Hashed, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency fund has thrown its weight behind SureRemit, a Nigerian-based remittance company which launched in 2017, the first initial coin offering (ICO) aimed at reducing the high cost of diaspora money transfers.
In a blog post which BusinessDay saw, SureRemit described Hashed’s partnership as a “really major validation.” Hashed, it noted, has supported many notable blockchain and blockchain-enabled projects like Airswap, Ethereum and Simple Token.
“It’s uncommon to learn about a South Korean fund backing a project developed from Africa in such a big way, but that is one of the beauties of the cryptocurrency world. Hashed’s participation in the SureRemit project is not only a testament to the merits and potential impact of our mission, it also demonstrates the opportunities provided by blockchain and cryptocurrency to connect and support people wherever they are across the world,” said Olaoluwa Samuel-Biyi, co-founder and Director of Remittances at SureRemit.
Samuel-Biyi also told BusinessDay that Hashed is investing a significant amount of funds in SureRemit ICO. The company, it will be recalled, is creating its own cryptocurrency called Remit. The cryptocurrency will operate within its own ecosystem and focus on deepening the acceptance of the Remit token, especially since the company said it already have the merchant acceptance piece figured out for the long term.
The ICO is also aimed at raising awareness and opening up the economies of developing regions like Africa and Latin America to the tangible applications and profound impact of cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
“In many countries, fiat currencies cannot be relied upon for transactions or as a store of value, and trust-based systems are notoriously compromised by human or system failures. A token like the Remit that is being developed to facilitate the transfer of non-cash value to destinations all over the developing world could potentially enrich the lives of billions of people, and that is exactly the kind of mission that excites them at Hashed.
“As we enter into the crowd-sale of the SureRemit ICO, we have enough courage and conviction take the lead with the development of real-life applications for cryptocurrency in markets where the revolutionary instruments are needed the most to solve today’s biggest problems,” Samuel-Biyi said.
