Formation of a consortium led by Binance and MDI Ventures to develop blockchain ecosystem in Indonesia
Binance, the world’s leading blockchain, and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, has established a joint venture with a consortium led by MDI Ventures (MDI) to expand the blockchain ecosystem in Indonesia with the development of a new Indonesian-based digital asset exchange.
Binance said in a statement it will provide world-class asset management infrastructure and technology to support the development of the new exchange platform.
MDI is an $830+ million multi-stage venture capital arm of Indonesia’s largest telecoms company, Telkom Indonesia.
The consortium has collectively developed the biggest digital and financial technology ecosystems in Indonesia and has access to more than 170 million consumers in the world’s fourth most populous country.
Binance Founder and Chief Executive Officer Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said the ambition at Binance is to grow the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem globally, and this initiative in Indonesia is a significant step in that direction.
“With fast technology adoption and strong economic potential, Indonesia could become one of the leading centers of the blockchain and crypto ecosystem in Southeast Asia. We are thrilled to name MDI as our latest partner in the region. With their depth of experience in the market, we are confident that we will deliver leading products for users locally,” he said.
Meanwhile, MDI Chief Executive Officer Donald Wihardja said that cryptocurrencies, crypto assets, and the underlying technology, blockchain, present an undeniably important part of the financial and other digital infrastructures in the future.
“MDI, as Telkom’s technology investment arm and technology scout, is very excited to participate in this journey. We look forward to growing with Binance and our investment partners, and bridging the opportunities and technologies to Telkom to help upgrade Indonesia’s capabilities in this digital infrastructure,” he said.
According to the statement, the joint venture is part of Binance’s broader strategy to grow the global blockchain ecosystem. The news follows the recent announcements on Binance’s EUR100 million ($112.9 million) initiative to support the development of the French and European blockchain ecosystem, as well as Binance Asia Services’ investment in Singapore-based Hg Exchange (HGX).
Binance is the world’s leading blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider with a financial product suite that includes the largest digital asset exchange by volume.
Trusted by millions worldwide, the Binance platform is dedicated to increasing the freedom of money for users and features an unmatched portfolio of crypto products and offerings, including trading and finance, education, data and research, social good, investment, and incubation, decentralization, and infrastructure solutions, and more.
MDI is the largest tech investment firm in Indonesia and has one of the best-performing funds in Asia. The firm’s global portfolio spans a variety of sectors, including healthcare, logistics, fintech, deep IT, consumer tech, and more. The firm’s parent company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom Group) is a state-owned enterprise of the Republic of Indonesia. It is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange and has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
