Interview with a Hashed Investor: Unveiling Hashed's Organizational Structure, Gaming Won't Bring the Next Billion Users
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Interview with a Hashed Investor: Unveiling Hashed's Organizational Structure, Gaming Won't Bring the Next Billion Users
Edward's journey into the world of cryptocurrency marked a departure from his traditional finance background.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsInterview: Marco Manoppo
Translation: TechFlow
Guest Introduction:
Edward Tan conducts research and investment at Hashed, South Korea's largest crypto investment firm. Edward studied Accounting and Finance at the London School of Economics (LSE) and entered the real estate private equity industry after two years at Fraser Property Limited.
Before joining Hashed in 2021, Edward also held a fund management role at LOGOS, an expanding logistics company operating across 10 Asia-Pacific countries. Ultimately, Edward entered the cryptocurrency space in 2021.
Key Takeaways:
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Edward’s growing interest in cryptocurrency was decisively shaped by DeFi’s capital efficiency;
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Hashed currently has five departments and over 250 employees;
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The cryptocurrency landscapes in East Asia and Southeast Asia are markedly different, with the former showing significantly stronger retail activity than the latter;
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There is a need to refine the balance between equity and tokens, ensuring both serve broader business objectives and provide clear paths to investor returns;
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Contrarian view: Crypto gaming will not bring the next billion users.
What was the defining moment that drew you into the world of cryptocurrency?
Edward’s journey into the world of cryptocurrency marked a departure from his traditional finance background, accustomed as he was to the stability and relatively modest returns of real estate private equity.
In that field, a strong deal might yield a 15% internal rate of return (IRR), reflecting a balance of low risk and moderate gains.
However, a major shift occurred at the end of 2020 when high annual percentage yields (APYs) in cryptocurrency caught Edward’s attention—this stood in stark contrast to the familiar realms of low-risk real estate and high-risk equities. Cryptocurrency introduced an entirely different risk-return spectrum—not only higher returns but exponentially growing ones, promising rewards far beyond traditional investments.
As Edward became ready to embrace greater risks, the asymmetric potential of crypto grew increasingly appealing. This inclination toward cryptocurrency was further influenced by discussions with a classmate—an outstanding finance graduate working at JPMorgan—who was then considering a move to a crypto fund. Their conversations, once centered on traditional equity and investment analysis, began to include topics like decentralized finance (DeFi) and liquidity mining.
Mid-to-late 2020, known as the “DeFi Summer,” was a pivotal period. With the emergence of new DeFi protocols such as Uniswap, Curve, and SushiSwap, the crypto community buzzed with excitement, each offering substantial liquidity incentives. Despite the nascent and rapidly evolving nature of the space, the allure of triple-digit APYs remained powerful.
A defining moment: A key factor in Edward’s growing interest in cryptocurrency was DeFi’s capital efficiency. This involved using digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral quickly, without selling them—an innovative method of capital utilization that was revolutionary for Edward and pulled him deeper down the “rabbit hole.”
What is Hashed?
Since its founding in 2016, Hashed has undergone significant transformation, beginning as a compact team led by three founders with engineering backgrounds who transitioned from successful Web2 startups, reinvesting their profits into ETH and laying the foundation with their own capital.
Their early efforts included participating in ICOs using these funds—the primary fundraising method during 2017–2018—which eventually evolved into venture capital investing.
By 2018 and 2019, Hashed began investing in early-stage protocols such as Sky Mavis, becoming a seed round investor and participating in projects like Axie Infinity and Ronin Chain, acquiring both equity and tokens. Their portfolio expanded to include well-known projects such as The Sandbox, Mythical Games, and dYdX.
Initially headquartered in South Korea, Hashed later recognized the importance of connecting with Western markets—a realization that prompted the establishment of teams in San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2019.
In 2021, Hashed expanded its operations to Singapore, where Edward, its first non-Korean member, joined the team. Through this expansion, Hashed now focuses on positioning Singapore as a central hub for its Southeast Asian operations. Additionally, Hashed holds portfolio companies in Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines.
Starting with just a 30-member team, Hashed has grown into a robust organization of 250 professionals, divided into five core divisions:
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Investment Division: Operating teams in the U.S., Seoul, and other global locations, it manages three entities: a proprietary capital vehicle for token trading, an LP fund for equity investments initially sized at $100 million (quickly fully invested), and a $200 million fund raised in 2021 targeting entertainment, NFTs, and the metaverse—of which 70% has already been deployed.
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India Division: Established in 2022, this diverse team of fewer than 15 members handles all aspects of fund management including research, investment, marketing, community management, HR, and legal. This expansion was driven by India’s rich talent pool and the need for capital and scale support, leading partners with deep regional ties to establish Hashed Emergent.
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Factomind: Hashed’s asset management subsidiary offering services ranging from advisory to data visualization and liquidity provision. Created out of the need to actively manage Hashed’s substantial asset base, it is led by a team of former quantitative finance traders and engineers.
