Hashed taps ex-South Korean finance official to lead research institute

Quick Take

  • Crypto VC firm Hashed hired ex-South Korean vice finance minister to head its research institute.

  • The research division will focus on crypto education for government officials.

Crypto venture capital firm Hashed has appointed a former South Korean vice finance minister to head the company's new research institute. 

Hashed Open Research will connect blockchain experts and the Korean government, promoting dialogue through seminars and research activities, the company said in a release, and new hire Kim Yong-beom confirmed on his Facebook account this week.

The South Korean company is adding the institute amid plans to raise funds in the first half of next year and a more than $3 billion loss from its Terra investments, CEO Simon Seojoon Kim said recently. The firm had bought 30 million luna tokens in the blockchain project's early days, which were worth as much as $3.6 billion when the price peaked in April.

In December, Hashed said it was under investigation by the National Tax Service (NTS). There have been no public updates on the case since then. 

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Kim was one of the vice ministers of economy and finance from Aug. 2019 to March 2021, where he promoted the maintenance and taxation of cryptocurrency exchanges. Before that, he served as the vice chairperson of South Korea top financial regulator Financial Services Commission (FSC), where he played a role in the regulator's policy issued in 2017 that banned anonymous trading on domestic crypto exchanges. The regulation also banned foreigners and minors were also banned from trading through crypto accounts. 

"I thought that my experience could be helpful for the vision and global expansion strategy of the young blockchain investor group," Kim said. 


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