A recent study has found that the South Korean won has surpassed the U.S. dollar as the most widely used currency in global cryptocurrency trading.On April 16 (local time), Bloomberg News reported that the volume of cryptocurrency transactions conducted in Korean won on exchanges amounted to US$456
Even after surpassing the “psychological resistance level” of 100 million won, bitcoin continues its upward trend in the domestic market.In particular, a phenomenon known as the “kimchi premium” is observed, where the price of bitcoin in the domestic market is forming higher than that in the U.S. ma
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has stated that trading bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) violates domestic capital market regulations in South Korea. However, overseas bitcoin futures ETFs will continue to be traded as usual.On Jan. 15, the FSC announced that the issuance of bitcoin
The National Pension Service (NPS) has purchased a large stake in Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, for the first time, paving the way for future direct investment in cryptocurrencies.According to a stock holdings report filed by the NPS to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissi
In anticipation of the scheduled launch of a bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) early next year, institutional investors have been actively engaging in trading, according to recent analysis.Korbit Research Center under the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Korbit revealed this information throug
The price of virtual assets like Bitcoin surged in the first half of this year, leading to a 46 percent increase in the market capitalization of the domestic virtual asset market compared to the end of last year, according to a recent study. However, it is still at a significantly reduced level comp
An analysis says that it is necessary to prepare a comprehensive response system for possible spillover risks between crypto assets and the traditional financial system. This is because the global crypto asset market recently revealed vulnerabilities similar to those of traditional financial markets
Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s No. 1 foundry player, has halted contract production of high-tech semiconductors for some Chinese customers. The decision followed the U.S. government’s recent move to strengthen control of U.S. chip production equipment exports to China. External pressure is also expected
Samsung Electronics saw its share of the global foundry market increase in the second quarter of this year, while Taiwan's TSMC, the world’s No. 1 foundry company, suffered a setback.TrendForce released second-quarter market share rankings of the top 10 global foundry giants on Sept. 27. TSMC re
Seven European startups that received equity investment from Naver have grown into unicorns with an enterprise value of more than 1 trillion won. Naver established a European investment fund six years ago to expand its business territory around the world and discover promising venture startups.Naver
Kakao Piccoma, a Kakao subsidiary in Japan, has recently acquired more than half of Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Sakura Exchange Bitcoin.Sakura Exchange Bitcoin has become Kakao’s first subsidiary that is a cryptocurrency exchange. The size of the investment is undisclosed. The purpose of the ac
Mirae Asset Global Investments announced on April 4 that the assets under management (AUM) of its subsidiary in Canada, Horizons ETFs, has surpassed 20 trillion won.According to the company, the AUM of Horizons ETFs stood at US$18.14 billion or about 22.2 trillion won at the closing of the market on
The Financial Services Commission announced on Feb. 2 that deposits at Korea's four major cryptocurrency exchanges fell from 9.2 trillion won to 7.63 trillion won from Sept. 24 to Dec. 31 last year.Specifically, the deposits consist of 77.47 percent at UPbit, 19.04 percent at Bithumb, 3.88 perce
North Korean hackers stole US$395 million in cryptocurrency through at least seven attacks against exchanges and investment companies in 2021, said Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis company.This is an increase of about US$100 million from 2020 and the total money collected by North Korean hackers o
SK Group is planning to make all its services and products available in the metaverse. It is also planning to issue its own virtual assets in the future so that its affiliates can purchase products and services with them.Related investment will be led by SK Inc., the group's holding company, and
SK Square, which was split off from SK Telecom, has chosen blockchain and metaverse-related companies as its first investment targets.SK Square announced on Nov. 29 that it has invested about 90 billion won in Korbit, a Korean virtual currency exchange, to acquire a 35 percent stake in it. As a resu
The price of Ethereum has topped US$4,000 again and its market cap exceeded that of Samsung Electronics.The market cap of the cryptocurrency increased to US$464.5 billion on Sept. 6, the 18th-largest in the world. That day, Johnson & Johnson came in 19th with a market cap of US$460.8 billion and Sam
Cyber threats presumably from North Korea and for the purpose of money have become more and more frequent in South Korea since the 2010s.In the early stage, the most common form was malicious codes in illegal gambling software. In 2014, the prosecution caught three South Koreans who colluded with pr
The cryptocurrency trading volume is increasing as their prices are rising. This time, the uptrend is being led by altcoins.At cryptocurrency exchange UPbit, the price of Dogecoin was 279 won at 14:00, Aug. 9 whereas the closing price was 236 won on Aug. 2. On Aug. 8, the daily highest price was 325
Most South Korean banks are not planning to form any partnership with cryptocurrency exchanges. In addition, Shinhan Bank and NH Bank, which provided real-name accounts for cryptocurrency exchanges, are making no comment on whether to extend their contracts with the exchanges.Those exchanges’ risks