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UNOPND Incubation Studio: The largest part of Hashed, UNOPND is currently incubating three projects in the NFT, metaverse, and K-pop sectors. Notably, they are innovating a decentralized K-pop brand called Modhaus, allowing fans to participate in decision-making through voting on various aspects of music production, leveraging NFTs to gamify consumer engagement.
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Hashed Open Research: A unit dedicated to policy and framework research. It acts as a liaison between the public sector and private players—including VCs and investors—aiming to align government initiatives with private-sector efforts in the crypto space.
How do the cryptocurrency landscapes in East Asia and Southeast Asia differ?
In East Asia’s retail market, exemplified by South Korea, there is a strong retail presence, evidenced by the high trading volumes on centralized spot exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb.
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The Korean market is particularly strong—the listing of any new cryptocurrency pair can lead to significant price surges, reflecting robust retail demand for trading and ownership within the crypto space, supported by a large and active community.
In contrast, Southeast Asia presents a different picture.
For example, in Singapore, retail participation is notably lower, and discussing cryptocurrency as a casual topic is less common in social settings compared to Korea. Investors here exhibit more risk-averse and disciplined investment behaviors. However, enthusiasm for cryptocurrency in countries like Thailand and Vietnam may rival that of Korea.
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Regarding institutional involvement, Southeast Asia is seeing increasing capital flow into cryptocurrency—primarily through fund investments rather than direct participation.
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Unlike Korea, where conglomerates like Samsung and Kakao actively develop blockchain infrastructure, institutions in Southeast Asia prefer investing via funds, likely due to limited capacity for direct industry engagement.
However, there are notable initiatives in Thailand—for instance, SCBX is collaborating with Hashed to develop a venture model to test blockchain-based financial tools in the local market.
Similarly, Vietnam’s FPT Group (a major tech conglomerate) launched Aura Network, a blockchain designed for adoption in emerging markets.
Overall, compared to Korea’s direct and enthusiastic involvement, crypto adoption in Southeast Asia tends to be more structured and cautious.
With the rise of new stablecoin projects like Ethena Labs and Mountain Protocol, what are your thoughts on new stablecoin models?
Edward notes that while these concepts may not be novel, success depends on the maturity of infrastructure and the fundamentals behind their creation.
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He examined Ethena’s delta-neutral stablecoin model, where users deposit ETH, and the protocol then shorts it on centralized exchanges (CEX) to maintain delta neutrality. This strategy issues receipt tokens representing ETH while aiming to deliver a lower-risk, yield-generating stablecoin.
In assessing Ethena’s implementation, Edward emphasized the importance of having the right team and financial backing to execute such an ambitious project.
Edward highlighted inherent risks, including smart contract vulnerabilities related to ETH staking, and timing mismatches between receiving and hedging ETH through short positions. He pointed to innovative solutions such as using mirrored models with custodial wallets like Fireblocks to reduce CEX-related risks and manage short-term funding rates.
Additionally, he discussed Mountain Protocol’s model of on-chain treasury bill tokenization and profit redistribution to holders, acknowledging it is not a unique concept but highlighting its scalability potential when integrated into the DeFi ecosystem.
Overall, Edward embraces innovative stablecoin models. He believes their integration and risk management strategies are critical to their success.
What are your thoughts on value accrual in the next cycle? What problems do we need to solve?
Edward emphasizes the importance of clarity in investment strategy from both equity and token perspectives, stressing alignment between investors and projects on long-term goals—such as growth, scale, and community development—to enable successful exits, whether through token listings or IPOs.
Edward says it’s crucial during the investment phase to discern the primary source of value creation—whether through equity in traditional business models or through tokens that incentivize and track user engagement.
Edward uses payment infrastructure projects as an example, noting that not every blockchain company needs a token to facilitate user transactions.
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For instance, a project focused on creating on-chain payment solutions such as non-custodial debit cards may not require a token. Instead, the project should assess how equity can appreciate, potentially leading to acquisition or IPO.
However, Edward also recognizes the potential role of tokens in enhancing user experience and loyalty.
He suggests that reward points earned through blockchain-based payment cards could function similarly to token systems, incentivizing high engagement and enabling user activity tracking—akin to leaderboards in gaming or activity points on platforms like Friend Tech.
When discussing the next value-creation cycle, Edward believes it is necessary to refine the balance between equity and token models, ensuring each serves its intended purpose, aligns with broader business goals, and provides clear pathways to investor returns.
Achieving this balance requires thoughtful integration of equity and tokens, recognizing when each is necessary and how they can complement each other in driving ecosystem growth and value distribution.
Quickfire Questions
1. What should any aspiring investment professional read/watch?
Finematics on YouTube and the Economic Design newsletter.
2. What has been your biggest investment mistake?
Lacking risk management discipline to adjust biases when necessary.
3. What is the most underappreciated use case in cryptocurrency?
Payments or privacy.
4. What contrarian view do you currently hold in cryptocurrency?
Gaming will not bring the next billion users.
5. What is the biggest risk facing the cryptocurrency space?
Regulatory risk.
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