Hong Kong Blockchain VC Hires Former NEO Exec to Launch Shanghai Office

CMCC Capital, a Hong Kong-based venture capital firm, has hired Zhao Chen from Neo Global Development, one of the largest blockchain companies in China. 

Chen will join company as a partner to open an office in Shanghai to lead on equity investments in mainland China blockchain firms, the firm told CoinDesk. 

“The creation of a presence in Shanghai demonstrates our commitment towards discovering and supporting the leading blockchain teams globally,” CMCC’s CEO Martin Baumann said in a statement shared with CoinDesk. 

Prior to CMCC, for the last year Chen worked as the global development director and the general manager of NGD, the team behind cryptocurrency NEO and one of China’s largest blockchain platforms. 

He previously served as director of business development at Onchain, another Chinese  blockchain firm, according to Chen’s LinkedIn profile.

Chen left NGD in May amid a firm-wide reconfiguration and launch of NEO 3.0 that will create new tokens for crypto holders. The revamped blockchain network is expected to be completed by 2020. 

Formed in 2016, CMCC is one of the first Asian venture funds to invest in blockchain technical infrastructures such as the ethereum network, The firm raised  over $30 million for its third blockchain fund from Japanese social media giant Line as well as from one of the largest family offices in Asia, which was not identified, as an anchor investor for the fund. 

The first two funds in the firm’s CMCC Liquid VC series raised $1 million and $3.5 million, respectively, over the past three years. In September, the firm set up Liberty Bitcoin Fund for crypto investors based in Asia.