Binance has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange WazirX to create a “Blockchain for India” fund worth $50 million. The fund plans on investing upwards of $100,000 in startups working on fiat-to-digital gateways, payment, and remittance solutions, DeFi, and trading platforms, the Economic Times reported.

Binance boosting India’s blockchain ecosystem with $50M

Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced the launch of a $50 million blockchain fund. According to a report from the Economic Times, the “Blockchain for India” fund plans to invest upwards of $100,000 to startups working on scaling and improving blockchain technology.

The fund was created with the help of one of Binance’s subsidiaries, Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX which was acquired in 2019.

Nischal Shetty, the founder of WazirX, explained that projects working on solving issues such as payments, remittances, and fiat-to-digital gateways, will receive monitoring and guidance from leaders in the Binance ecosystem. These include companies such as DappReview, TrustWallet, and WazirX, as well as Binance Chain, Binance Cloud, Binance DEX, Binance Research, and others.

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance said:

“When our team visited India last year, we saw that the blockchain startups were witnessing tremendous challenges in fundraising and scaling projects to meet growing consumer demands,”

Fueling the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies

Shetty revealed that it’s not only blockchain startups that will be benefiting from the fund. Both WazirX and Binance plan on providing support to universities and student organizations across India who want to set up blockchain incubators.

Zhao also confirmed that there are more initiatives currently in the works. Within the next few months, Binance will announce new programs and features aimed at funding blockchain development in the country, he said.

While this is not the firm time Binance has invested or expressed plans to invest in India, its latest move is significant because it comes in times of unprecedented hardship in the crypto market. With more than $50 billion wiped out from the market in the past week and heightening fears over the coronavirus pandemic, Binance’s investment is a rare move.

Both Zhao and Shetty believe that the next wave of crypto adoption will come from developing and densely-populated countries, with India being one of the most fertile grounds for it.

Earlier this month, the country’s Supreme Court reversed the decision made by the central bank, in which it banned banks from servicing entities that have dealt with cryptocurrencies. Despite the fact that they were never banned in the first place, this move was regarded as a de facto “legalization” of the crypto industry.

In light of Binances’ latest investment, and the overwhelmingly positive climate within the country, we might be seeing a huge increase in blockchain activity in India.