NOTE TO ICONISTS: That Korea’s presidential candidates have publicly embraced digital assets can only be a good thing for ICON, one of Korea’s marquee crypto projects. This is particularly so given chief technology partner ICONLOOP’s long history of collaboration with the public sector.
I’m more ambivalent about big companies moving into the space, as there is always the danger of major corporations pushing out smaller startups. That said, big capital can also offer big collaboration opportunities. Indeed, two of MyID’s big use cases involve major South Korean banks. And while big enterprises may favor “enterprise” (i.e., private chain) solutions, it’s not hard to imagine circumstances where companies or industries might favor deploying public chain solutions, especially once the Korean government officially eases up on crypto.
Korean business news website Financial News reports that with Korea’s presidential candidates pledging to promote South Korea’s digital assets industry, major Korean companies in all sectors are pushing into the sector in earnest.
Examples given include:
- Telecom giant KT will be launching a beta service of an NFT platform leveraging content from its web novel/webtoon subsidiary Storywiz from March, with plans to expand to other content produced and distributed by KT. KT is pushing other blockchain projects as well, including blockchain-based regional currencies, DID, e-document storage and distribution and “Blockchain as a Service” (BaaS).
- The SK Group has been investing big into blockchain and virtual assets. SK Inc. took part in Palm NFT Studio’s Series B funding round at the end of last year, while SK Square invested KRW 900 billion in cryptocurrency exchange Korbit, acquiring a 35% stake. SK Square has also released a conceptual plan for enabling the use of all SK Group services and products in the metaverse, presumably via SK Telecom’s metaverse platform “Ifland.” SK also released plans to issue its own digital asset for purchasing products and services from SK’s ICT subsidiaries.
- Naver LINE has its own blockchain network, LINE Blockchain, and its own digital asset, the LINK (LN). The company has been expanding the network’s ecosystem. In particular, users of mobile payment app LINE Pay’s Japan service will be able to pay for things at certain online shops using LN from Mar. 16 to Dec. 26 as a trial service.
- Late last year, LINE set up offices of its subsidiary LINE Next in South Korea and the United States with the aim of creating a global NFT ecosystem.
- Korean internet giant Kakao has two separate blockchain networks and digital asset systems going: Ground X, which focuses on NFTs, and Krust, which handles the public blockchain platform Klaytn. In its global expansion roadmap of 2022, Krust said Klaytn’s goal for the year included games, metaverse and DeFi, and that the company has signed five key partnerships to expand Klaytn globally.
- The Bank of Korea is actively building a system to support CBDCs.
- Major Korean bank KB completed its Klaytn-based Multiasset Digital Wallet in December. This allows users to store and transfer CBDCs, digital assets, regional currencies, NFTs and other digital assets.
- Shinhan Bank has formed a strategic partnership with KT to jointly build a platform to issue and trade NFT-based virtual assets, as well as to put blockchain technology to use for e-documents and other activities. Shinhan Bank also strategically invested in Korea Digital Asset Custody, and is taking part in a DID consortium with SK Telecom.
- Shinhan Bank also completed in November a PoC to enable overseas remittances using stablecoins, a first in Korea. Shinhan Card, meanwhile, has teamed with ICONLOOP to apply DID technology to its ShinhanPLAY mobile services app.
- Woori Bank recently built a blockchain platform for circulating CBDCs and NFTs. It also founded a digital asset custody company with blockchain company Coinplug last year.
- NH Bank also invested in Cardo, a digital asset custody company it co-founded last year with blockchain company Hexlant. Though not mentioned in the article, NH Bank has also put ICONLOOP’s DID technology to work, too.
