Vietnam venture capital firm NextTech Group announced Tuesday it has launched the Next100 Blockchain investment fund, which has a fund size of $50 million that focuses on investing in equities and digital assets or tokens in blockchain technology startups in the early stages.
NextTech said in a statement that through an exclusive 8-way due diligence approach, Next100 Blockchain intends to become an essential reputational indicator–to be a “lighthouse” that helps the crypto investing community to navigate crowdfunding campaigns and mitigate the risk of investing in fraudulent projects. This is in the context of up to 80 percent of blockchain projects with crowdfunding being classified as a fraud.
Faced with evidence of serious confidence issues in the crypto investing community, NextTech aspires to be a reputable foundation for reliable and competent blockchain technology startups.
According to the statement, Next100 Blockchain was established as a specialized investment fund for blockchain technology startups in Vietnam and all around the world, with an initial volume of $50 million and three investment models: equity contribution, first-round Token purchase.
Furthermore, experienced individuals in the field of blockchain can approach the foundation to support and nurture startups in the cradle of the NextTech Group’s ecosystem through the incubation model (Venture Build).
Blockchain startups that get funded by Next100 Blockchain will have access to the broad Blockchain Community through the AntLaunch platform of the Antex.org Ecosystem and the Stable Coin VNDT.com.
According to the statement, the 8 steps project assessment process implemented by AntLaunch to ensure the fund’s investment reputation, including team, feasibility, economic model (Tokenomics), technology, institutional and legal platforms, digital asset management processes, finance and accounting, marketing, and sales capabilities.
A startup successfully going through Antlaunch’s evaluations and receives funding from Next100 Blockchain is envisioned as a reputable guarantee of the project’s credibility and transparency. As a result, it will be a significant instrument for investment decisions of other funds as well as Vietnam’s crypto investment community.
In contrast to the crypto investment community at large, a blockchain project undergoing investment by NextTech and Antlaunch’s evaluation means that it has been comprehensively validated to mitigate the risk of being fraudulent projects. This can be equated to a “lighthouse” that helps them avoid collisions with the “giant rock” in this market that is promising but also risky.
For instance, Antex Ecosystem and Stable Coin VNDT, after declaring investments from NextTech Ecosystem, had a successful Token Sale at the beginning of October 2021, earning millions of dollars and completing it in less than 30 seconds.
“The most distinguishing features of Next100 Blockchain is the comprehensive evaluation system and stamp affirming the capacity and legitimacy of the project team. Further to that, the investor enables communication to engage blockchain startups to the crypto investment community and other reputable funds around the world, forming a launching pad for a strong startup to reach out to the global crypto market,” said Shark Hoa Binh Nguyen, Founder and Chairman of the venture.
Citing research published by CB Insights, Nextech said that global blockchain startups raised $4.38 billion in the second quarter of 2021, a growth of more than 50 percent over the previous quarter and nearly 9 times the amount raised in the same period last year.
Notwithstanding the pandemic’s difficult dynamics, the number and total value of community investments in blockchain enterprises in Vietnam have surged significantly over the last two years, it added.
NextTech also noted that cyber attackers are always taking advantage of the growth of disruptive technologies.
Citing research by Satis Group, it said up to 80 percent of blockchain projects that obtained funding through crowdfunding in 2017 were frauds–that is, the project team exploited investors’ greed in order to obtain funds, but simply did not follow through on their commitments and vanished with all the money.
This behavior is so prevalent that Business Insider once had to label the field of crypto investment as “Wild West,” the study added.
It also said, many “Ponzi schemes” exist in Vietnam, from impersonating celebrities to raise funds or guarantee large rewards, to fabricating legitimate ventures or using multi-level marketing to target the uneducated, gullible people, causing many crypto investors to lose funds.
There are indeed circumstances where investors are aware that the project is a scam but nevertheless still participate out of greed, believing that they will be able to profit and exit quickly before being startled, but no one is completely impervious to the perpetrators’ traps, the report added.