A16z crypto, a venture capital fund from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), announced its expansion into Asia, opening an office in Seoul and hiring Sungmo Park to lead operations in the region.
South Korea is the second-largest crypto market in the world, unit Andreessen Horowitz said in a blog post. The office will work with founders by establishing partnerships, strengthening distribution channels and accelerating community growth in the region, he said, highlighting the high levels of cryptocurrency ownership in South Korea and Singapore and the growing on-chain activity in Japan.
While Hong Kong and Singapore have long been the financial capitals of Asia, South Korea is a center of crypto development. For a16z crypto, being close to where things are actually built, not just banked or regulated, was likely a key factor in choosing Seoul as a hub in Asia.
South Korea is home to one of the most active onchain communities in the world, with crypto exchanges like Upbit known as volume powerhouses, and its developer ecosystem is deep, resilient and product-focused. Nearly a third of South Korean adults own cryptocurrencies, the fund said.
Park, the former APAC head of the Monad Foundation, will work with both startup teams and established companies, drawing on his experience at the Monad Foundation and Polygon Labs, where he led go-to-market efforts and ecosystem development in East Asia, Greater China, Southeast Asia and India.
UPDATE (December 10, 8:10 p.m. UTC): Fixes typos.
