Tagged: south korea

December 31, 2019 @ 10:34 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The National Tax Service (NTS) of South Korea confirmed that it will be withholding taxes worth an estimated 80.3 billion Korean won (appr. $70 million) from Bithumb, the nation’s largest digital asset trading platform. Bithumb Holdings’ largest shareholder, Vidente, which operates Bithumb’s Korea division, confirmed… Read More

December 31, 2019 @ 8:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Over 40 Fintech companies operating as small and medium-sized (SMEs) businesses in South Korea reportedly were unable to clear the appropriate security checks needed to obtain final approval to take part in the open banking initiative. The Fintech companies had applied for operational licences in… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 10:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Foreign residents in South Korea will have the option of using the all-digital Kakao Bank and K bank beginning next year, as the country’s financial regulators will let consumers use their alien registration cards to open accounts via the internet. South Korea’s financial regulator, the… Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 7:07 am By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea-based Viva Republica, a Fintech firm that developed Toss, a financial services platform, has been given preliminary approval for an online banking license from the Financial Services Commission of Korea, according to a December 16 release. SG Lee, CEO at Viva Republica, stated: “Toss… Read More

November 25, 2019 @ 10:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

VNX Exchange, a Luxembourg based Fintech, has officially launched. The token issuance and trading platform kicked things off with the issuance of its first asset-backed digital asset during the Global Venture Summit in Luxembourg. The launch ceremony was followed by a panel discussion on “Digital… Read More

November 11, 2019 @ 3:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-based Fintech firm M-DAQ Pte, a company that develops over-the-top (OTT) applications to enable international business transactions for various industries, has reportedly won the backing of Samsung Group’s VC fund in order to expand its operations into South Korea and other regions. Following Samsung’s investment… Read More

October 31, 2019 @ 11:00 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Hong Kyung-sik, head of Bank of Korea’s Banking and Financial Affairs Division, told an audience at the ‘Hoyoung Viewing the Future of Payments’ conference Tuesday that countries with developed payments infrastructures like Korea do not need a central bank digital currency (CBDC), Coindesk Korea reports. Hong… Read More

October 9, 2019 @ 9:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

Prominent blockchain startup ICONLOOP has raised KRW 10 billion (over USD 8 million) in Series A funding. ICONLOOP, based in South Korea, says this is the first VC investment since its launch in 2016. Investors included Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) and T.S. Investment. ICONLOOP… Read More

October 9, 2019 @ 2:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korean mobile payments app CHAI and BGF Retail, which manages CU, Korea’s largest convenience store chain with around 13,500 locations, are developing a blockchain-based platform for conducting offline payments.  The nation’s consumers will be able to make payments by scanning and completing transactions with… Read More

October 7, 2019 @ 6:46 am By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s regulators have consistently preferred supporting blockchain-related initiatives over decentralized crypto tokens. Recent events confirm that the nation’s authorities are more inclined to support blockchain technology itself rather than investments in speculative cryptocurrencies.  According to local reports, approximately 97% of local crypto-asset exchanges might… Read More

October 3, 2019 @ 4:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blocko, a South Korean enterprise-grade blockchain development firm, is launching its operations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after securing funding in Europe and the Asia Pacific region.  UAE’s financial hub, Dubai, announced the Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021 in April 2018. The nationwide strategy involves… Read More

October 2, 2019 @ 1:50 am By Cali Haan  |  

Coinone, a popular cryptocurrency exchange in Korea, has been ordered by a judge in Seoul to pay 25 million won (~$20 780 USD) to a customer who had his exchange accounts drained in a hack. According to Chosun IT, this is Korea’s first case of a… Read More

September 25, 2019 @ 2:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Cryptocurrency holdings are not considered cash, however, they may be classified as an intangible asset, according to the Korea Accounting Institute, which referenced decisions made following a conference in London (in June) by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC). London-headquartered IFRIC, a global accounting… Read More

August 21, 2019 @ 3:11 am By Cali Haan  |  

97% of Korea’s 200 cryptocurrency exchanges are at risk of bankruptcy as low volume and tightening regulations temper what was once one of the world’s busiest crypto-trading markets, Business Korea (BK) reports. Local exchange revenues are also being diminished as Korean crypto-coin projects increasingly seek to… Read More

August 20, 2019 @ 1:59 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

ICONLOOP, a blockchain enterprise based in South Korea, announced on Tuesday it has apply its blockchain-based certificate issuance service, which is called broof, to ‘ARTnGUIDE’, an online service platform in Korea for co-purchasing works of art operated by Yeolmae Company. ICONLOOP reported it has signed… Read More

August 8, 2019 @ 10:28 pm By Cali Haan  |  

South Korean financial regulators are planning to align the country with widely adopted FATF global guidelines by directly regulating crypto exchanges in the country under a licensing regime, Business Korea (BK) reports. The new FATF guidelines require crypto exchanges to report transactions that exceed a certain… Read More

August 8, 2019 @ 12:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Viva Republica, a payments and transfer Fintech that operates under the Toss brand, has raised $64 million in funding at a $2.2 billion valuation. The funding was led by Hong Kong-based Aspex Management. Existing investors Kleiner Perkins, Altos Ventures, Goodwater Capital, GIC, Sequoia Capital China,… Read More

July 31, 2019 @ 1:33 am By Cali Haan  |  

Korea’s central government has designated port city Busan as a “special free zone” for the development of blockchain technology (encrypted and distributed databases), but has stopped short of permitting ICO’s, FN News reports. The designation was made as part of a program implemented by the… Read More

July 23, 2019 @ 1:03 am By Cali Haan  |  

Data from the Korean ministry of Justice indicates that South Koreans lost $2.7 billion USD (2.7 trillion KRW) in cryptocurrency scams between July 2017 and June 2019, Korea Herald reports. The ministry also said it has indicted and detained 132 individuals accused of cryptocurrency fraud and… Read More

June 26, 2019 @ 7:58 am By JD Alois  |  

ICONLOOP, one of the largest blockchain enterprises in South Korea, has received regulatory approval for its ID services, according to a note from the company. ICONLOOP uses a proprietary blockchain engine “loopchain.” ICONLOOP has created a blockchain based digital ID service that may be used… Read More