OKX Ventures successfully hosted a meet-up titled, “Global Horizon: Investing across the globe and ecosystem meetup,” prior to TOKEN2049 on Sept. 12 at Tinbox, Singapore. Some of the best builders in layer-2 and leading Web3 VCs attended the meetup, all sharing the same vision of continuing to innovate in the crypto space.
The following VCs and ecosystems were invited to the panel discussion: Hack VC, LongHash, Cypher Capital, Polygon Ventures, zkSync, Taiko, Scroll and Gitcoin.
Here are some takeaways from the meetup.
During the VC panel at 4:00 pm, three questions were discussed:
- Emerging markets and crypto adoption: How are emerging markets shaping the global crypto investment landscape?
- Biggest opportunity in DeFi, given DeFi TVL has dropped to a new low point the past few months, like Eigen Layer.
- Developer Support for ecoystem.
Speakers from four VCs, Hack VC, LongHash, Cypher Capital and Polygon Ventures, which invested over $50 million in crypto and Web3 projects in the first half of 2023, also took part. Investors noted that the trend in global crypto and Web3 investment is to capture the fundamental value that remains intact.
Layer-2s have engineered a native solution to reduce transaction costs through networks and projects such as zkSync, Taiko, Scroll and Gitcoin. Representatives from these projects shared their experiences and strategies for ecosystem expansion and community building. During the second panel on ecosystems, zkSync’s head of business development Omar Azhar shared:
“ZkSync is the fastest growing layer-2 ecosystem on Ethereum, and the ZK Stack provides a free modular framework for building your own layer-2s and layer-3s with zkSync’s ZK Tech. We are open to all builders.”
Gitcoin head of impact Azeem Khan also highlighted that:
“Gitcoin recently launched the Public Goods Network (PGN), which is an OP stack layer 2. PGN is focused on using sequencer fees to fund organizations working in public goods.”
Scroll APAC DevRel Vincent Jin was also in attendance, sharing:
“Scroll is currently in ‘Sepolia Testnet,’ where 3.4 million transactions have been made — with over 230,000 active addresses in the past month. Vincent is keen to grow the builder community, and also shared that Scroll delivers an exceptional developer experience, achieving an improved gas efficiency of 50% and empowers trustless building with the mission to scale Ethereum.”
Taiko ecosystem and finance lead David Mirzadeh also attended the event, where he expressed his welcome to all Ethereum builders seeking the smoothest layer-2 onboarding experience without compromising on security. David urged builders requiring support to take part in the Taiko DAO’s Grants program.
OKX Ventures partner Jeff Ren closed the event by saying:
“OKX is the most trusted exchange and a leading Web3 technology innovator. Together with our users, retailers and institutions, newbies and whales, we have been through tough times, we survive, grow and will thrive together. With roots in the developer community and a commitment to innovating and building technology for the future, we’ve created some amazing Web3 products. The OKX self custody wallet is a testament to our commitment to security, innovation and user-centricity. It’s integrated with over 70 blockchains, and has MPC, account abstraction and smart contract technology built in. With this product, we’re revolutionizing user autonomy and security and aim to onboard the next billion users to Web3. OKX has sponsored great teams in a number of different arenas. In sports and racing, such as Manchester City Football Club and McLaren F1 team, as well as working together with creative and independent minds, such as at the Tribeca Film Festival. This is about more than the headlines. We’re real partners and participants in our partner ecosystems with a shared commitment to innovation, builder support and the developer community for a thriving Web3 environment.”
OKX Ventures is excited to see fast growth in the crypto industry. During the meet-up’s opening speech delivered by OKX Ventures founder Dora Yue, she highlighted the remarkable achievements of crypto products from 2017 to 2023, saying the “upgrading of layer-2 has been witnessed — and over 1.2 billion Bitcoin addresses and 183 million ETH addresses have been registered. Additionally, 6 billion TX fees have been made on-chain over the past three years.”
Dora also gave examples of thriving applications in the Web3 space, including LSDfi and NFT benefits leveraged by mainstream enterprises. Gaming UX has also improved with the incorporation of digital assets, prompting protocols to generate revenues in a decentralized manner. Dora further emphasized the importance of giving more attention to developers and builders, which aligns with the principle of “long-termism” held by OKX Ventures.
OKX Ventures is pleased to have hosted a meetup that brought together some of the top builders and contributors in the Web3 space.
About OKX Ventures
OKX Ventures is the investment arm of OKX, a leading global crypto exchange and innovative Web3 company. With an initial capital commitment of $100 million, OKX Ventures focuses on exploring the best blockchain projects on a global scale, supporting cutting-edge blockchain technology innovation, promoting the healthy development of the global blockchain industry and investing in long-term structural value. Through its commitment to supporting entrepreneurs who contribute to the development of the blockchain industry, OKX Ventures helps build innovative companies and brings global resources and historical experience to blockchain projects.