New technology, new opportunity for startups

Last week we looked at Korean conglomerates dipping their toes into crypto. Today, let’s talk about organizations at the other end of the spectrum, startups. In general, Korean startups are unvalued compared to their peers globally.

Korea is home to 30,000 startups and the Korean government is spending $2 billion annually to support startups. The fastest growing sector by funding is virtual reality, with FinTech and cybersecurity startups not far behind.

That’s why it’s not very surprising that Korean unicorns are heading towards blockchain and cryptocurrencies. TMON, one of the biggest  e-commerce marketplaces in Korea, recently closed a $32 million funding round for its new stablecoin, dubbed Terra.

Another startup worthy of notice is Watcha. Known as the ‘Korean Netflix’ with more than 4 million users, Watcha is now developing its own blockchain platform called Contents Protocol. According to its COO, Watcha is aiming to build a more transparent ecosystem (*article in Korean) for the content industry.

Both TMON and Watcha are exemplary Korean startups that successfully developed business within the country. The fact that the startup giants are implementing blockchain may indicate that they are truly believing in the potential of this new technology, but also could be attributable to the ‘hypeness’ within the industry. Which one do you think is right?

Other Korean Blockchain News   Over US$8 Million Lost by 2,600 Investors in South Korea’s ‘Treasure Ship’ ICO (By Mark Emem, CCN) South Korea Internet and Security Agency to Double Blockchain Project Budget in 2019 (By Max Yakubowski, Cointelegraph) South Korea Gov’t Sponsors Blockchain Hackathon in Fresh Public Awareness Drive (By William Suberg, Cointelegraph) Samsung Looks to Streamline Banking With Blockchain Tool (By Anna Baydakova, Coindesk) Report Alleges North Korea Trialled BTC Mining, Local Firm Developing BTC Exchange (By Marie Huillet, Cointelegraph) Korea’s 2nd-Biggest Crypto Exchange Resumes User Registrations as Market Improves (By Joseph Young, CCN) Korea’s Jeju Island Appeals to President in Push for ICO Hub Status (By Wolfie Zhao, Coindesk) South Korean Province to Issue Own Coin as Gov’t Says Crypto Should Be ‘Accepted’ (By William Suberg, Cointelegraph) South Korean Lawmaker Proposes Special Crypto Zone for ICOs (By Kevin Helms, Bitcoin News)