Binance recently partnered with WazirX to set up a joint $50 million-large token fund. The goal is to invest in blockchain startups in India, thus helping them speed up development

The fund is simply called ‘Blockchain for India,’ and it is backed by WazirX’s WRX token, and Binance’s native BNB and BUSD.

According to WazirX’s CEO and founder, Nischal Shetty, the fact that this is a token fund means that it will not invest in startups via cash. Meanwhile, WazirX itself is owned by Binance, which acquired it last November in a million-dollar deal.

The announcement of the new fund comes only weeks after Indian Supreme Court revoked a crypto ban issued by the country’s central bank, which has been preventing traditional banks from offering services to crypto firms.

The ban has been in place since 2018, which has set the Indian crypto market behind the rest of the world by quite a bit. Now, the new fund aims to help the firms speed up their development, and catch up to the rest of the world.

Shetty added that the two wish to encourage, help, and provide resources, knowledge, and connections to the country’s entrepreneurs who want to create new solutions.

Helping India’s crypto space

The fund will invest in equity and tokens alike, with the investments going from $100,000 to $5 million. The chosen startups will also gain access to Binance’s own blockchain infrastructure and mentorship. The two exchanges are interested in investing in new fiat-to-crypto gateway solutions, remittance and payment providers, as well as DeFi platforms, among others.

Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) added that he foresees numerous other blockchain firms following the exchanges’ lead.

This has already started happening to an extent, as one Indian crypto exchange, known as CoinDCX, announced its own $1.3 million fund, called TryCrypto. The goal of this fund is to promote adoption and awareness in the country.

There is still a lot of uncertainty regarding crypto within the country, and while the central bank”s ban was lifted, major banks have yet to start working with crypto firms. Meanwhile, the central bank plans to continue its fight against crypto, so regulatory clarity in India might not arrive anytime soon.