It appears South Korea is betting big on crypto as seven companies filed to establish exchanges for Bitcoin and other cryptos, according to a report published in South Korean newspaper NewsPim. Samsung Securities and Mirae Asset Securities are among the firms, the report said.
If all goes well, the seven brokerages could start operating independent exchanges by early 2023. The news comes hot on the heels of heartening data from last week which identified South Korean conglomerate Samsung as the leading investor in blockchain-related companies.
While the companies wait for approval from the South Korean government, both the companies cited in the news are preparing for the big day. Samsung Securities, the financial service provider, is preparing harder to enter the crypto ecosystem after it failed to develop a crypto trading platform in 2021.
Likewise, Mirae plans to dip its toe into the crypto exchange sector in the country by establishing a subsidiary under the banner of its consulting arm Mirae Consulting.
New president is a crypto backer
Like many countries across the world, the South Korean government was treading cautiously on cryptos a few years ago. However, recently, the government initiated steps to regulate the industry, thanks to country’s new president, Yoon Suk-Yeol.
During his presidential campaign, Yoon had promised deregulation of the crypto industry. However, Yoon’s promise to make regulations more friendly to the crypto sector suffered a setback due to the Terra Luna crash. Terraform Labs, the company behind Terra Luna, is based in South Korea and its founder Do Kwon is a Korean citizen.
