Huobi, the world’s third largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volumes, has entered into a partnership to launch a $93 mln China-South Korea investment fund for blockchain companies, the China Money Network reported yesterday, June 1.

Huobi, together with Chinese investment firm NewMargin Capital and South Korean securities firm Kiwoom Securities Co., Ltd., will use the $93 mln fund to invest in blockchain startups and foster collaboration between the two countries. A third company, South Korean Mirae Asset Financial Group, will also reportedly join the initiative as an investor.

The news comes just a day after Huobi’s rival Binance, currently the world’s largest crypto exchange, revealed its own plans to create a major $1 bln cryptocurrency-based fund to support blockchain and crypto startups. Binance’s existing incubator ‘Binance Labs’ has already supported four blockchain projects, among them a recent $30 mln funding round for anonymity-oriented altcoin MobileCoin this April.

Also yesterday, Huobi launched a new crypto-based exchange traded fund (ETF), based on its recently launched market index, which tracks the exchange’s 10 top-traded digital assets against Tether (USDT). Headquartered in Singapore, Huobi has recently launched a South Korean subsidiary, as well as revealing plans to open offices in London and San Francisco.

Huobi is currently seeing 24-hr trade volumes of around $1.27 bln on the day to press time.