[THE INVESTOR] Blockchain-based payment firm Terra has secured a total of US$32 million in its latest seed funding campaign from multiple investors, including Binance Labs, OKEx, Huobi Capital and Dunamu’s Upbit. 

Terra co-founder Daniel Shin speaks at Upbit Developer Conference on Sept. 14 on Jeju Island.

Terra, established in April this year, is a blockchain-based payment platform that aims to connect e-commerce operators in the Asia-Pacific region through its Terra Alliance. Its co-founder Daniel Shin founded Ticket Monster, more widely known as TMON, one of the largest e-commerce firms with annual transactions of 4 trillion won (US$3.50 billion).

Currently, the Terra Alliance consists of 15 e-commerce platforms in Asia, including Korea’s TMON and Baedal Minjok, Carousell, the largest second-hand goods trading site in Southeast Asia, and Vietnamese online retailer TIKI. The alliance boasts a combined 40 million users, with their total transactions worth US$25 billion annually.

Using blockchain-based platform Terra reduces the fee rate for retailers to 0.5 percent from the current 2-3 percent. The firm said the platform allows its partners to improve price competitiveness compared to existing platforms.

Other investors in the firm include Polychain Capital, FBG Capital, Hashed, 1kx, Kenetic Capital and Arrington XRP Capital.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)