It appears Kakao, its blockchain subsidiary Ground X and associated DApp developers recently fell victim to shoddy journalism.
Last Thursday afternoon, the tokens of DApps that run on Kakao’s blockchain engine Klaytn experienced a 30-minute panic sell, with token prices falling over 3 percent. Some tokens fell by more than 7 percent.
The bloodletting was ignited by an article published by Asia Today claiming that Kakao was on the verge of pulling out of the blockchain business due to pressure from financial authorities. According to TokenPost’s summary of Asia Today’s piece â — which, spoiler alert, we can’t read because it has since been taken down â — the article quoted “blockchain industry officials” who claimed the Financial Services Commission was pressuring Kakao to quit blockchain and cryptocurrency and focus on its internet bank, KakaoBank.
The unnamed official also said that it was possible Kakao’s blockchain subsidiary, Ground X, would pull out too, since it couldn’t push the project alone. The article quoted another industry official who said that although no official announcement of Kakao’s blockchain project’s demise had been announced, the company’s management and other high-ranking officials all knew the gig was up and its people handling blockchain were preparing to leave.
Kakao called the report baseless, and its DApp token prices soon recovered. An official from Klaytn told TokenPost that while it was true that there was a partial restructuring of the organization, most of the report was false. Noting that the article was taken down from Asia Today’s website, TokenPost said the story was likely “fake news.”
Let this be a friendly little reminder to stay clear of the FUD out there, folks.
Also in the Korean blockchain space…
(By Daniel Palmer, Coindesk, Aug 22)
Shinhan Bank, KEB Hana Bank, LB Investment and Dadam Investment helped Blocko raise some 9 billion Korean won (around $7.44 million) in a Series B+ round.
(By Yoon Young-sil, BusinessKorea, Aug 19)
Tougher cryptocurrency market regulations and low transaction volumes at local exchanges are encouraging more and more Korean blockchain projects to list themselves on overseas exchanges. And on a related note, 97 percent of South Korean crypto exchanges are reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy.
(By Kim Gang-rae and Kim Hyo-jin, Pulse, Aug 22)
South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange will launch an independent screening board to evaluate coins and put together a blacklist of underperforming coins to remove from the exchange.
