South Korean crypto investment firm Hashed Ventures is expanding into Abu Dhabi after inking a partnership with the city’s tech ecosystem group, Hub 71. 

Bloomberg reported on June 27 that Hashed CEO Simon Seo-Joon Kim said his firm will open an office in the city and has entered into talks with other major South Korean crypto firms to help bring them into the emerging United Arab Emirates crypto market.

The Seoul-based venture capital firm is one of the largest crypto companies to make its way to the UAE’s capital, which has been increasing its efforts to bring in crypto talent.

Kim said while he believes Korean crypto entrepreneurs to be among the best in the world, a declining local population and other difficulties in the country’s domestic market make overseas locations such as the UAE more desirable to crypto founders.

Kim added he was already in the process of helping other South Korean companies with valuations of over $1 billion make the jump to Abu Dhabi.

“UAE is a very special market for us because [...] regulatory wise, Abu Dhabi has the most friendly and clear guidance for the Web3 startups,” Kim said.

“So these days, so many Web3 startups are opening Abu Dhabi offices.”

On Feb. 15, Hub 71 announced a digital asset initiative that will back blockchain and crypto projects that come to the city which have more than $2 billion in capital.

Related: Nomura crypto arm Laser Digital bags Abu Dhabi license

At the time, Hub 71 said it would look to provide crypto startups with state-of-the-art infrastructure as well as a more progressive and clear regulatory environment domestically.

Hashed was founded in 2017 and manages around $700 million in assets globally.

The firm has made a series of investments in some notable crypto projects, including the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, perpetual trading platform dYdX, and Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs.

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