Bear Market Becomes Momentum, MDI Ventures Still Targets Web3 Blockchain Startups
MDI Ventures sees the business prospects for Web3 and blockchain in Indonesia as still very large, even though the number of local venture capital firms specifically focused on the sector remains limited.
The early-stage venture capital firm owned by PT Telkom Indonesia Tbk (TLKM) revealed that it has been studying the Web3 and crypto industry in Indonesia for approximately the past two to three years. From that process, the company has made two investments, namely in the stablecoin project IDRX last year and in one crypto exchange.
Indonesian crypto startup IDRX secured pre-seed funding of US$300,000, equivalent to Rp4.8 billion. The funding round was led by eMerge by MDI Ventures.
“We think the potential for Web3 in Indonesia is very large. That is why we are trying to study what the market is like,” said Alvin Evander, VP of Strategy & Sustainability at MDI Ventures, on the sidelines of the Indonesia Blockchain Week Summit 2026 held at the Jakarta Convention Center on Thursday (13/8/2026).
Regarding the current crypto market condition, which is in a bear market cycle, he said this condition can actually serve as momentum for developers to build projects more fundamentally. When market attention is not overly absorbed by crypto asset price movements, developers can focus more on building products and use cases.
“If crypto is down, that is a market cycle. There are bull and bear markets. But that is usually the best time to build. So start making the project now,” he said.
MDI Ventures is still open to investment opportunities in Web3 and blockchain companies. However, he declined to disclose the target value or number of investments specifically for the sector.
For prospective companies that are investment targets, Alvin said MDI Ventures prioritises startups that have reached a fairly mature stage. One indicator is having well-known clients, especially from the institutional and corporate segments, as well as having a clear source of revenue.
“Certainly those that are quite mature. Already have well-known clients. Our preference is already there, we hope they have clients, institutional, enterprise clients. Already have fairly clear revenue,” he said.
In addition to clear revenue, MDI Ventures also considers companies that have a path to profitability even if they have not yet recorded profits.
“Not yet (must be profitable). But at least there is already a clear path to profitability. And also the product and use case are quite strong, in the enterprise and institution segment,” said Alvin.
In seeking investment opportunities, MDI Ventures does not limit its focus to specific subsectors such as NFT, blockchain, or tokens. The company looks more at the strength of the product and its application in the business world.
A number of projects that MDI Ventures has encountered include tokenisation, cross-border settlement, and intellectual property (IP) financing for creators.
“If they have a strong use case with enterprise, with corporate, that is when we become interested,” said Alvin.
Furthermore, Alvin assessed that the prospects for Web3 and blockchain going forward remain open. However, investment decisions will be more determined by company maturity, product strength, and the technology’s ability to solve real needs in the institutional and corporate sectors.