Messaging Giant LINE Launches $10 Million Token Venture Fund

Japanese messaging giant LINE has launched a token venture fund with a capital commitment of $10 million via its recently established subsidiary called Unblock Ventures.

The publicly traded firm announced the fund in a release on Wednesday and said it aims to invest in blockchain startups in an effort to boost technological development.

While Unblock Ventures, incorporated in Hong Kong in July, will be the fund's manager, the $10 million capital is solely provided by LVC Corporation, another subsidiary of the LINE group.

The company said it expects to increase the total amount of the fund in the future based on the development of the blockchain industry.

Today's launch is part of LINE's wider push into the cryptocurrency space and comes just a month after it officially started the operation of its cryptocurrency trading platform called Bitbox.

It was also announced today that Bitbox has listed TRX - the native token of the June launched TRON blockchain - as the first crypto project listed on the exchange for trading following a review process conducted by a dedicated Bitbox committee.

Following the news, the 24-hour trading price of TRX jumped by 12 percent, based on data from CoinMarketCap.

In April, CoinDesk reported that LINE was also planning to launch a subsidiary based in South Korea that will focus on researching blockchain technology and developing potential applications.

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