Projects in the Finance 3.0 cohort will each receive USD$15,000 in seed funding

Singapore - 19th October 2020 - Algorand Asia Accelerator by Algorand Foundation, the steward of the world’s first open-source, permissionless, pure proof-of-stake blockchain protocol, and Borderless Capital, the Algorand-focused blockchain venture fund, announces the launch of its program with its introductory debut of ten startups. Powered by LongHash Ventures, this year’s cohort has been selected to encourage innovation within Finance 3.0, the more open, permissionless, and efficient financial ecosystem designed and built on blockchain. 

Commenting on the program launch, Fangfang Chen, Chief Operating Officer at Algorand Foundation, said, “We cannot be more excited to debut our first cohort at what is becoming a critical moment for blockchain. The vim and ambition of our projects encapsulate the maturing trajectory of the technology, and there is an urgency for the industry to recognize and meet these needs in tandem. Algorand is well-positioned to empower these startups as they take the next step to realize the promise of Finance 3.0, whether it be the strength of our technology, community or network.” 

The 12-week accelerator program, which starts 19 October 2020 and runs until January 2021, features the following ten startups:

1. StakerDAO, a platform for governing financial assets in a decentralized, secure, and compliant manner;
   
2. Mugglepay, a payment SDK for online merchants that eliminates chargebacks and enables the transactions of global crypto payments with greater ease, security and lowered costs; 
   
3. DEXTF, an on-chain non-custodial asset management protocol that empowers professionals and financial institutions to effortlessly create and manage digital-native funds; 
   
4. Neutron Finance, a one-stop portal with a full suite of DeFi products and services including a non-custodial protocol and a decentralized exchange;
   
5. xbullion, a global, trusted settlement layer for physical gold enabling users access the largest physical marketplaces in the world, without ongoing custody fees;
   
6. LawCoin, the world's first blockchain platform for tokenized investment in litigation and legal claims; 
   
7. Obsidian Labs, a blockchain technology company focused on developer tools and services, having launched a multi-chain wallet and EOS dapp store, and several graphic IDEs to support leading blockchains; 
   
8. Eastern Blu Music Ecosystem, a trusted public system for registration, licensing and distribution of royalties for all players in the music Industry;
   
9. VeriTX, a trusted digital commerce marketplace for Industry 4.0, to buy and sell digital and physical assets, as well as maintain trusted maintenance and lease records;
   
10. Yieldy Finance, a decentralized platform allowing for instant payment of goods and services for retail shopping on a buy now but pay later model,
    

We’ve been very impressed with the calibre and potential of the more than 150 applications received, and even more so with the ten that made the final list. Finance 3.0 holds tremendous possibilities for startups who are prepared to take on the challenge, and each project in this cohort has something new and incredible to contribute to the table. It is with great anticipation that we extend every support to bolster and propel their growth journey throughout the duration of this program.” David Garcia, Managing Partner of Borderless Capital, added.

Algorand Asia Accelerator provides selected projects USD$15,000 in seed funding, with end-to-end support across the spectrum of strategy formulation, go-to-market execution, and subject matter guidance across technological mentorship, token economics, marketing, and fundraising. Notable mentors include Tether, Securitize, and Fenbushi Capital.