China Merchants Bank subsidiary (CMB International) and Nervos Foundation launch a $50 million blockchain fund called Innervation, in order to invest in emerging crypto projects which are developing DeFi protocols, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces and blockchain platforms.
This fund also assists organizations which develop their products on the Nervos blockchain or those that will integrate with its network or use its offerings.
Basically, the partnership will distribute the Innervation fund within the next three years. Beneficiaries will get between $200 000 and $2 million, depending on their demands and proposals. The fund also enables Nervos to develop and deploy various tools such as an Ethereum-compatible layer called Polyjuice, and a permissionless rollup framework called Godwoken.
The collaboration between CMBI and Nervos started in 2019, when the two companies forged a relationship earmarked to explore investment possibilities involving decentralized applications.
Samuel Wang, the Chief Investment Officer at CMB International expresses the company’s position on the collaboration with Nervos. He said:
“They’ve made no compromises in building their infrastructure, and we are committed to supporting Nervos and the expansion of its dApp ecosystem.”
However, Nervos’ support to blockchain start-ups goes beyond supplying them capital. In addition to this funding, the beneficiaries will access Nervos’ suite of Layer 2 tools which include decentralized exchange (DEX) and an EVM-compatible layer. They will also benefit from the Force Bridge, a cross-chain which supports Bitcoin, Tron, EOS and Polkadot.
The launch of the fund is in response to the higher adoption rate of digital assets which include cryptocurrencies, collectibles and Non-fungible tokens. This is a result of a shift from centralization to decentralisation in almost all industries and verticals.
The focus of Nervos is to fund innovations and inventions that help the public in various ways. As a result, this objective resonates with CMBI’s strategic position of investing in projects dealing with real-world applications.
Innervation unveils more resources for blockchain start-ups, adding to already existing funds. For example, in 2020 UNICEF set up a $100K equity-free investment fund to finance start-ups that have the potential to benefit the global economy and raise the welfare of human beings around the world.
Also in March this year, Crypto.com, the Hong Kong-headquartered crypto exchange launched a $200 Million fund to invest in crypto start-ups. Therefore, many blockchain based companies are willing to invest more in the sector.
