Terra will compete with other Southeast Asia Blockchain companies next year
South Korea-headquartered Terra, the blockchain firm behind mobile payment app Chai, announced plans to expand further across Southeast Asia, with Singapore as its regional hub.
Rahul Abrol, former head of strategy at Uber Asia Pacific, has also joined Terra at the new Singapore office as head of international business and strategy. He will lead the regional team and expansion efforts, the Singapore-incorporated startup announced on Thursday. At Uber, Mr. Abrol led strategy for Asia-Pacific and also managed operations for Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
The startup plans to develop more strategic partnerships with local businesses as it builds on its existing e-commerce alliances. The company currently has 25 partners across Asia, which include Singapore-based e-commerce platforms Carousell and Qoo10.
Terra will also formally launch its stablecoin-powered mobile payment app in Singapore in early 2020, hoping to replicate its success in Korea. And they claim that Chai has achieved transaction volumes of US $54 million just four months after its launch.
The launch of Terra’s Singapore office comes about seven months after the startup secured a strategic investment from LuneX Ventures, the blockchain and crypto-focused arm of Singapore’s Golden Gate Ventures. And Singapore will become Terra’s foundation to expand to other Asian markets. Previously, the firm has launched in Mongolia and aimed to set up operations in at least five other markets next year, including Taiwan and Thailand, said Mr. Rahul.
Mr. Rahul said besides attracting local talent, Terra has also planned to acquire the applicable license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore under the Payment Services Act, which is an infrastructure for the regulation of payment systems and service providers in Singapore.
In August, Terra received an unrevealed amount of funding from Hong Kong blockchain investor HashKey Capital to broaden the adoption of blockchain-based payment solutions in Asia’s e-commerce and retail space. Terra co-founder Daniel Shin previously said that HashKey Capital had a great presence across Asia, especially in Hong Kong and mainland China, and they look forward to exploring those regions together.
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