OKX Ventures and Aptos Foundation Introduce $10M Ecosystem Growth Fund

OKX
Ventures,
the
investment
arm
of
leading
crypto
exchange
and
Web3
technology
company
OKX,
and
Aptos
Foundation
have
jointly
launched
a
new
$10
million
fund
aimed
at
accelerating
the
growth
of
the
Aptos
ecosystem
and
promoting
the
adoption
of
Web3
technologies,
according
to

OKX
Ventures.

Accelerator
Program
to
Foster
Innovation

The
newly
established
fund
will
be
utilized
to
develop
an
accelerator
program
in
partnership
with
Ankaa.
This
program
is
designed
to
foster
the
growth
of
quality
projects
and
applications
built
on
Aptos,
a
scalable
Layer
1
Proof-of-Stake
(PoS)
blockchain
that
employs
the
Move
programming
language
to
enhance
the
reliability,
usability,
and
security
of
on-chain
transactions.
Selected
projects
will
receive
venture
support,
mentorship,
market
exposure,
and
access
to
the
expansive
networks
of
OKX,
Ankaa,
and
Aptos
Foundation.

A
panel
comprising
representatives
from
the
Aptos
Foundation,
OKX
Ventures,
and
Ankaa
will
select
five
promising
projects
for
the
inaugural
cohort
of
the
accelerator,
which
is
set
to
commence
in
September.
Ankaa
will
act
as
the
primary
investor
and
manage
the
daily
operations
of
the
accelerator.
The
initial
focus
areas
include
infrastructure,
decentralized
finance
(DeFi),
real-world
assets
(RWA),
gaming,
social
applications,
artificial
intelligence
(AI),
and
other
decentralized
applications
(dApps)
critical
to
the
advancement
of
the
Aptos
ecosystem
and
Web3.

Strategic
Investments
and
Long-term
Vision

Over
the
past
two
years,
OKX
Ventures
has
invested
in
over
300
projects
across
five
continents,
with
a
fund
size
of
approximately
$1
billion.
This
partnership
with
Aptos
Foundation
underscores
OKX
Ventures’
commitment
to
supporting
cutting-edge
blockchain
innovations
and
high-quality
projects,
with
an
aim
to
generate
long-term
value
for
the
ecosystem.

Jeff
Ren,
Partner
at
OKX
Ventures,
expressed
his
optimism
about
the
potential
of
Aptos,
particularly
due
to
its
use
of
the
Move
programming
language,
which
he
described
as
a
game-changer
for
creating
secure
and
efficient
smart
contracts
in
the
DeFi
space.
Ren
highlighted
the
importance
of
supporting
projects
that
enhance
the
fundamental
infrastructure
of
the
blockchain
and
Web3
space.

Expert
Insights
and
Ecosystem
Growth

Bashar
Lazaar,
Head
of
Grants
and
Ecosystem
at
Aptos
Foundation,
emphasized
the
value
of
OKX
Ventures’
extensive
network
and
expertise
in
the
Web3
space.
Lazaar
noted
that
the
partnership
aligns
perfectly
with
Aptos
Foundation’s
vision
for
the
Aptos
ecosystem
and
its
commitment
to
fostering
innovation
and
growth.

Mo
Shaikh,
CEO
of
Aptos
Labs,
added
that
the
joint
ecosystem
growth
fund
and
accelerator
would
be
instrumental
in
establishing
Aptos
as
a
leading
Layer
1
blockchain,
capable
of
proving
out
use
cases
and
onboarding
Web2
developers
into
Web3.

Applications
and
Future
Prospects

Applications
for
the
Ankaa
accelerator
program
are
set
to
open
in
August.
OKX
Ventures,
Aptos
Foundation,
and
Ankaa
encourage
interested
developers
and
projects
to
connect
with
their
teams
for
potential
collaboration
and
support.

Image
source:
Shutterstock