In Asia, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency-related startups and projects have consequently increased in numbers since the beginning of 2014, attracting more and more VC investments from the West. Last week, we analyzed the VC investments trends for 2014, concluding that this will likely be the year where Western investors and VC firms will embrace emerging markets.
Hong Kong and Singapore are the two most prominent Bitcoin hubs in Asia, attracting together US$2.72m in venture investments publicly disclosed since the beginning of 2014, according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Venture Capital data.
A few days ago, Coin Supermart became the first Bitcoin startup in Asia to be picked up by San Mateo-based startup accelerator Boost VC, reported Tech in Asia on August 25.
Incorporated in January 2014, Coin Supermart is a Bitcoin and altcoin exchange platform based in Singapore, which claims to be the 'pioneer second generation exchange in Singapore and Southeast Asia', thanks to its trading platform and digital wallet solution.
According to Boost VC's CEO Adam Draper:
"Coin Supermart is the best company coming out of Singapore, and [that’s why] we picked them."
Boost VC was founded in 2012 by Adam Draper, a fourth generation venture investor. His dad, Timothy C. Draper, founded Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California, and is best known for his winning of the auction of the 29,000 BTC seized from Silk Road by the US Marshals.
The acceleration program is composed of a 3-month period of programming, and concludes with a demo day event. According to Coin Supermart's co-founder Yusha Liu, the team hopes to get funding investors from this presentation:
"At this point, we just want to work hard to make sure that we’re ready for demo day roughly about two months from now, which will be attended by at least 200 investors in the Valley."
Founded by Yusho Liu and Gerry Eng, Coin Supermart's goal is said to "bridge the gap between Bitcoin and non-technical users." The two entrepreneurs said the initiative came after they realized how hard it was to buy bitcoins locally.
Liu shared his excitement, noting that Boost has given them a great opportunity in meeting prominent figures in the tech industry, adding that Boost took care of the housing, allowing Coin Supermart to only focus on their demo day:
"The greatest perk about Boost is that teams like us coming all the way from Asia do not have to worry about looking for housing – we live right across the office in a sponsored lodging. Basically [...] everything is provided for – all we have to care about is shipping our product for demo day."
Did you enjoy this article? You may also be interested in reading these ones:
- Bitcoin in Singapore organizes for Govt dialogue
- VC Investment Rate into Bitcoin to Skyrocket in 2014
- Op-Ed: Is Bitcoin Ready for the Major Leagues?