Chinese Billionaire to Build $300M Crypto Hub in Hartford

Chinese billionaire Bruno Wu is planning to build a multi-million dollar fiintech hub in Hartford, Connecticut to develop talents for the industry.

Chinese billionaire Bruno Wu is planning to build a $300 million cryptocurrency hub in Hartford, Connecticut, that could also include a college dedicated to financial technology, Business Insider reported citing obtained documents.

Wu, a Chinese-born media-mogul-turned-tech-entrepreneur and head of the little-known financial technology firm Seven Stars Cloud (SSC), announced plans to establish FinTech Valley, a fintech hub in the US for his company and others who are interested in collaborating on projects involving machine-learning, robotics, and crypto-related initiatives.

At the same time, Business Insider said Wu is also looking at establishing a fintech college at the Hartford campus.

According to the report, the SSC is seeking to forge partnerships with universities near Hartford in a bid to establish an accredited group that specializes in financial technology. The entity is envisioned offer courses on blockchain and artificial intelligence, the report citing documents said.

It added that Wu selected Hartford as the ideal location for his plan because of its proximity to elite universities such as Yale University in New Haven, as well as other local colleges like the University of New Haven, University of Hartford and the University of Connecticut.

It is also understood that Wu is venturing into fintech colleges to supply necessary talent as demand for fintech skills is on the rise.

Miha Grcar, head of business development at crypto exchange Bitsmap, said there is a short supply of needed talent for fintech and added the shortage is giving the industry more headaches than Bitcoin’s volatility and wild price swings.

"Globally, the pool of talent — people with experience in blockchain and distributed-ledger technology — is somewhat limited. This is a big challenge.” Grcar was quoted as saying.