The booming adoption of digital coins by institutional players pushed the price of a bitcoin to new heights Wednesday. Bitcoin soared to a record high of 71.6 million won ($63,200) in the morning Wednesday, according to Upbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange that trades 184 coins. Wednesday’s rally came after a series of institutional endorsements from big players in various industries that began earlier this year. On Tuesday, PayPal, which has 375 million users, launched a

Market March 31, 2021

Bitcoin is reaching 70 million-won mark again Tuesday amid a global credit company’s digital coin endorsement. According to local crypto exchange Upbit, Bitcoin price rose above 69 million won ($60,860) as of 1:50 p.m., after falling as low as 62 million won on March 25. Tuesday’s Bitcoin rally came after Visa Card announced Monday that it would accept cryptocurrencies for credit card bills. In its pilot program, Visa Card will allow settlement of transactions in USD Coin, a st

Market March 30, 2021

Viva Republica, operator of the fintech app Toss, said on Monday that it will be launching public administration services in collaboration with the government to provide information on COVID-19 vaccination and fines for violating traffic rules. Starting from Thursday, users can check their turns for getting the shots from the service named “the Public Secretary,” Toss said. It also plans to offer vaccine-related information such as where to get vaccinated and updates on the vaccine

Market March 29, 2021

Klaytn, the blockchain project of Korea’s Internet giant, Kakao, said on Monday that it has partnered with OpenSea, the fast-emerging marketplace for nonfungible tokens. Klaytn, which is developed by Ground X, will begin to support Klaytn-based NFTs on OpenSea by the end of June. OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace for user-owned digital goods, which include collectibles, gaming items, domain names, digital art, and other assets backed by a blockchain. Unlike fungible cryptocurrenci

Market March 29, 2021

South Korea‘s public pension fund, the National Pension Service, delayed a decision on whether or not to increase the proportion of domestic stock holdings, amid mounting criticism over the fund’s selling streak. NPS investment Management, the fund’s highest decision-making body, held a meeting Friday to discuss the matter, but failed to reach an agreement on whether or not to raise the proportion of strategic asset distribution limit from the current 2 percentage points to 3

Economy March 26, 2021

YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk’s grip on the firm has weakened after China’s ticket booking platform divested itself from the K-pop powerhouse this month. Shanghai Fengying Business Consultant Partnership has unloaded all of its 953,947 shares in YG Entertainment, dissolving a special relation status with Yang, a former CEO of the firm, a regulatory filing showed on Friday. The report showed that the combined stake owned by Yang and seven other related parties fell to 25.

Market March 26, 2021

Amid months of bullish cryptocurrency markets, digital coin trading volume is enjoying a stellar performance, raising expectations for a high market valuation of their businesses. The country’s two largest crypto exchange operators -- Dunamu and Bithumb Korea -- both recorded a hike in sales and revenue last year, backed by increased transactions from November, when the largest digital coin Bitcoin rose above 20 million won ($17,640) for the first time in 34 months. Dunamu, the operat

Market March 24, 2021

Blockchain industry experts urged the government to introduce detailed guidelines on real-name accounts required for all cryptocurrency exchanges under implementation of a new law known as the Specific Financial Transactions Act. Slated to take effect Thursday, the new rule obligates registration of all virtual asset operations, making it only possible for operators to conduct trades carried out with the real-name accounts opened via local banks. The new rule is introduced to prevent money l

Market March 23, 2021

The much-anticipated listing of Kakao Pay, the financial technology arm of mobile giant Kakao, could come as early as August, according to industry sources on Monday, despite recent hiccups in securing a license for personal data integration services, called MyData, from financial authorities. Kakao Pay was not included when the Financial Services Commission announced a list of 28 companies granted approval for MyData business. Kakao Pay’s rival Naver Financial and Viva Republica were

Market March 22, 2021

The number of listed cryptocurrencies has soared in the past four years, as the rapid rise of the price of Bitcoin attracts investor attention to digital assets. However, investors should be cautious as digital coins easily get listed and delisted. Upbit, one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, launched in October 2017 with only one digital token -- Bitcoin -- but it now has 114 coins trading on the platform. Bithumb had eight digital coins in May 2017, but now it trades 1

Market March 21, 2021

South Korea is mulling whether to introduce multiple voting rights for shareholders as a way to help local startups attract large-scale investment and maintain stable management, according to public officials and politicians on Tuesday. Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups Kang Sung-cheon said the government was working on ways to legalize differential voting rights, which are popular among countries with many unicorn startups. A unicorn startup refers to a fledgling company valued at over $1

Economy March 16, 2021

Viva Republica, South Korea’s leading fintech startup, officially launched a mobile stock trading system Monday. Toss opened the service preliminarily a month ago for 640,000 preregistered users, about 70 percent of whom are in their 20s and 30s. The stock trading service, which aims to attract young and new investors with easy-to-use interfaces, is incorporated into Viva Republica’s payment app Toss. “We aim to provide a satisfying investment experience for new investors as

Market March 15, 2021

South Korean companies, from startups to big companies, could benefit from Indonesia’s latest infrastructure initiatives and trade deals, the country’s ambassador to South Korea told The Korea Herald in a recent interview. The ambassador was referring to Indonesia’s first sovereign wealth fund worth $5 billion, to be managed by Indonesia Investment Authority. The first phase of the fund’s investment will focus on toll roads, airports and seaports, but the focus will b

Economy March 14, 2021

Near Cheonggye Plaza, Seoul’s iconic recreational area along the Cheonggye Stream, top coffee brands from Starbucks to Blue Bottle Coffee compete toe-to-toe, luring coffee lovers with distinctive flavors, brand images and cozy sofas for a relaxing moment. While coffee giants engage in an invisible war, one lesser-known coffee franchise is taking a different tactic, with a signboard that reads, ”Get a free cup of coffee if paying with the cryptocurrency Paycoin.” A 40-somethi

Market March 13, 2021

Woori Financial Group plans to issue environmental, social and governance hybrid bonds in South Korean won after gaining top credentials, the company said Sunday, joining a growing list of investment firms tapping into the fast-growing market. The financial company said it plans to issue ESG bonds in the form of hybrid securities after acquiring ST1, the highest grade for sustainable financing in a five-tier grading system, from Korea Ratings, a credit rating company. Woori plans to decide the

Market March 7, 2021